Johnson government wasted £10bn on PPE, Covid inquiry finds

Chair criticises use of VIP lane' to prioritise PPE contracts for companies with Tory connections in damning report

• Catastrophic failure': UK Covid families welcome inquiry findings on PPE

Boris Johnson's government wasted 10bn of public money because of the flawed way it went about buying personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, an official inquiry has concluded.

The Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, also criticised the then Conservative government's controversial VIP lane", which gave high priority for PPE contracts to companies with political connections to the Tories.