"When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK in the early months of 2020, doctors and nurses urgently required large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE): the disposable masks, goggles and gowns that would allow them to treat an infectious disease without contracting it themselves. Our impoverished NHS did not own adequate stockpiles of PPE, so the Conservative government of the day set about buying it in. It appealed for companies that were not part of the regular NHS supply chain to pitch their services. So far, so good."
"But the UK also set up something that neighbouring countries didn't have: a VIP lane. Applications that were recommended or passed on by persons deemed to be important often senior Conservative party politicians were given special treatment. This film cites internal emails stating that [the] VIP route is for MPs who can make life painful and shout loudly, and that such inquiries were to be funnelled to an inbox named Covid-PPE-priority-appraisals. As a leaked briefing document put it: Opportunities from high-profile people require a rapid response."
During early 2020, UK healthcare workers urgently required large volumes of PPE such as masks, goggles and gowns. The NHS lacked adequate stockpiles, prompting the Conservative government to seek suppliers beyond the regular NHS chain. A VIP lane was created to give special treatment to applications recommended by high-profile individuals, often senior Conservative politicians. Internal emails described the VIP route as for MPs who "can make life painful and shout loudly" and instructed funneling such inquiries to a dedicated Covid-PPE-priority-appraisals inbox. A leaked briefing stated that opportunities from high-profile people require a rapid response. Many VIP-lane applicants received large contracts despite lacking PPE track records, with several firms newly incorporated.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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