Getty ImagesJim ReedHealth reporter14 July 2026The lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), with almost £10bn of taxpayers’ money wasted in a scramble to buy more, the Covid inquiry has said.The chair Baroness Hallett criticised the “vast” waste in procurement, put at £9.9bn – two-thirds of the £14.9bn the government spent on PPE.The UK entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a perilous state and was unprepared for the global race to secure supplies, she added.She described the controversial VIP lane, which prioritised PPE offers from those with political connections, as a misguided policy that should not be repeated.But she said there was “no evidence of cronyism or corruption” by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts.When the cost of home testing kits and other equipment, such as ventilators, was included, the total amount spent by the government between January 2020 and June 2022 exceeded £42bn, the inquiry found.The UK’s emergency stockpile of PPE, meant to last at least 15 weeks before being replenished, was running out by the end of March 2020 as demand from hospitals soared.Only a third of the masks in England’s pandemic stockpile were usable, the inquiry found, while Scotland had no supplies of high-grade respiratory masks used in hospitals.At the time, care homes, GP surgeries and pharmacies were all expected to source their own PPE, something the report described as a “major failure in planning”.Covid inquiry PPE report – key findings17 hours agoWhat is the UK Covid inquiry and how does it work?16 AprilCovid inquiry turns to PPE deals and the ‘VIP lane’3 March 2025Covid inquiry rejects last-minute bid from Michelle Mone3 March 2025In total the UK government was forced to write off £9.9bn worth of PPE that was either unused or out of date, as well as £157m for unused healthcare equipment. The “ventilator challenge” programme, where suppliers were asked to develop breathing equipment at short notice, led to another £143m charge for designs that never made it into production. In Scotland approximately £8mn of healthcare equipment, including PPE and testing kits, was written off. In Wales £18m was spent on unused PPE and in Northern Ireland £43m of masks, gowns and gloves were at risk of expiry before they could be used.The inquiry said that, although it was better to have purchased too much PPE in a pandemic than too little, it would “clearly have been better if supply had been calibrated more closely with demand”. “Better planning would have resulted in fairer, faster and less costly procurement decisions,” the report concluded.Government contingency plans had “never been stress tested” and officials and ministers were “forced to improvise, establishing new emergency procurement and distribution systems within days”.VIP lane failuresIn England, a so-called “VIP lane” – officially known as the high priority lane – was set up in the pandemic to award government PPE contracts.Introduced in April 2020, the idea was to treat offers to supply PPE with greater urgency if they came with a recommendation from ministers, MPs, members of the House of Lords, or other senior officials.At the time, the government said there was a “desperate need” to protect health and social care staff, and argued swift action was required to secure healthcare equipment.The inquiry criticised that policy as a “misguided attempt at prioritisation” that “embedded unfairness in emergency procurement”.Some suppliers received favourable treatment because they had connections to the then Conservative government which “undermined trust at a moment when it needed it most”.”The high priority lane should not have been established and must not be repeated,” the report concluded.But Baroness Hallett said she had not identified cronyism or corruption on the part of ministers and officials when PPE contracts were finally awarded.Responding on the social media site X, former cabinet office minister Michael Gove described allegations of corruption as “unfounded nonsense” but said he took full responsibility f …
