Report finds signs of corruption in £15 billion’s worth of covid contracts
A comprehensive corruption review has identified “red flags” in more than 130 covid-related contracts worth over £15.3 billion, equivalent to nearly one-third of all such spending during the pandemic.
The review, conducted by Transparency International UK, analysed over 5,000 contracts and found systemic weaknesses and political choices that allowed cronyism to thrive.
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Transparency International UK’s investigation, ‘Behind the Masks: Corruption red flags in covid-19 public procurement’, identified 135 high-risk contracts with a value of £15.3 billion, featuring three or more corruption red flags. The review highlighted systemic bias, opaque accounting and uncontrolled pricing in the government’s handling of covid-19 procurement.
The key findings are:
- 135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags, warning signs of a risk of corruption
- 28 contracts worth £4.1 billion went to firms with known political connections.
- 51 contracts worth £4 billion went through a “VIP lane” for companies recommended by MPs and peers, a practice deemed unlawful by the High Court.
- Almost two-thirds of high-value contracts (worth £30.7 billion) were awarded without competition, often justifying the suspension of normal safeguards as necessary for rapid procurement.
The findings suggest that the UK government’s Covid procurement response was marked by systemic weaknesses and political choices that enabled corruption, eroding trust in political institutions.
Chief Executive of Transparency International UK, Daniel Bruce, stated that the scale of corruption risk in the former government’s approach to spending public money during the pandemic was “profound” and pointed to more than coincidence or incompetence.
The report’s release comes as the public hearings for Module 3 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry began on 9 September. “Transparency International UK, as part of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, has core participant status in the inquiry. This report will be used as the basis for their evidence for Module 5 (Procurement) due to commence public hearings in Spring next year,” a press release stated.
Transparency International UK’s report should come as no surprise to those who have been following the work of the Good Law Project, a non-profit organisation that has been highlighting the corruption surrounding personal protective equipment (“PPE”) contracts since late 2020.
(Related: UK’s Competition Watchdog proposes changes to Competition Laws because “Climate Change”)
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