A company that bungled a £250m contract for protective equipment from the government has seen its profits increase by more than 2,600%. 1
Ayanda Capital won the deal last year, after it was brokered by the company’s senior adviser, Andrew Mills, who was also an adviser for the government’s Board of Trade, chaired by Liz Truss, at the time.
The company’s PPE contract was one of several to be criticised by the National Audit Office last year, which said deals were handed out without proper oversight.
It said that firms with political connections were directed to a ‘high-priority’ channel, where bids were ten times more likely to be successful.
The Government has admitted that the 50 million FFP2 masks they purchased from Ayanda Capital – for a price that we calculate to be between £156m and £177m – “will not be used in the NHS” because “there was concern as to whether the[y]… provided an adequate fixing.” 2
So, unless Government finds another use for, or seeks to sell, those unsuitable masks, that money has been wasted. And as for the remaining 150 million Type IIR masks purchased from Ayanda Capital? Government has admitted they also require further testing and have not been released for use in the NHS.
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Read the full article here:
https://goodlawproject.org/update/ppe-masks-not-fit-for-purpose/