Labour has demanded Boris Johnson “crack down on the cronyism” amid claims almost £2 billion in covid contracts have gone to “friends and donors” of the Conservative Party.
MP Rachel Reeves accused the Tories of being “rife with conflicts of interest” as she urged firms awarded contracts during the pandemic with Tory links to publish their profits from the pandemic.
Labour’s analysis of government procurement data during the crisis found more than £1.9 billion in government contracts has been directly awarded to companies that have links to the Conservative Party.
Reeves, the Shadow Cabinet Office minister, said there was a “litany of failures” from outsourcing.
Labour calculated the total cost of contracts given to companies with Tory links could have provided free school meals for more than three years to every one of the 1.4 million pupils who are eligible.
The amount of money spent on contracts awarded to companies that have connections to the Tories has almost doubled since the first wave of covid infections last year despite what Reeves described as “stark warnings” by the National Audit Office in November.
The NAO said firms recommended by MPs, peers and ministers’ offices were given priority as the Government sought personal protective equipment (PPE) for the NHS in the first phase of the pandemic.
Today Reeves pledged a Labour government would “clean up cronyism” and deliver the “biggest wave of insourcing of public services for a generation”.
She said: “It will save money and ensure better, more responsive, more resilient, accountable local services for all.”
She said a Labour government would follow the lead of US President Joe Biden’s administration in introducing an integrity and ethics commission.
Reeves said the body would have the powers and resources to “prevent corruption” and remove conflicts of interest in all areas of Government, outsourcing and appointments,
She called for the Freedom of Information Act to be applied to all new public service contracts delivered by private companies.
Reeves revealed she has written to the top ten firms with Tory connections that secured contracts during the Covid-19 crisis in a bid to unveil their profit levels.
She said: “We deserve to know how and if friends and donors of the Tory Party have cashed in on a national emergency."
A Government spokesman said: “As the National Audit Office has made clear, there is no evidence of ministerial involvement in procurement decisions or contract management.
The official said: “We have robust rules and processes in place in order to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur.
“Contracts are awarded on a combination of price and quality, not the political or other affiliations of owners or stakeholders.”
