The former chief secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, has admitted that the lack of time to scrutinise PPE contracts was a “source of frustration” during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, Mr Barclay, who held the Treasury role between 2020 and 2021, explained that the significant surge in spending on PPE contracts was driven by an urgent need to secure supplies amid global shortages.
The inquiry, which is currently examining government procurement practices, is focusing on how billions of pounds were spent on securing personal protective equipment (PPE)—some of which was later found to be defective or overpriced.
Pressure to approve contracts quickly
Mr Barclay described how, in the initial phase of the pandemic, the UK had “very little domestic supply” of PPE and was forced to compete on the global market with countries desperate for the same equipment. This, he explained, led to situations where the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), then led by Matt Hancock, would inform him of contracts about to be signed with little time for proper scrutiny.
“I was under pressure to expedite orders,” Mr Barclay said, adding that being told at short notice about multi-million-pound contracts was a “source of frustration”.
He was also questioned about an email from Lord Agnew, a Treasury minister at the time, in which Agnew described it as “ridiculous to ask me to approve a £1.25 billion programme in one day”.
Asked whether this was an exceptional case, Mr Barclay admitted that it “wasn’t as exceptional as it should be”, indicating that rushed approvals became commonplace.
Most of the spending on PPE contracts was incurred before June 2020, he said, when the government was still operating without clear data on demand. Proper demand modelling did not emerge until autumn 2020, meaning many contracts were signed without a full understanding of what would be needed.
High prices and value for money concerns
One of the most controversial aspects of the government’s PPE procurement was the inflated prices paid for supplies. Some reports suggested the UK had paid up to 14 times the pre-pandemic price for certain items.
Mr Barclay acknowledged these concerns, telling the inquiry:
“So was I comfortable as a chief secretary that the government was paying eight times, or at some point 14 times, the pre-pandemic price? Of course I wasn’t.”
However, he justified the spending by arguing that the priority at the time was to protect lives, even if that meant paying above-market rates.
“If the priority, which I agreed with, was to protect lives, then we needed to pay what the global market rate was at that time,” he explained.
Michelle mone’s application rejected again
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 Inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, has rejected a second attempt by Michelle Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, to gain core participant status in the inquiry.
The couple have come under intense scrutiny over VIP-lane contracts granted to some PPE suppliers, including PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Mr Barrowman that secured over £200 million in government contracts. Lady Mone had personally recommended the company to ministers.
Core participant status would have granted them access to key documents, the ability to suggest questions through their lawyers, and advance notice of the inquiry’s report. However, their application was rejected on the basis that it was submitted 468 days after the deadline.
Lady Hallett, in her decision, stated that allowing their late application would “lead to further diversion and cause significant disruption” to the inquiry’s timeline.
“The applications have caused a diversion of resources from the hearings at a critical juncture in proceedings,” she said.
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Lady Mone and Mr Barrowman had argued that they were among the most high-profile figures linked to alleged PPE procurement fraud, and that they were both facing legal action from the government. However, Lady Hallett dismissed their claim that the inquiry should have personally informed them about the PPE module, saying:
“The inquiry conducts its work in public and rightly expects those with a potential interest in it to follow the information which it posts on its website, which is available to all.”
Growing concerns over government accountability
The latest revelations have further fuelled public debate over government accountability during the pandemic. The rushed nature of PPE procurement, the VIP-lane scandal, and reports of billions wasted on substandard equipment have led to calls for greater transparency in government contracts.
As the inquiry continues, pressure is mounting on current and former ministers to explain how decisions were made and whether taxpayer money was spent appropriately.
With further evidence sessions scheduled in the coming weeks, more political fallout is expected as the government’s handling of PPE procurement comes under intensified scrutiny.
