Attending the APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax and Transparency International UK’s panel: ‘Corruption Risks and Procurement: Lessons from the Pandemic’ in Westminster on 9 September 2024 was insightful and galling in equal measure.
An excellent panel discussed Transparency International UK’s groundbreaking assessment COVID-19 procurement contracts – the findings of which identified:
- 135 high-risk contracts totalling £15.3 billion taxpayers money warranting further investigation – that is, one in every three pounds spent on pandemic procurement.
- At least 28 contracts worth £4.1 billion went to those with known political connections to the Conservative party over that period
- 8 contracts worth £500 million went to suppliers that were no more than 100 days old
- £1 billion of the PPE was not fit for purpose
- 500 lorries worth of unusable PPE are burnt each month
The findings made clear that the Covid-19 pandemic created opportunities for corruption and an abuse of power, which cost billions to the public purse.
Some commentators suggested the unprecedented scale and speed of response coupled with the international competition for limited supplies of PPE meant errors were likely, some even say, errors were excusable. BUT, this belies two fundamental issues, the corruption persisted long after the emergency response ended, and the UK response was far less efficient and had more markers of corruption than PPE procurement response in Ukraine, Colombia and Uganda. No other country operated a ‘VIP lane’. It begs the question: Why was there no channel for raising concerns about these contracts – a COVID Procurement Whistleblower Hotline’ would have been relatively simple to set up?
It was recommended that a mechanism for early detection and investigation of corruption was whistleblower reporting, but that finding a single route for reporting public sector fraud was necessary as the existing routes were too complicated.
Above the panel speaking at the event was a screen in the corner of the room showing discussion of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase Two Report in the Commons. A poignant reminder of the horrific fire in which 72 people needlessly lost their lives on the 14th June 2017. The Grenfell Inquiry described a culture of ‘systemic dishonesty’ and ‘indifference’, where risks were not only ignored, but the dangers of the cladding were ‘deliberately concealed’.
A key question posed by Joe Powell MP for Kensington and Bayswater and Chair of the APPG and Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax: how do we prevent something like this happening again and how do we rebuild public trust in politicians? Scandals such as these demonstrate the need to listen to those who speak up about wrongdoing, to protect whistleblowers who bravely come forward and to adopt further transparency within the very heart of government. Restoring public trust will not come from words alone—it demands action, integrity, and the political will to confront corruption head-on.
