THE UK Government has been called upon to publish details of all contracts made during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns it has been operating a “chumocracy,” awarding lucrative deals and top posts to Conservative allies.

The call has come in the wake of today’s report by the public spending watchdog, which has accused ministers of setting aside the normal standards of transparency as they rushed to secure £18 billion worth of supplies and services in their battle against the killer virus.

The National Audit Office[NAO] found that firms recommended by MPs, peers and ministers’ offices were given priority as the Government raced against the rest of the world to acquire masses of personal protective equipment[PPE].

Usually, ministers must advertise contracts for privately provided services so that any company can openly compete to secure the work.

Labour’s Meg Hillier, who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said the failings uncovered in the NAO report could be the “tip of the iceberg” and called for ministers to “come clean” and publish all information about the contracts awarded.

The report found -

*By July 31 more than 8,600 contracts worth £18bn had been awarded, including £10.5bn without any competition process.

*A “high-priority lane” was established for firms referred to the PPE team by officials, ministers’ offices, MPs, peers and senior NHS staff, with around one in 10 companies going through this route getting a contract compared to one in 100 for those in the “ordinary lane”.

*Contracts were awarded retrospectively after work was carried out, including a £3.2 million agreement with Deloitte to support the PPE team and an £840,000 deal with Public First for focus groups.

*There was “inadequate documentation” in a number of cases on how risks, including potential conflicts of interest, had been managed.

*Many of the contracts awarded were not published in a timely manner.

Gareth Davies, the NAO chief, said: “At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, government had to procure large volumes of goods and services quickly whilst managing the increased risks this might entail.

“While we recognise that these were exceptional circumstances, it remains essential that decisions are properly documented and made transparent if government is to maintain public trust that taxpayers’ money is being spent appropriately and fairly.”

He added: “The evidence set out in our report shows that these standards of transparency and documentation were not consistently met in the first phase of the pandemic.”

The NAO investigation looked in detail at 20 contracts including:

*Public First, the owners of which have “previously advised or worked with” Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister;

*Faculty, the Artificial intelligence company, in which Lord Agnew, the Cabinet Office Minister, owned £90,000 of shares – although he has since ceased his interest in the firm – was awarded contracts worth almost £3m;

*Ayanda Capital, a £253m deal brokered by a businessman who was an adviser to the Board of Trade at the time, which resulted in the purchase of 50m masks for £155m, which could not be used for their original purpose and

*PestFix, a pest control company, was mistakenly put in the high-priority route and given contracts worth £350m, which included delivery of 600,000 masks, which could not be used for their original purpose.

The NAO concluded: “In the examples we examined, where there were potential conflicts of interest involving ministers, we found that the ministers had properly declared their interests and we found no evidence of their involvement in procurement decisions or contract management.”

However, concern from the Government’s political opponents has been growing at what has also been dubbed the “cronyvirus” culture.

Baroness Harding, a Conservative peer and the wife of John Penrose, a Tory MP, was appointed to run NHS Test and Trace south of the border while Kate Bingham, whose husband, Jesse Norman, is a Tory MP and Treasury minister, was appointed to oversee the vaccines taskforce.

Rachel Reeves for Labour said the NAO report confirmed the Government’s approach to procurement had “fallen far short of what this country deserves; lessons must be learned”.

The Shadow Cabinet Office Minister said it showed “at best, this incompetent government can’t even get basic paperwork right; at worst, it may be deliberately attempting to cover its tracks, avoid scrutiny or withhold information from the public while wasting taxpayer money”.

Ms Reeves added: “From paying for useless PPE to a maintaining Serco's failed contract tracing system, we have seen disastrous decisions which have squandered public money and held back our country's response to Covid-19.

“The country deserves to have confidence their money is being spent effectively by the Government and to know without doubt that friends and donors to the Conservative Party aren't profiting from this pandemic.”

On Monday, the SNP wrote to the Prime Minister demanding a public inquiry into "rampant Tory cronyism" at the heart of the UK Government.

Pete Wishart, its spokesman on the Cabinet Office, said: "Taxpayers deserve answers as to why billions of pounds of our money has been handed to companies with links to the Tory Party and why privileged access and 'jobs for the boys' have been given to so many Tory friends, relatives, donors and lobbyists.

"It might all be one big, amazing coincidence but without full transparency the public will be forgiven for thinking this absolutely stinks,” added the Perth MP.

On claims Mr Johnson was operating a “chumocracy,” his spokesman said: “As part of the response to an unprecedented pandemic what we have done is regularly drawn on the expertise of private sector partners and this includes establishing the largest diagnostic network in British history and a test and tracing system used by tens of millions of people. What that has done is help to strengthen our response, so we are better prepared for the challenges of the coming months.”

Meanwhile, legal papers filed in a US court dispute suggested a Spanish businessman who acted as a go-between to secure protective garments for NHS staff was paid £21m in UK taxpayer cash and had been in line for a further £10m of UK public funds.

The Department of Health has insisted proper checks were done for all contracts.