135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags—warning indications of a potential for corruption—were discovered by Transparency International UK.
Twenty-eight contracts totaling £4.1 billion were awarded to businesses with political ties, while 51 contracts totaling £4 billion passed through a “VIP lane” for businesses that MPs and peers suggested; the High Court declared that this conduct was illegal.
“Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separate,” a Conservative official stated.
Transparency International UK looked for warning signs in 5,000 contracts.
The nonprofit added that its investigation also showed that nearly two-thirds of the expensive contracts—worth a total of £30.7 billion—that were given out to supply goods like masks and protective medical equipment during the pandemic were given out without any competition.
Eight further contracts totaling £500 million were awarded to vendors who were no older than 100 days—an additional clue to possible misconduct.
During the epidemic, standard measures intended to prevent corruption in the government contract bidding process were discontinued.
At the time, the administration under Boris Johnson defended this by emphasizing the necessity of expediting the bidding procedure in order to speed up the delivery of urgently needed supplies, namely personal protective equipment (PPE).
