NEARLY £10 billion of public money was wasted during the scramble to buy PPE during the pandemic, the official inquiry into the handling of Covid-19 has found.

The “vast” waste in pandemic procurement made up a whopping two-thirds of the £14.9bn Britain and devolved governments spent on personal protective equipment (PPE), Baroness Heather Hallett said in the fifth report of her inquiry.

She also branded the controversial “VIP lane,” which prioritised offers of PPE from those with political connections, as a “misguided” and “unfair” process that undermined public confidence in procurement.

But she added there was “no evidence of cronyism or corruption” by ministers or officials when awarding contracts.

Lady Hallett said: “The waste of taxpayers’ money was vast. The public must be able to trust that their money is being spent with propriety, fairness and transparency.

“Public confidence — so important in an emergency — was undermined by failures in procurement.”