PPE the government bought for £122m from a company linked to the Tory peer Michelle Mone was purchased from the Chinese manufacturer for just £46m.
The extraordinary profits apparently made by PPE Medpro and its partners in the supply chain are revealed in documents leaked to the Guardian, including contracts and an inspection report for sterile surgical gowns supplied by the firm.
Despite being bought at the start of the pandemic and delivered in 2020, the 25m gowns were never used by the NHS after government officials rejected them following an inspection.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has for months been seeking to recover money from PPE Medpro through a mediation process. The firm claims it is entitled to keep the money, arguing that DHSC “agents” approved the gowns after inspection.
PPE Medpro’s contract to supply 25m sterile surgical gowns was one of two awarded to the company after it was processed through a government “VIP lane” for politically connected companies.
Another crony making a fast buck from the public coffers … 