BORIS Johnson's UK Government has lost a key battle in the Conservative Covid cronyism row as a watchdog orders it to name "VIP lane" firms given public contracts.
Companies linked to Tory ministers, MPs and officials were given access to a high priority lane for pandemic-related deals.
In the row that followed, the administration was dubbed a "chumocracy" and, in a report released in November last year, the National Audit Office found the government had failed to provide adequate documentation showing why particular suppliers were chosen or how potential conflicts of interest were dealt with.
As many as one in 10 suppliers processed through the high priority lane clinched contracts, compared with fewer than one in 100 suppliers who were not on that list.
Now the administration has been ordered to name almost 50 "VIP lane" firms who benefited from fast-tracked PPE deals.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said Westminster's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had "failed to comply" with Freedom of Information rules by refusing to disclose details of the 47 firms.
READ MORE: How Tory cronies get UK Government Covid contracts
The watchdog has given the department 35 days to give the names to the Good Law Project, which sought the information.
It has raised legal proceedings against the fast-track system, claiming companies with political connections were unlawfully given priority over those who did not.
The UK Government has described that system as "perfectly reasonable and rational", given the volume of expressions of interest made by companies when the pandemic hit.
But a letter sent to the DHSC by the ICO warns "failure to comply ... may be dealt with as a contempt of court".
The Good Law Project has called this "a resounding victory" and said it will publish the names once it receives them. Its director Jo Maugham said: "Cronyism carries a double cost. It empties the public purse into the pockets of friends of the government. And it leads to bad outcomes for public health.
"[The] Good Law Project, which first revealed the existence of the VIP lanes for PPE and Test and Trace, will continue the difficult but important work of exposing the truth around the government’s sleazy pandemic procurement."
A government spokesperson said: "We have committed to publishing information on successful PPE suppliers. Covid-19 procurement went through robust assurance processes and due diligence is carried out on every contract – ministers have no role in awarding them."
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