More than 30 senior Conservatives named in Covid PPE 'VIP lane' records

newsOct 31, 202612569

Democracy for Sale has published government records naming more than 30 senior Conservative figures who referred companies into the Covid PPE ‘VIP lane’ in 2020 after a five-year legal fight. The documents list hundreds of firms and identify the politicians, ministers and senior officials who recommended them; eight members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet appear, including Dominic Raab, Robert Buckland, Simon Hart and Robert Jenrick, the last recorded as a ‘possible’ referrer. The National Audit Office found companies sent via the VIP lane were about ten times more likely to win contracts, and around £1 billion of the £1.7 billion spent on VIP suppliers was later judged unusable. The records name Sarah Ferguson and banking group Santander among referrers; Matt Hancock is recorded against 27 companies, Lord Feldman against 21 and Lord Agnew against 14, while Michael Gove’s referrals include Meller Designs which received £164 million in Covid contracts. The Cabinet Office says it cannot fully verify the reconstructed referral data and some entries are marked ‘possible’. The disclosure follows a February 2025 tribunal order to name unsuccessful suppliers and an Information Commissioner’s ruling last month that referrers must be disclosed; the published records now allow journalists, MPs and investigators to match referrals to procurement outcomes.

Peter Geoghegan

@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

🔴 EXCLUSIVE: After a *five-year* legal battle, Democracy for Sale has forced the government to reveal who referred firms to lucrative Covid PPE ‘VIP lane’ for 'politically connected' 30+ senior Tories are named, plus ex Duchess of York, and many more 🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m...

5143h ago

Peter Geoghegan79

Democracy for Sale's @jennacorderoy.bsky.social first asked for all names of VIP Lane firms and politicians who referred them in 2021 The government refused. It took years of appeals, a tribunal ruling and an intervention from the Information Commissioner - but now we have them. So what's there?

John Conmy25

Whatever happened to the Covid Corruption Commissioner?

spursj69.bsky.social16

Still awaiting ⚖ on this ghoul

Michael15

Amazing that the greedy and immoral see the opportunity to line their pockets in such times. These really were, and are, not the sort of people that we need governing us.

Olly Gark12

This was the most blatant financial corruption that occurred in the UK in my lifetime.

Maria11

I'm sure making these parasites pay would fill more of the financial hole than cutting the benefits of those who already have to decide whether to heat or eat.

Quoting this

Esther20

And still the greater scandal goes unreported. Why isn’t the press talking about the Covid inquiry evidence which showed they knew it was airborne from day 1 and they still today have incorrect guidance in place. This VIP lane is important but a distraction. 🧵

The Crusader Project14

On the same day as we are being told that the government is throwing migrants under the bus, this comes out. Labour has been in power for over two years. Where are the prosecutions? Where is the recovery. Too focused on being racist and pandering to fascists, that’s what’s going on.

Paul Blinkhorn10

The BBC News website doesn't seem to have got round to reporting this yet, but to be fair, there is a lot of big breaking stories on the front page such as *checks notes* 4 pieces on "Celebrity Traitors". I'm sure they'll get round to reporting on this very soon. Any... minute... now...

Maggie Duarte #fbpe7

This needs spreading far and wide. The opportunist, corrupt, self-serving grifters have so far escaped any justice, how?

Paul 🏳️‍🌈 🇪🇺5

Every penny should be paid back from those who profited. Every penny

Patrick Galey4

Genuinely one of the largest criminal corruption scandals of our times. 10s of thousands of deaths are on their hands. Why is every single one of these scumbags not in jail?

mohope.bsky.social4

This is big. So much swept under the carpet. Tories up the their eyeballs in sleeze. Free to read.

Irritated Llama4

The private sector should never have been within a million miles of the pandemic response.

Helen #FBPE #NHS #ClimateCrisis 🇪🇺🇬🇧🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈💙3

Then it’s time they were investigated, prosecuted where necessary & moneys awarded (plus interest) clawed back!!😡

Sally Rose3

Now jail every one of them.

Glyn Moody

@glynmoody.bsky.social

More than 30 senior Tories named in new #Covid #PPE ‘VIP lane’ records - democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m... "Full details of ‘politically connected’ fast track lane for lucrative PPE contracts released after Democracy for Sale reporter's five-year legal battle."

