Cronyism and the Pandemic : Contracts, Controversies and Covid-19

One in five government contracts issued during the pandemic showed signs of possible corruption. This is the story of cronyism that reached the heart of government. How Conservative party donors and politicians gamed the system during the pandemic to the tune of billions of pounds. And how the revelations surrounding the government's bad behaviour has contributed to the unprecedented political turmoil currently dominating the UK. Head of Investigations at The Good Law Project, journalist Russell Scott details his one-year battle to expose the government’s unlawful VIP Lane, from private hospitals to MP's second jobs, party donors and Peers landing million pound contracts, to the billions of pounds wasted in the PPE procurement programme. Based on new insider sources, interviews with Journalists and MP's, and painstaking analysis of contracts and previously unpublished Freedom of Information requests, as well as interviews with individuals, families and healthcare providers directly impacted by corruption and mismanagement. Scott's investigations reveal the depths of the cronyism running rife through Westminster for a detailed, eye-watering tale of costly mistakes and corruption during a national emergency, alighting on the critical themes of trust, government transparency, leadership, populism and democracy shaping the political landscape and discourse of the UK for the next general election.

One in five government contracts issued during the pandemic showed signs of possible corruption. This is the story of cronyism that reached the heart of government. How Conservative party donors and politicians gamed the system during the pandemic to the tune of billions of pounds. And how the revelations surrounding the government''s bad behaviour has contributed to the unprecedented political turmoil currently dominating the UK. Head of Investigations at The Good Law Project, journalist Russell Scott details his one-year battle to expose the government’s unlawful VIP Lane, from private hospitals to MP''s second jobs, party donors and Peers landing million pound contracts, to the billions of pounds wasted in the PPE procurement programme. Based on new insider sources, interviews with Journalists and MP''s, and painstaking analysis of contracts and previously unpublished Freedom of Information requests, as well as interviews with individuals, families and healthcare providers directly impacted by corruption and mismanagement. Scott''s investigations reveal the depths of the cronyism running rife through Westminster for a detailed, eye-watering tale of costly mistakes and corruption during a national emergency, alighting on the critical themes of trust, government transparency, leadership, populism and democracy shaping the political landscape and discourse of the UK for the next general election.