A COUPLE who made nearly £2billion on Covid PPE will not give evidence to the government inquiry – sparking fury from the families of victims.
Sarah and Richard Stoute won a mega deal at the height of the pandemic to supply medical gowns and masks.
Former nurse Sarah Stoute pictured in the Caribbean
Richard Stoute, 54, became a director of wife Sarah’s firm in 2004
But it later emerged that £1.4billion of the kit they supplied via their firm Full Support Healthcare was binned.
Despite this, the pair have not been asked to appear before the £200million Covid Inquiry as it investigates the £12billion of public money handed out to businesses.
Samuel Akinsanya, whose mum Esther, a 55-year-old NHS nurse, died from Covid in April 2020, is among those to hit out.
He said: “I am deeply shocked.
“The Stoutes secured lucrative government contracts for PPE, often without proper scrutiny or competitive processes.
“The Government’s award of these contracts led to significant financial waste and compromised the safety of frontline workers like my mother.”
The latest stage of the inquiry comes five years after the pandemic lockdown, which transformed Britain and left more than 200,000 dead by June 2023.
At the time, the then-Tory government argued swift action was needed to secure PPE for desperate frontline NHS staff.
Ministers ordered more than 30billion masks, gowns and other PPE from private firms during the pandemic, totalling almost £15billion.
Full Support Healthcare Limited was by far the biggest winner.
Under an existing arrangement with the NHS, the firm won orders for PPE totalling £1.8billion.
The contracts were not put out to tender and there have been reports that the Stoutes were paid double the rate paid to other firms.
An estimated £1.4billion of PPE supplied by the Stoutes was later destroyed or written off.
Former nurse Sarah, 51, set up Full Support Healthcare in 2001 and Richard, 54, became a director three years later.
The couple have since splashed out on a £6million mansion in Bedfordshire, a £30million seafront mega-villa in the Caribbean, a £1million superyacht, a Bentley and an international equestrian centre.
The inquiry is supposed to look at all facets of procurement, yet they have deemed it unnecessary to seek evidence from some of the main protagonists in one of the biggest scandals of the pandemic
Nicola Brook, of law firm Broudie Jackson Canter
In December 2023, The Sun on Sunday won a High Court battle to publish pictures of the pair in the Caribbean.
After the pandemic outbreak, the Stoutes moved their company offshore to tax haven Jersey, cloaking its finances in secrecy.
The couple have claimed they benefited from a “tip-off” about the spread of coronavirus from China at the end of 2019, enabling them to quickly boost the supply of medical kit.
Retired teacher Marion Mack, whose daughter Rebecca, a 29- year-old NHS nurse, died from Covid in April 2020, was another to blast the couple.
Marion, 64, said: “The Stoutes have profited from other people’s misery.
“It’s just greed, and it’s crazy they are able to get away with something like that.
“They should be called to give evidence.”
The Covid inquiry, led by former judge Baroness Heather Hallett, began its public hearings in June 2023.
The latest hearings began on Monday and are expected to last a further three weeks.
A mountain of thousands of PPE containers were found dumped near a nature reserveSolent
The Stoutes have not been asked to appear before the £200million Covid Inquiry chaired by Baroness HallettAFP
BIGGEST SCANDALS
They are expected to investigate the controversial “VIP lane” for suppliers — amid claims that firms with links to government ministers were able to secure lucrative deals without proper scrutiny.
Nicola Brook, of law firm Broudie Jackson Canter, which represents more than 7,000 families from Covid-19 Bereaved Families For Justice UK, said: “The inquiry is supposed to look at all facets of procurement, yet they have deemed it unnecessary to seek evidence from some of the main protagonists in one of the biggest scandals of the pandemic.
“How can crucial questions be answered about how these contracts were won and what was or wasn’t delivered when major players in the whole process aren’t even being questioned?”
Bassetlaw MP Jo White said: “Those who have profited out of Covid . . . must be questioned and challenged.
“We need transparency and accountability.
“The bereaved deserve to see them [Mr and Mrs Stoute] challenged at the inquiry.”
A spokesman for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry said: “The inquiry does not need evidence from individual companies about specific orders of PPE to investigate this issue thoroughly.
“Its focus is on how the Government responded to suppliers’ offers.”
A detailed report will be written following the latest hearings.
It is likely to be published next year and will contain recommendations for future decision-making.
29-year-old nurse Rebecca Mack was among the victims of Covid during the pandemic Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
