UK spent billions on PPE because stockpile was inadequate, report says

One of the biggest items in the chancellor’s massive spending spree over the last few months has been the £12.5 billion spent on personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.

But today, the public spending watchdog said that huge expenditure was the result of the government buying gloves, masks and gowns when global prices were soaring.

Ministers had relied on a stockpile that proved inadequate when the crisis hit, and the system was overwhelmed by the scale of demand for these items.