THE personal protective equipment firm caught in the centre of a row over England being prioritised for emergency equipment has said it is not “discriminating” against customers in Wales and Scotland.

The National reported earlier that PPE suppliers had been told not to provide care homes and agencies in Scotland and Wales after concerns were raised by the chief executive of Scottish Care.

Gompels HealthCare, which makes gloves, gowns and masks, posted a message from Public Health England on its website saying those interested in purchasing the supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic “must be registered and operating in England – apologies to Wales and Scotland, we are told you have different processes for getting emergency supplies”.

READ MORE: Westminster tells vital supply firms not to deal with Scotland

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said earlier that the Scottish Government is “extremely concerned” by the reports and will be investigating them further.

Now, Gompels has updated its website – and reiterated that the decision not to allow sales to Scotland and Wales was not made by the company.

They wrote: “These restrictions are not something we have decided, they are a criteria given to us by Public Health England.

“We have been told that there are alternative arrangements in place for Wales and Scotland, but we have not been able to find out what they are.

“The criteria was given to us by Public Health England @PHE_uk. Please don't think we're discriminating against our lovely, loyal Welsh/Scottish customers.”

This afternoon, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she wished to raise these concerns with Matt Hancock during a planned phone call – but said he had “cancelled” that.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Matt Hancock cancels call with Jeane Freeman on PPE

"Let me underline the seriousness with which I am taking the reports of Personal Protective Equipment destined for Scottish care homes being diverted to England.

"As the First Minster has said, we are urgently seeking clarity around this situation.

"I  had intended to raise that personally with the UK Health Secretary today but he has cancelled the planned call so I have instead written to remind him that he specifically does not have my agreement to the centralisation of ordering or distribution of PPE, or to the diversion of orders placed in Scotland for destination to Scottish social care or the health service."

A UK Government spokesperson said it was working closely with the devolved administrations to co-ordinate the distribution of PPE evenly across the UK.

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