A Spanish businessman who acted as a go-between on contracts to provide gowns, masks and other protective equipment for NHS workers was paid £21 million in taxpayers’ money.
Gabriel González Andersson received the reward from a company set up by a US jewellery designer with no experience of supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and which won contracts with the government worth about £250 million.
The revelation came as a report by government auditors highlighted concerns over emergency PPE procurement contracts agreed by ministers. The National Audit Office found that suppliers with political contacts were put in a “high-priority” lane and were ten times more likely to get contracts.
Some companies were given contracts weeks before due diligence checks were conducted; others received contracts retrospectively to
