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The PPE scandal shows no sign of ending after it was revealed this week that over one million pallets laden with unusable Covid protective equipment have so far been destroyed by the Government.

In response to a Parliamentary question from Reform MP Rupert Lowe, Health Minister Karin Smith confirmed: "As of the end of September 2024, approximately 1,049,700 pallets, or 23%, of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been recycled through energy from waste and recycling. The original cost to purchase was £8.644 billion, and all stock categorised as excess has no residual market value".

The purchase price of the unused PPE that has now been destroyed to date sits at £8.6 billion. In total the Department of Health and Social Care has written off nearly £14.9 billion spent on unusable medical goods it procured during the pandemic.

During the pandemic the last Conservative government established a so-called VIP lane that prioritised offers to supply PPE from companies with access to political connections.

Billions of pounds were paid to suppliers who were referred down this procurement route - often with disastrous consequences.

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An investigation by Spotlight on Corruption revealed that 50% of companies who were awarded PPE contracts via the VIP lane supplied goods that were not fit for purpose and were subsequently labelled "do not supply". An astonishing 475 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) worth over £1 billion fell into this category.

These figures include 25 million gowns supplied by PPE Medpro that cost the taxpayer £124 million. The firm were referred to the VIP lane after Barone Mone repeatedly lobbied Government ministers. The controversial deal is the subject of an ongoing legal case with the DHSC as well as a criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency.

The scale of the waste is staggering. If you were to line up 1,049,700 pallets of PPE that have been destroyed to date it would stretch for 780 miles - For comparison the distance between London and John o'Groats in Scotland is 692 miles.

About £1.4bn worth of PPE was destroyed or written off from just one contract - the deal with Full Support Healthcare has been labelled the most wasteful government deal of the pandemic.

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Figures obtained by the BBC revealed that at least 1.57 billion items of PPE provided by Full Support Healthcare under the contract, will never be used.

Despite the PPE being manufactured to the proper standard, officials have confirmed some 749 million items have already been incinerated, and a further 825 million were earmarked for further incineration or recycling.

The ongoing Covid Inquiry recently started to turn its attention to the procurement of PPE during the pandemic. Live hearings have been scheduled for March 2025.

Lets hope the inquiry led by Baroness Hallett can force some accountability and transparency over the decisions that resulted in £8.6 billion worth of PPE literally going up in smoke.