The UK Covid-19 Inquiry published its fifth report on 14 July 2026, concluding that Boris Johnson's government wasted public money on a 'vast' scale through flawed procurement of personal protective equipment during the pandemic. Of the £14.9 billion spent on PPE for healthcare workers, almost two-thirds — nearly £10 billion — was squandered on equipment that was either defective or remained unused. Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett said 'the waste of taxpayers' money was vast' and that failures in procurement had undermined public confidence.
Hallett's report was sharply critical of the government's 'High Priority Lane', which gave priority access to PPE contracts for companies with political connections to the Conservative Party. Contracts awarded through that channel tended to be more expensive than those processed through the standard route. The procurement system received 25,000 offers over 15 weeks — including 300 offers a day at some points — after Boris Johnson and then-health secretary Matt Hancock issued a 'call to arms' for PPE supplies in April 2020. The inquiry found that the pace of procurement reduced the time available for due diligence to as little as four hours in some cases, increasing the risk of fraud. The government subsequently estimated that £256 million was lost to fraud relating to PPE procurement.
Despite the scale of the failures, the report stated there was 'no evidence of cronyism or corruption' by ministers or officials in the awarding of contracts [Source: Irish Examiner]. The inquiry also found that only a third of the masks in England's pre-pandemic stockpile were usable, and that Scotland held no supplies of the top-level FFP3 masks required by healthcare professionals. The BBC reported that PPE failures left NHS staff unable to properly protect themselves or those in their care from dangerous infections.
Module 5 examined how the UK procured and distributed key healthcare equipment and supplies across all four nations, including PPE, ventilators, oxygen, and lateral flow and PCR tests. Public hearings took place from 3 to 27 March 2025. The report issued 11 recommendations, including improving the management and inspection of pandemic stockpiles, training officials in emergency procurement, and strengthening transparency and governance. Governments across all four nations will be asked to publish their responses within six months of the report's publication.
One chapter of the Module 5 report, relating to PPE Medpro, has not been published due to a Restriction Order granted by the chair to protect current or future criminal investigations [Source: UK Covid-19 Inquiry]. PPE Medpro, linked to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone through her husband Doug Barrowman, has been subject to a National Crime Agency criminal investigation since 2021. The company was ordered by the High Court to repay £148 million to the government after it was found to have breached a contract to supply millions of surgical gowns during the pandemic. Both Mone and Barrowman have denied any wrongdoing. The inquiry's Module 6 report, examining the care sector, is expected in autumn 2026.
Sources: The Guardian, Bloomberg, BBC News, LBC, Irish Examiner, UK Covid-19 Inquiry