Boris's Billions

Sadly, Sarnia, Ms Mone has felt unable to return any of the remarkable profit that she made from defective products.
Unfortunately, the company she formed to protect herself from any losses has ended, and the money is in the bank accounts of her children, and simply can't be accessed.
I'm sure that she's terribly upset about this .

This was the level of government that we were suffering. We do well to remember this and ponder the ritual disposal of Starmer.

No mention of Dido Harding who had over 30 billion for a track and trace system that didn,t workI haven,t heard her mentioned ot Matt Hancock who gave his brothers company 20odd million and forgot to mention he was a shareholder.
Plus many ,many more who made a fortune just because they knew the right Corrupt membersoftheTory government.
I think the Mone aseis a farce there was plenty of time to get that money back but they let her sail the media her new yacht instead of taking her and her dodgy husband into custody.
The failures of that government were epic.

Yes, they were. Boris J was a product of the nasty sexist Bullingdon club and privilege. I cannot understand those who mourn his going.
I'm sure Burnham will be just as eager to chase those losses. if not more. Do the current Conservatives good to be reminded of what was left undone - so very, very much.

Just today The big annual Great Yorkshire Show are holding their 4 day festival and markets: farmers were asked how they had fared since Brexit. Ordinary farmer, not big landowners.

Without any dissent, they agrees that Brexit had been bad for them, despite initial support Subsidies were slashed: they now have to do loads of paperwork to export goods or import farm machinery from the EU.

Thank you Boris.

Well many of the Yorkshire farmers had give us our country back placards in their fields when we were there just before the referendum Even though I think the NFU advised them to vote remain.

Chocolatelovinggran

Sadly, Sarnia, Ms Mone has felt unable to return any of the remarkable profit that she made from defective products.
Unfortunately, the company she formed to protect herself from any losses has ended, and the money is in the bank accounts of her children, and simply can't be accessed.
I'm sure that she's terribly upset about this .

I know she has been 'strongly advised' to keep away from the House of Lords but shouldn't she be required to hand back the title in view of this scandal? The title can't add any kind of kudos to her business enterprises because they have all now folded.

People have very short memories. The conservatives created many of the problems over their 14 year reign, which they expected labour to solve in less than two years!

According to reports I’ve read the most astonishing thing to come from this latest Inquiry report is that Hallket finds no evidence of corruption in the procurement process.

There have been mutterings of ‘whitewash’ since the Inquiry was first set up. It looks as though the mutterers had a point.

Not a Boris fan, but rigorous procurement processes take ages, and we had to have that PPE, like, next-day delivery.

Maybe asking his cronies was the lazy way to do it (& Boris always struck me as bad at the detail) but just maybe he thought that at such a time the companies chosen wouldn't stoop to profiteering.

Is this why the enquiry failed to find corruption? Because there was no tangible gain for those awarding the contracts? Which is a relief.

I don’t buy it, valdali.

I don’t even believe the ‘no tangible gain’. All those eyewatering sums directly given to minister’s mates and the ministers didn’t benefit?
I am the most naive person ever but I just don’t believe that one.

Such negligence over the loss of so many billions of UK taxpayers money, but don't despair, look how efficient was the investigation into the SNP money scandal.

A proportion of our business has always been and still is PPE

There were rumblings from mid February 2020, and procurement became increasingly difficult day on day.

Some not so scrupulous suppliers were flooding the market with sub standard and out of date products. Easy for those with 30 + years of experience to spot, not so easy when there was pressure from everywhere and everyone to jut get it…

For any government of any country it was a Catch 22 situation, did they buy whatever they could, did they stick with proven suppliers and hope their orders were fulfilled, or did they cast their buying net further afield.

There were factories trying desperately to remodel their production lines and procure raw products to produce what was needed.

Of course mistakes were made, and maybe there were some who deliberately set out to abuse the system for their own gain.

It was unprecedented, with little planning, hopefully the enquiry will nudge this and future governments into being ready for the next pandemic or crisis.

valdali

Not a Boris fan, but rigorous procurement processes take ages, and we had to have that PPE, like, next-day delivery.

Maybe asking his cronies was the lazy way to do it (& Boris always struck me as bad at the detail) but just maybe he thought that at such a time the companies chosen wouldn't stoop to profiteering.

Is this why the enquiry failed to find corruption? Because there was no tangible gain for those awarding the contracts? Which is a relief.

I agree, it was a crazy time and there was no time for putting out tenders for work and all the paperwork that went with it.
It’s very good to have the inquiry to see what worked and what didn’t for the benefit of the next pandemic that comes along but not to damn politicians who did their best at the time.
The pandemic was a frightening time and I think no government anywhere got it completely right.

