Covid: Hertfordshire firm sues as £45m NHS masks deal collapses

Five million medical masks bought by the government for £45m are missing amid claims of fraud.

The government agreed a contract with supplier Purple Surgical in April.

The respirator masks were due to arrive in the UK by June, but the company could not supply them.

Hertfordshire-based Purple Surgical has filed papers alleging fraud by its supplier Win Billion Investment Group, a firm in the British Virgin Islands, as first reported in the Guardian.

Its chief executive Robert Sharpe has confirmed to the BBC that the company intends to fulfil the order - but if that is not possible, the full value of the contract will be repaid.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said it could not comment on individual allegations of fraud, but all allegations are taken seriously.

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