THE government declined for a sixth time to publish the details of companies winning public procurement contracts through its “VIP” fast lane during the pandemic today.

“Contract cronyism” has become a growing concern after firms found to have close links with the Conservative Party were offered lucrative contracts to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and healthcare services during the coronavirus crisis.

In Cabinet Office Questions, Labour’s Rachel Reeves asked her government counterpart Michael Gove to publish the details of “who was on the VIP fast lane and how they got there.”

The shadow cabinet office minister said: “Everybody understands the need for speed in a pandemic, but so many contracts delivered PPE [that] couldn’t even be used by those on the front line. 

“The National Audit Office (NAO) has said that taxpayers paid over the odds.”

Mr Gove told MPs that “more than 99 per cent of the goods that were supplied were capable of being used in the NHS” and that due to demand inflation, the prices of PPE “rose for every nation.”

He added: “And of course it is the case that whether or not a recommendation was made for a contract from a Member of Parliament such as (Ms Reeves) or anyone else, that every contract had to go through the same appropriate process of due diligence.”

Every contract will be published “so that there can be appropriate scrutiny of value for money,” he also said.

In November, the NAO reported that hundreds of companies were referred through a special “high priority” lane for contracts following tips from ministers and MPs.

Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt had told MPs that same month there was “no such thing” as a priority lane, despite it emerging in the public accounts committee this week that £1.7 billion of procurement flowed through this channel.