344h ago

Simon Dalling 🇪🇺🇺🇦6

“Labour MP Lloyd Hatton told us that while referring a company is not improper in itself, “I am shocked that Conservative politicians referred 119 contracts - and 25 then went on to receive taxpayers’ money, most of which was wasted.” Well l’m not

Muddled mind5

People should go to jail over this

𝓔𝔁𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓭𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓾𝓰𝔀𝓾𝓶𝓹2

"Justice must be seen to be done". I'm not seeing any justice being done here. And why is Michelle Mine still free, along with her tax-scammer husband Doug Barrowman and two hundred million in taxpayer cash?

Quoting this

Fionna O’Leary33

Conservative politicians referred 119 contracts - and 25 then went on to receive taxpayers’ money, most of which was wasted.

Codfather #FBPE 🇫🇷🇪🇺25

No, I'm so surprised that the Tories were up to no good. They never deserve to govern again.

Spooky Cat Herder10

The Tories used the pandemic for a heist and robbed the Treasury. These shameless, soulless husks let the bodies pile up to get minted on stolen cash. When will they face justice.

Patrick Robey5

Disgusting. Pigs with their snouts in the trough, profiteering from the misery of others.

Tony

@tonynicol3.bsky.social

Appalling that it has taken five years for public interest information like this to finally be released, and the Cabinet Office continued resisting under Starmer. Revealed: More than 30 senior Tories named in new Covid PPE ‘VIP lane’ records democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m...

134h ago

Diane Messias

@comedywriter.bsky.social

🧵 * Dominic Raab recommended a Cambridgeshire toy maker who had only a single employee at the start of the pandemic * Sarah Ferguson referred Biz Trading Ltd, a small London-based pharmaceutical company that was dissolved in 2022 #CovidPPE 1/

42h ago

Martin Hughes

@martinhughes8.bsky.social

More than 30 senior Conservatives named in newly released records of companies referred to its government’s controversial Covid PPE ‘VIP lane’ back in 2020, after five-year fight by Democracy for Sale to force the government to divulge the information. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m...

3h ago

The Crusader Project

@crusaderproject.bsky.social

Streeting’s ministry used our money to pay for lawyers to prevent the disclosure of who was referred to the VIP fast lane in the most blatant procurement scandal of recent British history. Three years AFTER this procurement mechanism had been deemed unlawful. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

32h ago

Steve Hughes 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 - Remember better? #RejoinEU

@steven-hughes.bsky.social

Pandemic. Who should refer companies to a procurement VIP lane? 1) Doctors? Industry experts? 2) Lingerie company owners and billionaires? 3) Any Tory who fancied a kickback? 59% was unsuitable for use. (compared to 17% on standard procurement) Profiteering that cost lives? #UKPol

12h ago

ᏕᎥᎷᎧᏁ ᎶᎥᏰᏕᎧᏁ

@kompani101.bsky.social

You can't get more morally decrepit than scamming your country or profiteering during a pandemic but that's what these disgusting people did. They must be severely punished and money seized.

3h ago

ruralman

@ruralman.bsky.social

The Daily Fail working overtime to reveal benefit cheats, more power to the paper, now lets seem them working just as hard to get the covid ppe cheats who got away with millions or even billions before the courts, the money returned could benefit the nation as a whole, good idea?

3h ago

Simon Henry Farr-Scott

@simonhscotty.bsky.social

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m... We need justice to be seen to be done here of illegality has occurred.

1h ago

Robert Beard

@arjay61.bsky.social

"Among those named are... Sarah Ferguson and the banking giant Santander... then foreign secretary Dominic Raab, justice secretary Robert Buckland, Welsh secretary Simon Hart, and housing secretary Robert Jenrick..." democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-m...

4h ago

Jack London

@jacklondonbluesky.bsky.social

Corruption in the Tories is rewarded with a high-paid newspaper column - not prison in Bangladesh Or - you merely do not attend the House of Lords londondaily.com/lords-watchd...

16h ago

2 sources

theguardian.comUse of ‘VIP lane’ to award Covid PPE contracts unlawful, high court rules democracyforsale.substack.comRevealed: More than 30 senior Tories named in new Covid PPE ‘VIP lane’ records

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More than 30 senior Conservatives named in Covid PPE 'VIP lane' records

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