Politics covid inquiry james o'brien

James O’Brien’s reaction to news that Boris Johnson oversaw £10 billion of wasted PPE during the covid pandemic surely spoke for the country

Oonagh Keating. Updated July 15th, 2026

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The former judge in charge of the Covid Inquiry, Baroness Heather Hallett, has shared some of her conclusions on how the Conservative government in place during the pandemic handled the acquisition and distribution of PPE. She won’t be recommending any of them for a medal.

Michael Gove co-ordinated the cross-party response to the pandemic. He told Krishnan Guru-Murthy that the problems were simply ‘honest errors’, also contradicting Baroness Hallett’s conclusion that the infamous VIP lane PPE was more expensive.

NHS staff worked with inadequate protection because of the Government’s bungled response.

People shared some thoughts on the news, including Gove’s excuses.

Companies capable of delivering large amounts of PPE swiftly and in line with NHS guidelines were ignored in favour of the likes of PPE Medpro. This company was formed at the start of the pandemic by Doug Barrowman, husband of the Tory peer, Michelle Mone, who then pushed for it to be given £200 million in government contracts, without disclosing that it was her family’s business.

LBC’s James O’Brien had spoken live on air with many under-utilised PPE manufacturers at that time. He responded to the news of the sheer scale of the financial waste, to say nothing of the human cost.

“It was arguably the most abject lesson in cynicism that I’ve ever had, when I looked around this country in the dog days of the pandemic and the lockdowns, and saw almost all of the ruling class in this country hear the alarm bells ringing and think ‘How can I make a few quid?'”

Despite a great deal of trolling, these reactions show that his words hit home.

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Tom W Brown voiced the frustration of those companies which could have helped, but weren’t given the opportunity, while ministers’ friends and families got rich off the back of a desperate situation.

READ MORE

A failed PPE company connected to Tory peer Michelle Mone has been ordered to repay £122 million for breach of contract – 16 scathing reactions

Source LBC Image Screengrab, Wikimedia Commons