UK Wasted £10bn on Defective PPE During Covid, Inquiry Finds

The United Kingdom wasted almost £10 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic on protective equipment that was either defective, unsuitable or never used, according to the latest report from the official public inquiry. The staggering total amounts to nearly two-thirds of the country's entire spending on personal protective equipment (PPE) during the health crisis.

Stockpile Failures and Rushed Procurement

The report, the fifth to be published by the inquiry chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, found that inadequate pre-pandemic stockpiling, chaotic procurement and sub-standard equipment all contributed to the waste. Healthcare workers were left unable to adequately protect themselves or their patients from dangerous infections because of the failures.

In the rush to secure supplies, the government dramatically reduced the time available for due diligence — in some cases to as little as four hours — significantly increasing the risk of fraud. The inquiry estimated that approximately £256 million was lost to fraudulent PPE contracts.

VIP Lane Under Fire

One of the most controversial findings concerns the so-called VIP lane, a fast-track procurement process that prioritised offers from companies with political connections. The inquiry found this channel was misguided and unfair, undermining public confidence. Contracts awarded through the VIP lane were more expensive on average and had more performance problems than those awarded through normal routes.

However, Baroness Hallett's team found no evidence of cronyism or corruption by ministers or officials in awarding the contracts themselves — only systemic failures in how the process was designed and managed.

NHS Staff Left Exposed

The report painted a damning picture of frontline health workers who were forced to use ill-fitting masks, inadequate gowns and gloves that failed to meet required standards. This left nurses, doctors and care home workers dangerously exposed at the height of the pandemic, particularly in the first wave of infections in spring 2020.

The inquiry called for sweeping reforms to the UK's emergency procurement system to ensure such failures could never be repeated.