15 December 2020
With a number of shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers having turned out to defective or inadequate, the UK's intelligence agencies are now vetting companies bidding for the contracts, according to a report in The Telegraph. The paper cites evidence given to parliament's Public Account Committee by Alex Chisholm, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office, who said that company names "are now being run through intelligence databases to guard against fraudsters." The government has been accused of cronyism on numerous occasions, with contracts being awarded to companies with no relevant experience in supplying PPE - and in some cases with no apparent experience of anything, having been set up just days or weeks before receiving government funds.
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
Source: PPE suppliers now being vetted by UK's intelligence agencies (The Telegraph, 14 December 2020, link)
Four Greek officials charged with assaulting migrants
Greece: Refugees in 'Moria 2' camp face appalling conditions
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.