An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent. Transparency International UK found 135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags – warning signs of a risk of corruption.
Twenty-eight contracts worth £4.1bn went to firms with known political connections, while 51 worth £4bn went through a “VIP lane” for companies recommended by MPs and peers, a practice the High Court ruled was unlawful.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separated. Transparency International UK analysed 5,000 contracts for red flags.
The charity said its analysis also indicated that almost two thirds of high-value contracts to supply items such as masks and protective medical equipment during the pandemic, adding up to a total of £30.7bn, were awarded without any competition.
A further eight contracts worth a total of £500m went to suppliers no more than 100 days old – another red flag for corruption. Normal safeguards designed to protect the process of bidding for government contracts from corruption were suspended during the pandemic.
The government, led by Boris Johnson, justified this at the time by stressing the need to short-cut the bidding process to accelerate the supply of much-needed items such as personal protective equipment (PPE).
But Transparency International UK, a core participant in the Covid-19 inquiry which begins its third module on Monday, said the suspension of normal safeguards was often unjustifiable, costing the public purse billions and eroding trust in political institutions. It is urging the authorities to investigate the high-risk contracts it has identified.
Source: BBC
