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Covid corruption
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"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others." But it'll be Labour’s fault for not turning the country around in 2.5 seconds. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others." I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others." I think Thatcher was the queen of selling off the family silver to offer tax cuts to her supporters. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? " The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce! | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce!" Why did the government need to fast track if the companies and processes were in place. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? " Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still." What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce! Why did the government need to fast track if the companies and processes were in place." They didn’t! That is the point. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce! Why did the government need to fast track if the companies and processes were in place. They didn’t! That is the point. " This is going to sound like a stupid question… why did they go down the vip and fast track route, and why were they trying to get PPE from outside the uk from places like Turkey | |||
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"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? " Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce! Why did the government need to fast track if the companies and processes were in place. They didn’t! That is the point. This is going to sound like a stupid question… why did they go down the vip and fast track route, and why were they trying to get PPE from outside the uk from places like Turkey " I’ve answered in your reply to Johnny. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. " You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track?" I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? " Greed??? Mrs x | |||
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"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? " ££££££££££££ | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. " This  Mrs x | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it!" The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. " Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? " The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. " How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! " How many referrals were made altogether and how many accepted. | |||
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"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! How many referrals were made altogether and how many accepted. " We can go around this all day long! 1 in 10 applications via the VIP Lane were awarded. All Tory connected. 1 in 100 via normal routes. Companies with specialist knowledge and experience based in the UK (paying UK taxes) with established trading history were ignored when they approached govt. Companies with no experience or in some cases no trading history at all that came via the VIP Lane were successful. Some of which were registered overseas in tax havens. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, looks like a duck, it is probably a duck | |||
"I am going to take a slightly different angle - the idea that we had/have a viable large scale procurement capability is just not true. If anyone has ever had to go through a procurement process for a governmental or large organisation will tell you that they are not fit for purpose. The costs and timescales that many systems have taken over multiple decades - both in this country and elsewhere - are eye watering. Large corporates are as bad as government here. The idea of of a centralised procurment capability is a great one in theory but it fails to deliver in practice. When it is put under immense time pressure, like during COVID, then I am amazed that anyone else is amazed it didn’t work." The Crown Commercial Service recommended several ways to relax the procurement process to speed up securing PPE and other medical supplies. It was rejected in favour of setting up the VIP Lane with resources redirected to managing that with a JFDI instruction. The VIP Lane only entertained applications/tenders from companies with Tory connections. If the issue was speed of procurement and delivery then the VIP Lane did not need to be politicised. It was a national emergency, why care where the referral came from? | |||
"I am going to take a slightly different angle - the idea that we had/have a viable large scale procurement capability is just not true. If anyone has ever had to go through a procurement process for a governmental or large organisation will tell you that they are not fit for purpose. The costs and timescales that many systems have taken over multiple decades - both in this country and elsewhere - are eye watering. Large corporates are as bad as government here. The idea of of a centralised procurment capability is a great one in theory but it fails to deliver in practice. When it is put under immense time pressure, like during COVID, then I am amazed that anyone else is amazed it didn’t work. The Crown Commercial Service recommended several ways to relax the procurement process to speed up securing PPE and other medical supplies. It was rejected in favour of setting up the VIP Lane with resources redirected to managing that with a JFDI instruction. The VIP Lane only entertained applications/tenders from companies with Tory connections. If the issue was speed of procurement and delivery then the VIP Lane did not need to be politicised. It was a national emergency, why care where the referral came from?" I agree entirely with you about the source of the referral. I am not denying the issue about abuse. My point is deeper in that the fundamental purchasing approach is broken and has been for decades. If ways to speed up the process were found so quickly then my question would be why were they not being used anyway? | |||
