Another £6BILLION of PPE and Covid tests down the drain: Critics slam £14.9bn of waste

Hedge fund’s masks ‘not tight enough’

Ayanda – £253m

Around 50million FFP2 masks produced by Ayanda, which won deals worth £253million, were not ultimately distributed as they had ear-loops rather than head-loops, meaning they were unlikely to fit tightly enough. 

The company said it delivered according to its contract.

Miami jeweller’s gowns had to be suspended

Saiger LLC – £70m

The use of ten million gowns, imported via Miami-based jewellery designer Michael Saiger, was suspended because officials put the wrong packaging specifications on the contract.

Pest firm’s aprons were the ‘wrong size’

Pestfix – £350m

Officials are locked in a legal battle with Pestfix, a pest control company based in West Sussex, after a batch of tight-fitting FFP3 masks failed quality tests and six million aprons were rejected for use by the NHS because they were the wrong size. 

The company delivered its batch of IIR masks, two million gloves and other products to the contracted standard.

The wasted RAF flight

Selegna – value unknown

At the height of the pandemic an RAF flight was sent to pick up a shipment of 400,000 Turkish gowns, supplied by Selegna, which turned out to be useless.

Baroness Bra in sleaze accusations

PPE Medpro – £203m

Tory peer Michelle Mone has been accused of using her position to help PPE Medpro win a £203million contract, despite her and her billionaire husband having close links to the company.

Case of PPE resold for £5

Clandeboye Agencies – £107.5m

A box of 250 items of PPE produced by Clandeboye Agencies, a sweet wholesaler based in Northern Ireland, cost the taxpayer £1,000 but was resold in an online auction for just £5. 

Clandeboye insisted it delivered what was ordered at a competitive price.

The million-mask recall

Polyco Healthline – £56m

A million masks supplied by Polyco Healthline for intensive care wards had to be recalled because they did meet safety standards. 

Polyco said the product ‘narrowly failed’ because tests were only conducted on men.

Hancock’s boost for furniture maker

Monarch Acoustics – £29m

Matt Hancock, then health secretary, made a series of recommendations to the ‘VIP lane’ for purchasing contracts including Monarch Acoustics, a furniture manufacturer. 

The firm had just £41,000 in the bank before the pandemic, but its £29million PPE contract helped it increase profits by 4,700 per cent. 

There are understood to have been no concerns raised about the quality of the products. 

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