By Tony O’Riley-
News late yesterday that Michael Gove referred his personal friend, donor and beauty company owner David Meller to the government’s fast-track VIP lane for friends and donors of the Conservative Party to get PPE and Covid related contracts worth £164m is under intense scrutiny.
The Conservative party donor who supported Michael Gove’s Tory leadership bid won the jackpot sum of money in Covid contracts after the minister referred his firm to a “VIP lane” that awarded almost £5bn to companies with political connections.
The revelation raises questions of the potential wide spread gains and corruption that may have taken place from the move which should have gone through a bidding process.
The fact that only companies referred by the tory party won huge contracts leads to suspicions that those who recommended them could easily have been profiting heavily from those contracts once awarded. opening the door for politicians to gain, and potentially pursue multiple agendas because of it..
Meller Designs, based in Bedford, was awarded six personal protective equipment (PPE) supply contracts worth £164m from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) during the coronavirus pandemic.
When the contracts were awarded, Gove was a minister at the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for government procurement, and in charge of the office of the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster.
David Meller, who has donated nearly £60,000 to the Tory party since 200.
The company was among 47 awarded contracts for PPE totalling £4.7bn after referrals from politicians and officials, according to a Guardian analysis. Several were linked to MPs, all of them Conservative. Due to the health emergency, many contracts were awarded without competitive tender.
The list of 47 companies awarded contracts via the VIP lane was published by Politico on Tuesday before its official planned release by the DHSC after a freedom of information request by the Good Law Project, which is challenging the propriety of some contracts.
Labour has repeatedly accused the government of favouring people with Tory party connections in the awards of multimillion-pound contracts during the pandemic.
Only companies referred by Conservative politicians are on the list of those awarded contracts.
Former Helath Secretary, Matt Hancock, referred four firms subsequently awarded contracts; Andrew Feldman, a health department adviser at the time, referred three of the companies; Theodore Agnew, a Cabinet Office minister, referred three; and the Tory backbenchers Julian Lewis, Andrew Percy, Steve Brine and Esther McVey referred one each.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and the shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, described the whole affair from the tory party as corrupt
She said: “It shows just how engulfed in corruption this government is that the minister in charge of procurement and ensuring that contracts are awarded to the best bidder and represent value for money for the taxpayer was helping his own donor to get VIP fast-track access to contracts.
“It is time this … government published the full details of every PPE and testing contract awarded to companies with links to the Conservative party, Conservative ministers and Conservative MPs.”
Further analysis and probing over this matter will be undertaken by individuals determined to figure out any potential corruption linked to this revealtion.
A spokesperson for Gove said: “The former minister for the Cabinet Office played no role in the decision to award any PPE contract, and all ministerial interests were properly declared to officials,” they said.