"I am going to take a slightly different angle - the idea that we had/have a viable large scale procurement capability is just not true. If anyone has ever had to go through a procurement process for a governmental or large organisation will tell you that they are not fit for purpose. The costs and timescales that many systems have taken over multiple decades - both in this country and elsewhere - are eye watering. Large corporates are as bad as government here. The idea of of a centralised procurment capability is a great one in theory but it fails to deliver in practice. When it is put under immense time pressure, like during COVID, then I am amazed that anyone else is amazed it didn’t work. The Crown Commercial Service recommended several ways to relax the procurement process to speed up securing PPE and other medical supplies. It was rejected in favour of setting up the VIP Lane with resources redirected to managing that with a JFDI instruction. The VIP Lane only entertained applications/tenders from companies with Tory connections. If the issue was speed of procurement and delivery then the VIP Lane did not need to be politicised. It was a national emergency, why care where the referral came from? I agree entirely with you about the source of the referral. I am not denying the issue about abuse. My point is deeper in that the fundamental purchasing approach is broken and has been for decades. If ways to speed up the process were found so quickly then my question would be why were they not being used anyway?" Ok agreed but raising that could be construed as excusing what happened. It doesn’t! There were ways to expedite but instead that was ignored. Why? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! How many referrals were made altogether and how many accepted. We can go around this all day long! 1 in 10 applications via the VIP Lane were awarded. All Tory connected. 1 in 100 via normal routes. Companies with specialist knowledge and experience based in the UK (paying UK taxes) with established trading history were ignored when they approached govt. Companies with no experience or in some cases no trading history at all that came via the VIP Lane were successful. Some of which were registered overseas in tax havens. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, looks like a duck, it is probably a duck "If what you say is correct it will not take long to prosecute corruption. I don't think you will be happy with that, because you are coming across as everything was corrupt, which will not be the outcome in the majority of cases I would hope. | |||
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"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! How many referrals were made altogether and how many accepted. We can go around this all day long! 1 in 10 applications via the VIP Lane were awarded. All Tory connected. 1 in 100 via normal routes. Companies with specialist knowledge and experience based in the UK (paying UK taxes) with established trading history were ignored when they approached govt. Companies with no experience or in some cases no trading history at all that came via the VIP Lane were successful. Some of which were registered overseas in tax havens. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, looks like a duck, it is probably a duck
If what you say is correct it will not take long to prosecute corruption. I don't think you will be happy with that, because you are coming across as everything was corrupt, which will not be the outcome in the majority of cases I would hope. "That is how you are choosing to interpret. Of course there were good contracts amongst the crap. I have very little faith anything will really happen as a result of the Inquiry. Does it ever? | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Here comes the “it was a national emergency/needed to act fast” excuse which is actually a spurious defence. IF and I do mean IF the existing supplier frameworks could not meet govt demands (it could, many suppliers were not even asked and many put in offers and were not responded to), then why WHY was the VIP Lane ONLY open to Tory party MPs, Ministers, Peers? If it was in the national interest, why not open up to anyone with good contacts? They were cashing in (with our money). It was disaster economics in full swing. You’ve assumed incorrectly. We both know the answer, why did government need to fast track? I haven’t! Why are you so cryptic these days. If you have a specific point to make then make it! The story of VIP and fast track is not one dimensional, you know as well as I do that there was no national inventory and no sharing of data between NHS regions or even practices within those regions, this led to confusion and the creation of VIP and fast tracking. The shambles that followed needs to be understood and corruption, that is real corruption not I think it is dodgy, be prosecuted and dealt with in court. Not quite! A) The DHSC did/does have procurement frameworks with pre-vetted specialist suppliers. Inventory is a separate issue to supply. B) It still doesn’t answer why the VIP Lane was only open to those with connections to the Tory party. If the priority during a national emergency was to quickly secure essential items, then why was access politicised? The VIP lane wasn't only open to tory party mp's or ministers. The selections were mostly from tory mp's or ministers and the fast tracking was illegal due to unfair advantages chosen suppliers had over other suppliers. As I have said, if corruption is found it should be dealt with, but saying something looks dodgy is not proof of corruption. How many referrals from non-Tory MPs, Ministers, or Peers were explored by the VIP Lane process? Don’t worry this is rhetorical because the answer is ZERO! None! NONE!!!! How many referrals were made altogether and how many accepted. We can go around this all day long! 1 in 10 applications via the VIP Lane were awarded. All Tory connected. 1 in 100 via normal routes. Companies with specialist knowledge and experience based in the UK (paying UK taxes) with established trading history were ignored when they approached govt. Companies with no experience or in some cases no trading history at all that came via the VIP Lane were successful. Some of which were registered overseas in tax havens. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, looks like a duck, it is probably a duck
If what you say is correct it will not take long to prosecute corruption. I don't think you will be happy with that, because you are coming across as everything was corrupt, which will not be the outcome in the majority of cases I would hope.
That is how you are choosing to interpret. Of course there were good contracts amongst the crap.
I have very little faith anything will really happen as a result of the Inquiry. Does it ever?"sadly nothing will come of it | |||
" I agree entirely with you about the source of the referral. I am not denying the issue about abuse. My point is deeper in that the fundamental purchasing approach is broken and has been for decades. If ways to speed up the process were found so quickly then my question would be why were they not being used anyway? Ok agreed but raising that could be construed as excusing what happened. It doesn’t! There were ways to expedite but instead that was ignored. Why?" Pointing out the fact that the system doesn’t work is NOT the same as condoning corruption. If you want to root out corruption then you have to face into the fact that a broken system allows it to take place. I am 100% behind making sure that those who have abused the system face justice. I am however ever more adamant that we need to change the way the system works because the cumulative impact of all the inefficiencies and cost overruns has a much greater societal impact than that of the Covid abuse. Bureaucracies love a high level scandal because every one can get up in arms and be satisfied when the “names” are shamed or jailed but nothing actually changes underneath. That’s the real scandal. | |||
" I agree entirely with you about the source of the referral. I am not denying the issue about abuse. My point is deeper in that the fundamental purchasing approach is broken and has been for decades. If ways to speed up the process were found so quickly then my question would be why were they not being used anyway? Ok agreed but raising that could be construed as excusing what happened. It doesn’t! There were ways to expedite but instead that was ignored. Why? Pointing out the fact that the system doesn’t work is NOT the same as condoning corruption. If you want to root out corruption then you have to face into the fact that a broken system allows it to take place. I am 100% behind making sure that those who have abused the system face justice. I am however ever more adamant that we need to change the way the system works because the cumulative impact of all the inefficiencies and cost overruns has a much greater societal impact than that of the Covid abuse. Bureaucracies love a high level scandal because every one can get up in arms and be satisfied when the “names” are shamed or jailed but nothing actually changes underneath. That’s the real scandal. " Yep  | |||
" If what you say is correct it will not take long to prosecute corruption. I don't think you will be happy with that, because you are coming across as everything was corrupt, which will not be the outcome in the majority of cases I would hope. That is how you are choosing to interpret. Of course there were good contracts amongst the crap. I have very little faith anything will really happen as a result of the Inquiry. Does it ever?" We have MP's and people of influence fraudulently betting on the date of the election, for a few pounds. I'm sure there are some who saw the chaos of covid as an opportunity to make money. My original point was the lack of a joined up procurement process in the NHS created an environment for these people to exploit. I would imagine most will fly under the radar, as long as something was delivered or put in the incinerator and gone forever. | |||
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"Analysis find corruption in government contracts, It makes the news, A public inquiry is ordered, 3 years later and of the cost of millions new guide lines are written and a few people get smacks on the wrist and told not to do it again, If we are lucky a public apology is given and everyone moves on until the next list of corruption is uncovered. " Wash, rinse, repeat. I wonder if Paula Vennels and her cronies are feeling any uncomfort after the Post Office enquiry. Or are the subpostmasters been paid the compensation due. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? The processes were already in place to award contracts to experienced providers. DHSC have framework agreements in place and rosters of suppliers. The VIP lane was unnecessary and open to abuse because Ministers and Tory party (and it was ONLY Tory party) grandees and cronies circumvented process under the cover if an emergency and saying JFDI. Even relaxing usual due diligence via the existing supplier frameworks would have opened less doors for corruption. How anyone can defend/excuse, for example, A crisp manufacturer securing a PPE contract, or Matt Hancock’s pub landlord mate getting a £20m contract to deliver glass test tubes, or awarding multi-million £ contracts to newly formed offshore companies with no trading history, is quite frankly having a laugh! There were established British based companies with completely relevant experience who did not get awarded contracts. A complete and corrupt farce! Why did the government need to fast track if the companies and processes were in place." Follow the £ | |||
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"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost." I know personally of factories offering help to build medical equipment/parts for cost price and were shunned. I can remember the depth of transport saying ppe was being held up due to lack of transport... I rang around with my connections/contacts and had at least 300 lorries/vans to go. Mailed the local mp, who deferred to to dept of health... had a reply 3 months later, saying no thank you! | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost." Not shite if it met quality control  | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost." They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. I know personally of factories offering help to build medical equipment/parts for cost price and were shunned. I can remember the depth of transport saying ppe was being held up due to lack of transport... I rang around with my connections/contacts and had at least 300 lorries/vans to go. Mailed the local mp, who deferred to to dept of health... had a reply 3 months later, saying no thank you! " Shame your local MP didn’t have some skin in the game, would soon have got expressed through the VIP lane (unless your MP wasn’t a Tory in which case forget it!) | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? " Greed. | |||
"And yet people defend those thieving , corrupt, self-serving, opportunistic, bastards! The Johnson govt facilitated the largest transfer of public assets (in this case taxpayers money) into private hands ever. The really sickening thing is they will get away scott free when some should be in prison. And yeah Mone/Barrowman are the tip of the iceberg and being pushed out there as public scapegoats (guilty though) to distract from others. I'm not for one moment defending any person who was corrupt or corrupted in the handling of this, I'm interested in other opinions / ideas that would have provided better outcomes under the circumstances we found ourselves in as a nation? Maybe instead of prioritising getting as much wealth into the pockets of Tory party donors, friends and neighbours, they should have tried to focus on doing the right thing for the country. Seems bonkers I know, but still. What stopped the government from focusing on doing the right thing? Greed." Strange that other countries in Europe didn't appear to have the same issues or costs as the UK (they did but not to the same extent and certainly didn't require a VIP lane). Perhaps they did and nobody noticed. ..and what about the good old test and trace system that cost about £38bn, was headed up by the failed chief executive of TalkTalk who got thr job without even an interview (her husband had nothing to do with that obviously)? Other countries didn't have nearly that cost yet their systems worked. Guess they were just lucky. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. I know personally of factories offering help to build medical equipment/parts for cost price and were shunned. I can remember the depth of transport saying ppe was being held up due to lack of transport... I rang around with my connections/contacts and had at least 300 lorries/vans to go. Mailed the local mp, who deferred to to dept of health... had a reply 3 months later, saying no thank you! Shame your local MP didn’t have some skin in the game, would soon have got expressed through the VIP lane (unless your MP wasn’t a Tory in which case forget it!)" They were a Tory mp, think they got promoted afterwards... 🤔 heard the same was happening all over the west Midlands, don't forget in the west Midlands there's thousands of small engineering companies who can diverse like anything, and top quality too. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. I know personally of factories offering help to build medical equipment/parts for cost price and were shunned. I can remember the depth of transport saying ppe was being held up due to lack of transport... I rang around with my connections/contacts and had at least 300 lorries/vans to go. Mailed the local mp, who deferred to to dept of health... had a reply 3 months later, saying no thank you! Shame your local MP didn’t have some skin in the game, would soon have got expressed through the VIP lane (unless your MP wasn’t a Tory in which case forget it!) They were a Tory mp, think they got promoted afterwards... 🤔 heard the same was happening all over the west Midlands, don't forget in the west Midlands there's thousands of small engineering companies who can diverse like anything, and top quality too. " Yep there were highly experienced specialist companies based in the UK who were offering their services to deliver PPE but they got ignored in favour of crisp companies, lest control companies, newly formed days before and registered in tax haven companies etc. What did they have in common? They were introduced to the VIP lane by Tory MPs, Tory Ministers, and Tory Peers. But don’t worry. Nothing to see here! | |||
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"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow." The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart" This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down." Precisely. | |||
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"*pest control" Fumigation was needed in govt... GE done wonders  .
A new broom sweeps clean  | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down." "Seen to be doing something" is definitely a govt dept philosophy. I see it all the time through the DHSC to the nhs. | |||
" The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down." Many new players popped up overnight. We have a close friend who did this. Existing supply chains were broken and were constrained by red tape and inflexible structures. Our friend managed to get very early, sizeable quantities of COVID tests and specialised PPE by working with the newly created, very dynamic market in Asia, going so far as to charter (and repurpose) a plane for delivery. Most established suppliers would never dream of doing this, not least because it required much out-of-the-box thinking and around-the-clock management. Yes, our friend was "one of the good ones" (he probably had to be, since he didn't have political connections), but there was a genuine market for enterprising people to leverage their skills. | |||
"https://youtu.be/9WC67FUfTPk?si=9m4yV9_Oim4BlPIN" Interesting fact: The "?si=9m4yV9_Oim4BlPIN" part of that link is Google's tracker. Anyone that clicks on that link gets traced to the person that shared it. "si" stands for Source Identifier. If you remove that part of the link, it still works, but you can't be traced back to the poster. | |||
" The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. Many new players popped up overnight. We have a close friend who did this. Existing supply chains were broken and were constrained by red tape and inflexible structures. Our friend managed to get very early, sizeable quantities of COVID tests and specialised PPE by working with the newly created, very dynamic market in Asia, going so far as to charter (and repurpose) a plane for delivery. Most established suppliers would never dream of doing this, not least because it required much out-of-the-box thinking and around-the-clock management. Yes, our friend was "one of the good ones" (he probably had to be, since he didn't have political connections), but there was a genuine market for enterprising people to leverage their skills." And THAT is a good thing BUT the VIP Lane only considering approaches with Tory connections is NOT! It should have bedn open to ANYONE who had a chance of doing what you describe. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down." I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs? | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs?" Nope! Was being said at the time loudly. No hindsight involved. Zero reason for the VIP lane to be Tory connections only. During a national emergency it should be all hands to the pump and politics ignored. Our taxpayer money was being sto-len in plain sight. During WWII war profiteering was a criminal offence. Should apply here too. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs?" Go to the virus forum and some well informed people tell you the pandemic was fake | |||
