UK
Over one million pallets of unusable Covid PPE worth £8 billion have been destroyed by the Government

Basit Mahmood 

18 November, 2024 

Left Foot Forward


In total, the Department of Health and Social Care has written off nearly £14.9 billion spent on unusable medical goods it procured during the pandemic.

The fallout from the Covid PPE scandal is continuing, as the true extent of the billions wasted by the former Tory government on unusable personal protective equipment comes to light.

The Tories were rocked by allegations of sleaze and corruption over PPE equipment when in office, after it emerged that a number of contracts worth millions of pounds were handed to friends and associates of Conservative ministers.

It was previously reported that around £1.4bn worth of PPE has been destroyed or written off in what is understood to be the most wasteful government deal of the pandemic.

Byline Times now reports that over a million pallets of unusable Covid PPE worth £8 billion have been destroyed by the Government. The site states: “In response to a Parliamentary question from Reform MP Rupert Lowe, Health Minister Karin Smith confirmed: “As of the end of September 2024, approximately 1,049,700 pallets, or 23%, of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been recycled through energy from waste and recycling. The original cost to purchase was £8.644 billion, and all stock categorised as excess has no residual market value”.

In total, the Department of Health and Social Care has written off nearly £14.9 billion spent on unusable medical goods it procured during the pandemic.

The Tory government was also previously criticised for setting up a VIP lane that prioritised offers to supply PPE from companies with links to the Tory party.

In 2022, the High Court ruled that the government’s operation of a “VIP lane” for suppliers of PPE equipment during the coronavirus pandemic was illegal.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward