Order in more Bollinger

 

 

 

On the day that The Guardian published an article under the title, "Ten billionaires reap $400bn boost to wealth during pandemic",  Boris Johnson introduced more severe Covid-19 lockdown conditions, with these words: “We cannot continue with Christmas as planned.”

 

He is lying because there are those who will not only be continuing their Christmas as planned, but will be ordering in extra crates of Bollinger, while the rest of us suffer from a pandemic that brings death, illness, job losses and family separations.

 

The New York Times analyzed contracts awarded for provision of PPE, ventilators, coronavirus tests and other supplies critical to containing Covid-19 and found that about £8 billion went to companies run by friends or associates of politicians in the Conservative Party. Many of them have no backgound in the provision of medical equipment or services,  The National Audit Office state that these were ‘awarded’ with no competitive bidding and with over half concealed from the public.

 

Here is a a list of some of those who will be continuing Christmas as planned.

LORD DEIGHTON, Government PPE Tsar and ex- Goldman Sachs executive, with financial or personal connections to at least seven companies, awarded £220 million in government Covid contracts.

ANTHONY PAGE, secretary of the firm that provides branding services to Tory peer Baroness Mone’s company, PPE MEDPRO Ltd, awarded £203 million in Covid-related contracts. 

 

SIR MERRICK COCKELL, former Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council and employed by PA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD, awarded £156 million in Covid contracts. 

 

DAVID MELLER, friend of MICHAEL GOVE and Tory party donor, runs MELLER DESIGNS, awarded £148 million in Covid-related contracts.

 

STEVE DECHAN, a former Tory councillor and director of P14 MEDICAL, awarded £120 million in Covid contracts.

 

RUPERT SOAMES, brother of former Tory MP SIR NICHOLAS SOAMES whose wife, CAMILLA SOAMES, is a Tory party donor and who is CEO of SERCO, awarded £57 million in Covid contracts.

 

SEAN TOPHAM and BEN GUERIN, behind the Tory party 2019 election strategy and Directors of TOPHAM GUERIN awarded £3 million in Covid contracts.

STEVE PARKIN, a major Tory Party donor and Chairman of CLIPPER LOGISTICS, awarded £1 million in Covid-related contracts.

 

PAUL STEPHENSON, friend and business associate of MICHAEL GOVE AND DOMINIC CUMMINGS, director of HANBURY STRATEGY, awarded £900,000 in Covid contracts.

JAMES FRAYNE and RACHEL WOLFF, friends of MICHAEL GOVE, and founders of PUBLIC FIRST, awarded £840,000 in Covid contracts.

THEODORE AGNEW, a business associate of DOMINIC CUMMINGS, worked with him on Vote Leave and is a major shareholder in FACULTY, awarded £500,000 in Covid contracts.

KATE BINGHAM, married to Tory Minister JESSE NORMAN and a business colleague of DOMINIC CUMMINGS, and appointed head of the government’s vaccine taskforce,

And you cannot make it up ….

BARONESS DIDO HARDING, Chair of NHS Improvement and NHS Test and Trace and wife of ToryMP JOHN PENROSE, who has government responsibilities for ….. anti-corruption.