" We have a close friend who did this. Existing supply chains were broken and were constrained by red tape and inflexible structures. Our friend managed to get very early, sizeable quantities of COVID tests and specialised PPE by working with the newly created, very dynamic market in Asia, going so far as to charter (and repurpose) a plane for delivery. Most established suppliers would never dream of doing this, not least because it required much out-of-the-box thinking and around-the-clock management. Yes, our friend was "one of the good ones" (he probably had to be, since he didn't have political connections), but there was a genuine market for enterprising people to leverage their skills. And THAT is a good thing BUT the VIP Lane only considering approaches with Tory connections is NOT! It should have bedn open to ANYONE who had a chance of doing what you describe." 100% agreed. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs?" Just imagine if 3 years prior there had been a review into our preparedness as a country for a future pandemic and it had even made recommendations based on the facts that we were wholly unprepared in many areas.. Operation Cygnus.. Which was another casualty in the cult of nothing else but Brexit matters.. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs? Nope! Was being said at the time loudly. No hindsight involved. Zero reason for the VIP lane to be Tory connections only. During a national emergency it should be all hands to the pump and politics ignored. Our taxpayer money was being sto-len in plain sight. During WWII war profiteering was a criminal offence. Should apply here too." The problem is that public procurement procedures are long winded and bureaucratic. The government had to short-circuit the system to get things moving. If they lined their own pockets in doing so, that's fair enough - they're bang to rights. I was in Asia at the time of the Japan quake in 2011. Their government just handed out massive untendered works contracts to private companies solely on trust. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs? Nope! Was being said at the time loudly. No hindsight involved. Zero reason for the VIP lane to be Tory connections only. During a national emergency it should be all hands to the pump and politics ignored. Our taxpayer money was being sto-len in plain sight. During WWII war profiteering was a criminal offence. Should apply here too. The problem is that public procurement procedures are long winded and bureaucratic. The government had to short-circuit the system to get things moving. If they lined their own pockets in doing so, that's fair enough - they're bang to rights. I was in Asia at the time of the Japan quake in 2011. Their government just handed out massive untendered works contracts to private companies solely on trust." Your sound like you are excusing or hand waving away. A bit of a Cavalier attitude to money maybe? If so I hear there is a very nice Nigerian Prince who wants access to your bank account to deposit some money 
The KEY point is that the “relaxed/fast track” approach was ONLY accessible and therefore utilised by those with Tory contacts/involvement. It was politicised and, to be proven, for personal gain. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs? Nope! Was being said at the time loudly. No hindsight involved. Zero reason for the VIP lane to be Tory connections only. During a national emergency it should be all hands to the pump and politics ignored. Our taxpayer money was being sto-len in plain sight. During WWII war profiteering was a criminal offence. Should apply here too. The problem is that public procurement procedures are long winded and bureaucratic. The government had to short-circuit the system to get things moving. If they lined their own pockets in doing so, that's fair enough - they're bang to rights. I was in Asia at the time of the Japan quake in 2011. Their government just handed out massive untendered works contracts to private companies solely on trust. Your sound like you are excusing or hand waving away. A bit of a Cavalier attitude to money maybe? If so I hear there is a very nice Nigerian Prince who wants access to your bank account to deposit some money
The KEY point is that the “relaxed/fast track” approach was ONLY accessible and therefore utilised by those with Tory contacts/involvement. It was politicised and, to be proven, for personal gain."I'm just saying extraordinary situations require extraordinary actions, and that usual due diligence must be set aside. In any case, does more scrutiny mean better value? Look at defence procurement. Incredibly closely monitored and audited, yet nonetheless a 'black hole' of taxpayers money. | |||
"While not defending any government for wasting money, do you have any idea how long it takes to run a competitive tender process for even the simplest things like medical masks or rubber gloves ? They needed stuff now, not in 6-12 months, it only that, every country in the world was trying to buy the same stuff so most countries got stifged with cheap Chinese shite at 100x the actual cost. They didn’t need to run a competitive tender process. The CCS had recommended a more relaxed approach to procurement that could have worked fine by focusing on those suppliers already on DHSC rosters/frameworks who had therefore already undergone necessary due diligence. Instead the Govt rejected that in favour of the VIP lane. Total shitshow. The suppliers on contract to CCS couldnt source sufficient product, I know, I was one and am aware of dozens of others. Supply chains fell apart This is a really important point. One of the things I have never understood was why, if the existing supply chain couldn’t handle it, did anyone think that a completely different supply chain could be set up? I understand the political imperative to be seen to be doing something but it just makes no sense from an actual delivery perspective to think you can source goods from anywhere at short notice when the world has shut down. I think we're in danger of viewing all this through the prism of hindsight. Remember as Covid spread we were in unchartered waters. Fast decisions had to be taken medically, socially and in competition with other countries. It was a desperate scramble to get something done that might (or might not) bring benefits. Outright cronyism isn't acceptable, but it's understandable why corners were cut. I find pious KC's at these enquiries sickening - where were they when the virus was eating our lungs? Nope! Was being said at the time loudly. No hindsight involved. Zero reason for the VIP lane to be Tory connections only. During a national emergency it should be all hands to the pump and politics ignored. Our taxpayer money was being sto-len in plain sight. During WWII war profiteering was a criminal offence. Should apply here too. The problem is that public procurement procedures are long winded and bureaucratic. The government had to short-circuit the system to get things moving. If they lined their own pockets in doing so, that's fair enough - they're bang to rights. I was in Asia at the time of the Japan quake in 2011. Their government just handed out massive untendered works contracts to private companies solely on trust. Your sound like you are excusing or hand waving away. A bit of a Cavalier attitude to money maybe? If so I hear there is a very nice Nigerian Prince who wants access to your bank account to deposit some money
The KEY point is that the “relaxed/fast track” approach was ONLY accessible and therefore utilised by those with Tory contacts/involvement. It was politicised and, to be proven, for personal gain.
