[QUOTE=Rjk;5124641]It's obviously not a one-off but was a deliberate pattern. Very small companies with no track record in the sector suddenly being awarded multi-million pound contracts whilst traditional suppliers were being frozen out.
https://bylinetimes.com/2020/10/08/7...ackaging-firm/
https://www.cityam.com/government-fa...-control-firm/
What seems to be a common thread is these companies sourcing the PPE from China. It could be that this was the only realistic source for the bulk of the supplies required but direct contracting was politically unacceptable. Crikey there are people on here that won't buy a chinese takeaway in Cardiff because they blame "them" for the crisis who will no doubt be viewing this approach with utter horror.
What else is clear is that the intermediaries in these companies will have made massive profits for seemingly little effort. It will be interesting to see how Government met the intermediaries and how the intermediaries met the Chinese, some of which may come out if the National Audit Office is ever allowed to perform its statutory role.