UK Covid inquiry: China PPE media leaks were ‘not helpful’

Media reporting on the BBC on 10 April 2020 questioning if personal protective equipment (PPE) provided from China met UK standards was not helpful, the UK Covid Inquiry has heard.

It was one of two issues raised at the inquiry by the Northern Ireland Executive Office’s Director of International Relations in relation to the procurement of PPE.

Tim Losty was director from 2012-2021 and during this time he established the NI Bureau Office in China.

The UK Covid Inquiry is currently examining the procurement and distribution of key healthcare related equipment and supplies, including PPE, ventilators, and oxygen across the four UK nations.

Mr Losty told the inquiry that PPE was a concern for everybody, including the media, and that the discussion on the BBC’s Nolan Show came via a “leaked memo” at a “very early stage” in Northern Ireland’s negotiation with a Chinese company, China Resources, for PPE.

He said the name of the company he was dealing with was mentioned by one of the people who called into the show, and “the fact that the memo was leaked at that time, when we were still in the early stages of negotiation and getting the necessary PPE items confirmed in the right quality standards – it wasn’t helpful”.

Mr Losty told the inquiry he did not think the memo “cast aspersions” but said there were issues across a number of media outlets about quality of PPE that was coming into Northern Ireland, but that “none of those queries related to the company that we were dealing with”.

“PPE was coming in from China in a variety of different ways,” Mr Losty said.

“The PPE that we got met all the standards.

“We received some donated PPE from organizations we were in partnership with, as well as expat groups.

“Some of that PPE, because it didn’t come with the necessary quality certification, we were not able to use in front line services,” he said.

The inquiry heard that the PPE that was provided as a result of this procurement was of good quality and was used.

“It all met the necessary standards that was confirmed by the health professionals and by the ministers who then confirmed that to China resources,” he said.

Before the break, the chair of the Inquiry commented that “leaking is something about which I’ve heard before in relation to Northern Ireland I fear”.

The second main risk Mr Losty identified with the procurement of PPE from China Resources Pharmaceuticals in April 2020 was in relation “some clumsy attempts of fraud”.

He told the inquiry that somebody who found out they were dealing with China Resources sent an email saying they were now looking after the order and to send the money to a different account.

“I suppose in this day and age we’re all very familiar with how scammers operate.

“They can’t be very clever.

“So, I don’t know how people picked up on that information, but I know at that time, with everything else happening in the world, that there’s some people up to very unscrupulous activities,” Mr Losty said.

In another example, the inquiry heard how contact was made to a company working with China Resources saying their “new” company was working on behalf of the NI Executive and to provide them with the products, which at this stage was a shipment of gloves.

It was a “shell company” which had not existed before.

It had just been set up a couple of days previously and had no names or no company history.

“Again, it was a clumsy attempt, and would never have happened one because of China resources, their practices,” Mr Losty said.

“Also, we had at that stage, an exclusivity agreement with China resources.

“And also, the shell company wouldn’t have been on the China government’s list to be able to export PPE,” he said.