I'm just saying extraordinary situations require extraordinary actions, and that usual due diligence must be set aside. In any case, does more scrutiny mean better value? Look at defence procurement. Incredibly closely monitored and audited, yet nonetheless a 'black hole' of taxpayers money."Have you read the thread? Crown Commercial Service (CCS) recommended an approach that, in my words, relaxed the normal govt procurement approach to speed things up with known suppliers. This was rejected by Ministers in favour of the VIP Lane. Many British companies with expertise and experience with access to production/supply were ignored in favour of concentrating on fast tracking referrals by Tory MPs, Ministers, and Peers, sometimes for companies with zero experience or even newly formed companies registered in tax havens. That isn’t putting aside normally slow bureaucratic processes, that is putting in place an alternative open to easy corruption and exploitation. | |||
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"Same old same old. Are any governments not up to their necks on it? What gets me is the fact that every politician went along with state policy. No challenge, no debate just follow. No televised debates between experts,medics and scientists who disagreed silenced, called anti vaxers, articles taken off line. The whole thing reeked. A massive act of national self harm and no party complained. In fact labour wanted to keep measures in place longer. They all suck." GBeebies usually have a healthy dose of science deniers and conspiracy theorists to provide "balance". They definitely had a psudo-scientists etc on. I got one am glad that extra time wasn't wasted consulting Mystic Meg and Paul Daniels. | |||
"Same old same old. Are any governments not up to their necks on it? What gets me is the fact that every politician went along with state policy. No challenge, no debate just follow. No televised debates between experts,medics and scientists who disagreed silenced, called anti vaxers, articles taken off line. The whole thing reeked. A massive act of national self harm and no party complained. In fact labour wanted to keep measures in place longer. They all suck. GBeebies usually have a healthy dose of science deniers and conspiracy theorists to provide "balance". They definitely had a psudo-scientists etc on. I got one am glad that extra time wasn't wasted consulting Mystic Meg and Paul Daniels." *I for one... | |||
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"An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent. Transparency International UK found 135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags - warning signs of a risk of corruption. Twenty-eight contracts worth £4.1bn went to firms with known political connections, while 51 worth £4bn went through a "VIP lane" for companies recommended by MPs and peers, a practice the High Court ruled was unlawful. A Conservative spokesperson said: “Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separate.” Transparency International UK analysed 5,000 contracts for red flags. The charity said its analysis also indicated that almost two thirds of high-value contracts to supply items such as masks and protective medical equipment during the pandemic, adding up to a total of £30.7bn, were awarded without any competition. A further eight contracts worth a total of £500m went to suppliers no more than 100 days old – another red flag for corruption. Normal safeguards designed to protect the process of bidding for government contracts from corruption were suspended during the pandemic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevj3y7n33vo. What a ridiculous report ? The name of the charity is laughable. Let's be realistic, Covid exposed sugnificant risks and we had to act quickly Boris Johnson and the government took all the steps necessary to save us from both disaster and financial ruin. We should all be extremely greatfull for their efforts. The voices of a few doubters can be safely ignored. Any company or individual engaging in criminal activity during the crisis is likely to feel the full force of the law. To those who think that the contracts should have been put out to tender how many people did you want to die while we reviewed contracts .? Some people have short memories and forget how much assistance the government gave during the crisis. Sadly we are all paying for it now and will be for a long time to come . With the benefit of hindsight the extended lockdown was probably unnecessary and the cost could have been avoided ." YAY 🎉 PAT IS BACK 😁 | |||
"An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent. Transparency International UK found 135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags - warning signs of a risk of corruption. Twenty-eight contracts worth £4.1bn went to firms with known political connections, while 51 worth £4bn went through a "VIP lane" for companies recommended by MPs and peers, a practice the High Court ruled was unlawful. A Conservative spokesperson said: “Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separate.” Transparency International UK analysed 5,000 contracts for red flags. The charity said its analysis also indicated that almost two thirds of high-value contracts to supply items such as masks and protective medical equipment during the pandemic, adding up to a total of £30.7bn, were awarded without any competition. A further eight contracts worth a total of £500m went to suppliers no more than 100 days old – another red flag for corruption. Normal safeguards designed to protect the process of bidding for government contracts from corruption were suspended during the pandemic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cevj3y7n33vo. What a ridiculous report ? The name of the charity is laughable. Let's be realistic, Covid exposed sugnificant risks and we had to act quickly Boris Johnson and the government took all the steps necessary to save us from both disaster and financial ruin. We should all be extremely greatfull for their efforts. The voices of a few doubters can be safely ignored. Any company or individual engaging in criminal activity during the crisis is likely to feel the full force of the law. To those who think that the contracts should have been put out to tender how many people did you want to die while we reviewed contracts .? Some people have short memories and forget how much assistance the government gave during the crisis. Sadly we are all paying for it now and will be for a long time to come . With the benefit of hindsight the extended lockdown was probably unnecessary and the cost could have been avoided . YAY 🎉 PAT HIS BACK 😁" FTFY | |||
