The authorities's method to purchasing private protecting tools (PPE) in the course of the pandemic resembled "panic buying", in accordance with a bunch of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee has launched a report into the purchases, saying officers needed to work at "very fast pace in extraordinary circumstances" to pay money for what was wanted.

But it claimed the "rushed" method meant "many risky contracts" have been signed with suppliers throughout COVID, and £9bn of public cash needed to be written off.

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The committee stated the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had "insufficient time and resources to reflect properly on each offer", and the strain led officers to "accept very high levels of risk" - together with shopping for merchandise the place the bids or suppliers have been "sub-optimal".

"Colloquially, this might be called panic buying," they added.

The report additionally pointed to the so-called VIP lanes, the place some PPE contracts have been handed over following referrals from MPs, ministers and senior officers, that have been later ruled unlawful by the High Court.

The committee stated the danger of battle of curiosity by way of the route was "high by design".

But on the particular case of Tory peer Baroness Mone, who's alleged to have referred PPE Medpro by way of the VIP lane for contracts value £200m and to have profited by way of her hyperlinks to the agency - allegations she denies - the MPs have been unable to "comprehensively conclude" her emails have been handled in another way by ministers.

Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier stated the conclusions have been "limited by nature" as there was an ongoing investigation by the National Crime Agency into the case.

Labour's deputy chief Angela Rayner stated the report confirmed the case was "just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this Conservative government's culture of cronyism and waste".

She added: "The government's dodgy contracts handed out through the illegal VIP Lane, woeful mismanagement and abject failures of due diligence have seen billions of the public's money frittered away on PPE unfit for human use."

A DHSC spokesperson stated: "We acted swiftly to procure PPE at the height of the pandemic, competing in an overheated global market where demand massively outstripped supply.

"Due diligence was carried out on all firms and each firm was subjected to the identical checks.

"We have launched legal proceedings against the firm in question and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further."

The Department of Health and Social Care is suing PPE Medpro for greater than £130m over robes it supplied in the course of the pandemic - however the agency has known as it a "cynical attempt to recover money from suppliers" who acted in good religion.