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This from Isle of Wight Labour’s 2019 election candidate, Richard Quigley shares this open letter to Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely. Ed
Dear Mr Seely,
I write to you to make a simple request on behalf of all Islanders and UK residents. I ask that you write to Matt Hancock requesting he provides details of who, including 144 businesses, went through the VIP channel for PPE supply at a cost of £10.5bn.
I ask this, based on your recent criticism of your government around the free school meals decision and criticism of the cost to the economy of the current lockdown. As our representative in Westminster, it would be much appreciated by us all if you could find an answer.
Ten times more likely to awarded a contract
Suppliers that went via the VIP channel were ten times more likely to awarded a contract, I’m sure you would like to know as much as I would, which companies went through the VIP channel, the result, who made the decision to place them in the VIP channel, the application process and the difference in PPE pricing compared to those not in the VIP channel.
Your criticism of your government over free school meals was valid, indeed the amount of money required to honour the voucher scheme was made as profit, by one individual simply acting as a go between for a supplier of PPE (£21m).
Where’s the Island Deal?
The amounts in question are considerable sums of money, coupled with the announcement that an extra £16.5bn of funding will added to the defence budget, now might also be the right time to update us on the progress of the Island deal that you talked so fondly of last December.
The Island elected you as its representative. As ever, if you require assistance I am more than happy to help.
Kind regards, Richard Quigley
Image: togawanderings under CC BY 2.0