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"I have no doubt much of this was crooked. ‘Follow the science’ and you will find the money… Big money making scheme the whole Covid event for some. For many of us though, it was a big shafting. It happened in many countries but yes, it seriously pisses me off that many generations will be covering the cost of this absolute shit show!" Yes, I remember reading it cost the country nearly 1/2 of a Brexit. | |||
"The chancellor will confirm that she will refer more than half of contracts for material such as masks to the incoming Covid corruption commissioner, after the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them. “On entering government, we found £674m of PPE contracts in dispute, where we inherited a recommendation from the previous government that contract recovery should be waived. “So we are delivering on our commitment to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner. It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by the Covid commissioner.” Labour officials say they will now refer just over half of Covid contracts that remain in dispute to the new Covid corruption commissioner, who is due to be named in the coming months. They believe the commissioner is likely to refer some of those to either the National Crime Agency or the Serious Fraud Office, opening a potential path to prosecutions. Reeves is understood to think that £2.6bn from waste, fraud and flawed contracts could be recovered. +++++++ I wish you could bold specific words so I will repeat one line… “the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them”" I can imagine that is good proportion of these corrupt/fraudulent contracts went through the conservative VIP lane  | |||
"The chancellor will confirm that she will refer more than half of contracts for material such as masks to the incoming Covid corruption commissioner, after the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them. “On entering government, we found £674m of PPE contracts in dispute, where we inherited a recommendation from the previous government that contract recovery should be waived. “So we are delivering on our commitment to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner. It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by the Covid commissioner.” Labour officials say they will now refer just over half of Covid contracts that remain in dispute to the new Covid corruption commissioner, who is due to be named in the coming months. They believe the commissioner is likely to refer some of those to either the National Crime Agency or the Serious Fraud Office, opening a potential path to prosecutions. Reeves is understood to think that £2.6bn from waste, fraud and flawed contracts could be recovered. +++++++ I wish you could bold specific words so I will repeat one line… “the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them” I can imagine that is good proportion of these corrupt/fraudulent contracts went through the conservative VIP lane "The implication in the wider article(s) was that most/all did! | |||
"The chancellor will confirm that she will refer more than half of contracts for material such as masks to the incoming Covid corruption commissioner, after the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them. “On entering government, we found £674m of PPE contracts in dispute, where we inherited a recommendation from the previous government that contract recovery should be waived. “So we are delivering on our commitment to appoint a Covid corruption commissioner. It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by the Covid commissioner.” Labour officials say they will now refer just over half of Covid contracts that remain in dispute to the new Covid corruption commissioner, who is due to be named in the coming months. They believe the commissioner is likely to refer some of those to either the National Crime Agency or the Serious Fraud Office, opening a potential path to prosecutions. Reeves is understood to think that £2.6bn from waste, fraud and flawed contracts could be recovered. +++++++ I wish you could bold specific words so I will repeat one line… “the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them”" This was a big turning point for me with all these dodgy contracts. I knew then that I would not vote conservative at the election so am pleased that they are investigating this. Hopefully some will be held to account and face the consequences, though won't hold my breath | |||
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""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back."" Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows?" Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards "I think we are going to find the majority of contracts delivered something, they won't know exactly what or what went up in smoke. The potential to throw good money after bad is high. If it turns out to be poor auditing and over ordering, I think it will fizzle out with some story of the last tory government hiding the facts that make it impossible to find the truth. | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards
I think we are going to find the majority of contracts delivered something, they won't know exactly what or what went up in smoke.
