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The Cabinet Office appears to have misled the public after claiming that ministers “had no involvement” in awarding a firm a mega-contract for PPE during the pandemic, evidence presented during the Covid Inquiry has revealed.
The campaign group Good Law Project revealed last year that then-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (CDL) Michael Gove had “opened the door to the biggest VIP lane firm” during the Covid pandemic.
Out of the 51 declared recipients of personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts issued under the UK Government’s unlawful VIP lane, Unispace Global Ltd were awarded the most lucrative, estimated at a staggering £679 million. The Covid VIP lane saw firms with political contacts ‘fast tracked’ to supply PPE, often at hugely inflated prices.
As CDL, Michael Gove was in charge of the Cabinet Office overseeing the pandemic response (he is now editor of The Spectator magazine).
Conservative Peer Lord Feldman Helped ‘Good Friend’ of Michael Gove Win VIP PPE Deal
Documents released by the Covid Inquiry reveal a network of connections between senior ministers, advisers and those handed lucrative Covid contracts
Details of how the firm – which had no track record in supplying PPE to the NHS – was awarded the lucrative deals were uncovered by the Good Law Project following a six-month freedom of information battle with the Cabinet Office.
In a previously unpublished email signed by the Unispace’s “Founder”, the company contacted Gove on 24 March 2020, thanking him for his “time spent with us on the phone earlier”. Unispace was offering to sell PPE as well as hospital beds, ventilators and other supplies.
The email to the former minister finished by saying they are “praying fervently for all men and for you and the Conservative Party at this difficult time”.
Gove’s office referred the offer on to the office of former Secretary of State Matt Hancock – and just 20 days after Gove’s referral, on 20 April 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care handed the company an initial contract, valued at £239 million to provide coveralls – a deal that was signed without any formal competition.
However, despite the email evidence published by Good Law Project, the Cabinet Office still denied Gove was involved in the VIP referral, claiming: “Ministers had no involvement in these procurement decisions.”
Documents published by the Covid Inquiry reveal this statement to be incorrect.
Last week, the Inquiry heard from Darren Blackburn, a senior Civil Servant working in the Cabinet Office during its drive to procure PPE. Mr Blackburn’s Witness Statement revealed interesting new details regarding the Unipace PPE deals.
In an email exchange with another Civil Servant on the 16 April 2020, just four days prior to Unispace securing its first PPE contract, Blackburn notes in his witness statement:
“At 0930 on 16 April 2020, I replied to Ed asking whether Unispace [was] an existing supplier, and why the Unispace offers kept coming to him. Ed replied that the Company (Unispace) came through Michael Gove, but he had no idea how that had happened.”
The statement provided by Darren Blackburn directly contradicts the Cabinet Office’s position that Gove was not involved.
It comes after Byline Times revealed that Michael Gove told officials to buy 10,000 Ventilators from vacuum manufacturer Dyson during the pandemic in what was called an ‘affront’ to procurement rules.
Evidence published by the Covid Inquiry revealed that the Conservative Minister was “insistent that an order” was placed with leading Brexiter Sir James Dyson’s firm.
The Cabinet Office and Unispace have been approached for comment.
