Almost £1BILLION of British taxpayers’ cash has been spent on coronavirus PPE from China – including form Wuhan
- The Government signed almost 90 contracts worth £900million with China
- Subsequent contracts are set to send that figure soaring to a cool £1billion
- Gowns, gloves and aprons were bought from the Communist superpower
- Life-saving ventilators acquired from Wuhan itself, where Covid-19 originated
- Critics have slammed the figure which came as China faces increased scrutiny
Taxpayers have forked out nearly £1billion on Chinese PPE supplies – including some ventilators from Wuhan.
The Government signed almost 90 contracts worth £900million with China as ministers scrambled to adapt to the lightning-fast spread of the virus earlier this year, analysis has revealed.
Subsequent contracts – which are yet to be made public – are set to send that figure soaring to a cool £1billion.
Gowns, gloves and aprons were bought from the Communist superpower – with some life-saving ventilators acquired from Wuhan itself, where Covid-19 is believed to have originated.
Taxpayers have forked out nearly £1billion on Chinese PPE supplies – including some ventilators from Wuhan (file image. It is not known where the equipment pictured came from)
A further 413 people have died after testing positive for the virus, official figures released yesterday revealed, bringing the UK’s total death toll during the pandemic to 48,888
The UK confirmed a further 24,957 positive Covid tests, up just 13.9 per cent on last week’s total, yesterday
Critics have slammed the enormous figure which came as China is facing increased scrutiny for its role in controlling the disease.
Two deals with Shenzen and Beijing – worth £92million and nearly £100million – were the largest PPE deals.
Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation – which treated Boris Johnson for Covid-19 back in April – bought £30million-worth of ventilators, eye shield, reusable respirators and gloves and have connections with a company in Beijing.
Craig Tiedman – of the foreign policy think tank the Henry Jackson Society – told The Sun: ‘Given China’s role in the mass outbreak of this disease, many taxpayers will feel it to be a rum deal that Chinese firms stand to benefit to the tune of millions in Government contracts.
‘This reliance on China for crucial medical supplies at a time in which it is throwing its weight around on the global stage poses an obvious security risk.
The Government signed almost 90 contracts worth £900million with China as ministers scrambled to adapt to the lightning-fast spread of the virus earlier this year, analysis has revealed (file image. It is not known where the equipment pictured came from)
‘We desperately need a new supply chain strategy on critical goods like PPE.’
In August, it was revealed that government departments have spent more than £6.5billion of taxpayers money on emergency contracts for outside help – many to private firms – during the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 1,200 deals have been done, often without tendering.
The figures were laid bare in analysis of government procurement by Tussell, a database of government contracts and spending.
They covered a vast swathe of sectors and requirements for everything from emergency Nightingale hospitals and ventilators to free school vouchers and food delivery boxes for those shielding.
The analysis showed 1,262 contracts were handed out, worth a total of £6.61billion. Some £2.6billion of contracts were handed out in June alone.
Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation – which treated Boris Johnson (pictured) for Covid-19 back in April – bought £30million-worth of ventilators, eye shield, reusable respirators and gloves and have connections with a company in Beijing
The Department of Health, as the lead department in the crisis, has so far spent £3.6billion on 334 contracts.
The overall largest contract was handed out by the Office For National Statistics (ONS), which is paying £750million on its Covid -19 Infection Survey (CIS), which provides data on how the pandemic is affecting the country.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We have done everything we can to build robust and resilient supply chains from scratch and thanks to a phenomenal effort from UK businesses, almost three quarters of demand for PPE will soon be met by UK manufacturers.
‘We have delivered more than 4.4 billion items of PPE so far and have 32 billion items ordered to provide a continuous supply to keep frontline workers safe for months to come.’