A SCOTLAND-BASED firm which has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party received a £93 million emergency PPE contract from the UK Government, it has emerged.
The contract was given to Globus (Shetland) Limited without going to competitive tender under emergency rules earlier this year, the Daily Record reported.
Over the last four years the firm has given more than £365,000 to the Tories.
The news comes amid calls for an investigation into the lack of competitive tendering over PPE supply.
READ MORE: £1 billion of government contracts given to Tory 'friends and donors' during crisis
It is thought the UK Government has handed more than £1 billion of contracts to firms run by Tory “friends and donors” during the pandemic.
Jolyon Maugham, the director of the Good Law Project, said: “You can’t sensibly speculate on whether Globus’ donation to the Tories played a part in it winning this vast contract.
“But the Government’s decision to hide from public view the price, we the taxpayer, paid for these facemasks leaves a distinctly bad taste in the mouth.”
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing regarding the company or its directors.
Globus (Shetland) has won awards in recent years for its work supplying PPE. Its UK Government contract calls on the firm to provide millions of respirator masks.
The firm also has a contract from the SNP-led Scottish Government to supply PPE to NHS Scotland.
A spokesperson for Globus said: “We’re proud to be doing our bit to help NHS frontline staff fighting Covid-19 across Scotland and England do their jobs safely.
"Earlier this year Alpha Solway, a Globus company based in Annan, was awarded a contract by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP-led government to provide more than 230 million masks and 2m visors for NHS Scotland. We also have a contract to manufacture and supply PPE to the DHSC in England
"In both cases we followed the bidding process we were asked to follow. We are comfortable with any tendering process that Scottish or English Government choose to put in place because we are confident in our 25 years PPE experience and long track record for delivering quality and value for all of our customers.
“All political donations made by Globus Group are fully, transparently and properly declared.”
A Tory spokesman added: “There is no question of any individual influencing Government contracts by virtue of donations they may give to the party.
“Donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”
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