The potential to throw good money after bad is high.
If it turns out to be poor auditing and over ordering, I think it will fizzle out with some story of the last tory government hiding the facts that make it impossible to find the truth.
"I know this is pure fantasy but I would love them to uncover linkages to Tory MPs/Ministers/Peers who exploited the VIP Lane showing how they personally profited and end up being banged to rights. I’ll probably have to settle for Mone and Barrowman who were thrown to the wolves as a distraction. | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards
I think we are going to find the majority of contracts delivered something, they won't know exactly what or what went up in smoke.
The potential to throw good money after bad is high.
If it turns out to be poor auditing and over ordering, I think it will fizzle out with some story of the last tory government hiding the facts that make it impossible to find the truth.
I know this is pure fantasy but I would love them to uncover linkages to Tory MPs/Ministers/Peers who exploited the VIP Lane showing how they personally profited and end up being banged to rights. I’ll probably have to settle for Mone and Barrowman who were thrown to the wolves as a distraction. "I think you are going to be sorely disappointed. I’m not convinced there is the amount of pocket lining by ministers, peers, or MP’s that you hope for. I’m edging my bets that it is far more likely that the civil service under the direction of the government over reached and saturated the UK with whatever was on offer. We need to remember that we had left the EU and was going it alone, so to speak. We got a lot wrong, I’m just not convinced it was as shady as people want it to be | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards
I think we are going to find the majority of contracts delivered something, they won't know exactly what or what went up in smoke.
The potential to throw good money after bad is high.
If it turns out to be poor auditing and over ordering, I think it will fizzle out with some story of the last tory government hiding the facts that make it impossible to find the truth.
I know this is pure fantasy but I would love them to uncover linkages to Tory MPs/Ministers/Peers who exploited the VIP Lane showing how they personally profited and end up being banged to rights. I’ll probably have to settle for Mone and Barrowman who were thrown to the wolves as a distraction.
I think you are going to be sorely disappointed.
I’m not convinced there is the amount of pocket lining by ministers, peers, or MP’s that you hope for.
I’m edging my bets that it is far more likely that the civil service under the direction of the government over reached and saturated the UK with whatever was on offer.
We need to remember that we had left the EU and was going it alone, so to speak. We got a lot wrong, I’m just not convinced it was as shady as people want it to be"Oh it was shady as fuck. This has been well discussed so this will be my only comment because quote frankly I CBA but there was zero reason for the VIP Lane to only entertain approaches from Tories. But they have had four years to cover their tracks. | |||
""It could not be more urgent. And I have put a block on any contract being abandoned or waived until it has been independently assessed by that Commissioner." "I won't turn a blind eye to those who used a national emergency to line their own pockets. I won’t let them get away with it. That money belongs in our police, it belongs in our health service, and it belongs in our schools. And Conference, we want that money back." Confidence level that they wont throw millions down the drain chasing shadows? Pretty low based on how many £millions get spent on public inquiries that don’t amount to a Tin of beans (Grenfell????) but we can live in hope they actually catch the thieving bastards
I think we are going to find the majority of contracts delivered something, they won't know exactly what or what went up in smoke.
The potential to throw good money after bad is high.
If it turns out to be poor auditing and over ordering, I think it will fizzle out with some story of the last tory government hiding the facts that make it impossible to find the truth.
I know this is pure fantasy but I would love them to uncover linkages to Tory MPs/Ministers/Peers who exploited the VIP Lane showing how they personally profited and end up being banged to rights. I’ll probably have to settle for Mone and Barrowman who were thrown to the wolves as a distraction.
I think you are going to be sorely disappointed.
I’m not convinced there is the amount of pocket lining by ministers, peers, or MP’s that you hope for.
I’m edging my bets that it is far more likely that the civil service under the direction of the government over reached and saturated the UK with whatever was on offer.
We need to remember that we had left the EU and was going it alone, so to speak. We got a lot wrong, I’m just not convinced it was as shady as people want it to be
Oh it was shady as fuck. This has been well discussed so this will be my only comment because quote frankly I CBA but there was zero reason for the VIP Lane to only entertain approaches from Tories. But they have had four years to cover their tracks."I too CBA, but this one seems to be your weak spot…. 2 questions: Cover their tracks, how? VIP lane for Tory recommendations is surely an auditable solution that will allow scrutiny? | |||
