Thread by @allthecitizens

BREAKING: Almost two thirds of known VIP Covid-19 contracts awarded through a VIP fast-track service came via the offices of Tory ministers. THREAD.

As @goodlawproject has revealed, a special VIP procurement channel was set up for Covid 19 contracts. @allthecitizens have explored the dedicated Cabinet Office email address to which VIP and invited companies could pitch for contracts.

The existence of this email was “publicised across the PPE procurement programme and to relevant private offices across government and Parliament”.

In total, 493 supplier emails were forwarded or sent to this mailbox. Of these, only 250 leads were recorded by the National Audit Office (NAO). In total, at least 47 VIP companies were awarded contracts through this process.

nao.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

58% - 144 of 250 - of supplier emails came from the private offices of government ministers.

These included referrals from MPs who had gone to ministers with a possible manufacturer in their constituency, and from private individuals who had written to the ministers.

A quarter (26%) - 64 - were recommendations from MPs or members of the House of Lords. 21 were from officials, such as DIT & private office of Permanent Secretary for Health & Social Care. 3 were from other sources.

Roughly one in ten suppliers processed through the fast track channel (47 of 493) won contracts, compared with less than 1 in 100 through ordinary channels.

thelondoneconomic.com/politics/torie…

The NAO said both used the same 8-stage process to assess orders. It’s not known if these steps were followed.

Companies like Ayanda Capital and Public First were guided through the VIP process and their emails passed “to the ‘High Procurement appraisals team”.

goodlawproject.org/news/special-p…

Ayanda Capital then won a contract for £252 million, supplying 50 million face masks to the NHS there were never used. Ayanda Capital had political connections at the highest level.

Andrew Mills - an adviser to the Board of Trade chaired by Liz Truss - is listed on LinkedIn as a Senior Board Adviser to Ayanda Capital since March.

ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NO…

We do not know if Liz Truss forwarded the Ayanda Capital bidding email from her office. But if it were, it raises serious questions to be answered by Minister Truss about potential conflicts of interest.

PR company Public First also won a VIP contract for £840,000 for researching public opinion on govt policies; the arrangement was reached informally, and the contract published retroactively. The NAO found a lack of documentation on the whole process.

Public First is run by James Frayne, a close associate of Dominic Cummings, and Rachel Wolfe, former advisor to Michael Gove. Wolfe co-wrote the Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto.

opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-…

Under emergency procedures, a public body can award contracts without tendering, but some focus group work by Public First was declared to be in relation to ‘EU Exit Comms’ not the pandemic response. They later denied doing this.

gov.uk/government/pub…

The “extreme urgency” of the pandemic permits contracts without tendering, but NAO found for Public First “no documentation on the consideration of conflicts of interest, no recorded process for choosing the supplier, and no specific justification for using emergency procurement”

Similarly, Topham Guerin, a media company, was contacted by the Cabinet Office to work on Covid-19 messaging, and offered £1.5 million (they got £3 million in total) for work. Like Public First, this direct contract was not put to tender and had little supporting documentation.

Topham Guerin were responsible for renaming the Conservative party Twitter account “factcheckUK” and setting up a website presented as Labour’s manifesto. The company have also worked extensively Tory strategist Lynton Crosby.

theguardian.com/politics/2020/…

Three companies, at least, ushered through a VIP service, winning lucrative contracts without documentation, despite major concerns over conflicts of interest. Is this nepotism at work? This government isn’t talking.

newsopener.com/uk/the-18bn-co…

Did this concern you? Are you willing to help @allthecitizens reveal more concerning Covid-19 contracts lacking in due diligence and oversight? If so, please see the thread below to find out how you can help contribute and hold those in power to account:

https://twitter.com/allthecitizens/status/1319601008457154565?s=20