Russell Jones, admittedly a long time tory critic, wrote a book published a few years ago called 'The decade in Tory'. There was, of course a chapter about the Covid years. He has republished that chapter today on his substack in the light of the latest Inquiry report. I don't think it says anything that the report itself doesn't confirm... or the previous inquiry modules.

First, let’s look at who didn’t get a contract to supply PPE.

PPE suppliers, that’s who.

“We can get hold of 500,000 masks, made for us within one day”, said the director of a UK business providing PPE. “We actually offered our services [to the UK Government] when this first happened and unfortunately our services weren’t taken up, but the rest of the world did take it up”. She was selling British-made PPE masks overseas while the British government ignored her.

Businesses such as hers – suppliers of real PPE – were snubbed because officials were spending all their time helping to enrich pals of the government. A National Audit Office report confirmed the Tories set up a “high priority VIP lane” to process applications for contracts coming in from “government officials, ministers’ offices, MPs, members of the House of Lords” and other well-connected individuals. The high court later ruled that this was unlawful, but at the time Johnson was in charge, and laws meant nothing to him.

Needless to say, into the VIP lane rushed the sharks, and civil servants reported they were “drowning” in hopelessly implausible bids for contracts, submitted by politically connected suppliers, many of whom weren’t remotely capable of fulfilling the national need. As a result, real suppliers were ignored, side-lined, or faced long delays in having their contracts approved.

So PPE suppliers didn’t get contracts,

He then goes on to detail some who did...

russincheshire.substack.com/p/remembering-the-tory-response-to?

Total scam under an incompetent Tory govrnment fronted by a complete bufoon.

Grantanow

Total scam under an incompetent Tory govrnment fronted by a complete bufoon.

You've read the substack I linked to already..?

Grantanow

Total scam under an incompetent Tory govrnment fronted by a complete bufoon.

If it had happened under Keir Starmer’s watch we’d still be waiting for PPE now.

Oreo, " If this has happened under Keir Starmer.." might be your belief, but that isn't evidence of any sort, regrettably.
I feel that using a company related to Ms Mone has permitted this lady to pocket millions of pounds, with no plans to return it.
The integrity of the people chosen is my bete noire.

It wasn’t meant to be evidence, but Starmer’s way of being ultra cautious makes me thankful ( the only time) that Boris was the PM at the time.
He did all he could do quickly including championing the Oxford labs which gave us Covid jabs as well as procuring other vaccines.
Look, it was a crazy time and all governments in all countries did what they could and also made mistakes in retrospect.

It’s an utter disgrace, but no surprise whatsoever.

Those who did and continue to support Johnson should feel shame.

What happened during parts of COVID was a shocking disgrace.

Cossy

It’s an utter disgrace, but no surprise whatsoever.

Those who did and continue to support Johnson should feel shame.

What happened during parts of COVID was a shocking disgrace.

It was all being reported at the time or very soon after. It's no surprise.

Luckygirl3

This was the level of government that we were suffering. We do well to remember this and ponder the ritual disposal of Starmer.

Exactly. I am not a Labour voter but I really feel for him. He made the right decision not to join Trump in his illegal war and he has seen the Hillsborough Law through on his watch. He spoke very well I thought on the attitudes of the Establishment at the time. I wonder if Labour may regret ousting him.

I have never voted Labour either - tactical voting is the name of the game in my constituency - but we forget too quickly the nonsense we all suffered in the pandemic and before and after: the pockets that were lined in such a cynical manner, the casual attitude to the rule of law and decent behaviour; then Truss (words fail me!); then Sunak with the millions handed over to Rwanda for absolutely zilch).

We then find ourselves with a decent hardworking individual who respects the rule of law and rekindles our standing internationally - but hey, the media decide he should be ditched and out he goes.

On the subject of the pandemic and PPE, what needs to be happening now is proper future planning by all nations coming together to combine their expertise so that we are not caught on the hop again. Successive governments had failed to fund this prior to covid as the possibility seemed remote - we know better now.

I think the World Health Organisation is crying out for more funding to do just this, then you have dictators like Trump rubbishing the idea of co-operation, a failure to see we stand or fall together, and starting wars up with money better spent.

Or at least better cooperation with the EU, but thankfully now re the EU we have intellectual sharing schemes returning, and we should look at this as well as regards medicine sharing

"The European Union operates several intellectual property (IP) sharing, licensing, and financial support schemes to promote innovation and protect creators. Key initiatives include the EUIPO SME Fund, the Out-of-Commerce Works Portal, and the EU's Crisis Compulsory Licensing framework