Russell Scott
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russellscott1.bsky.social
Russell Scott
@russellscott1.bsky.social
Investigative Journalist: Good Law Project. Guardian. Byline. The Pitch Inspection

Book ➡️VIP LANE: viplanebook.com

Film ➡️ https://www.itv.com/watch/the-covid-contracts-follow-the-money/10a6572a0001B/10a6572a0001

Portfolio ➡️ russellscott.contently.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:48 PM
🗣️One week to go…

If you want to hear more about the VIP Lane scandal come join me in Pickering, North Yorkshire on the 21st November…

Tickets free. More info here:

@bylinetimes.bsky.social @yorkpress.bsky.social @yorkshirepost.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 4:43 PM
🚨 I write about all of these characters in my new book: VIP Lane: Cronyism and the Pandemic

Buy it here: Viplanebook.com

Published by @bylinetimes.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM
💥The PPE VIP Lane scandal isn’t going away…

Despite the previous government hoping it would.

A reminder the Covid Contracts scandal cost the tax-payer £15billion.

So far over 1million pallets of unused/unusable PPE have been incinerated

Some headlines this week ⤵️
November 8, 2025 at 10:39 PM
🚨🚨 Boss behind £255m PPE deal arrested over missing tax millions

Tim Horlick’s Ayanda Capital won the contract in 2020 despite having no history of manufacturing protective gear

Belter from Gabriel Pogrund 💥⤵️

www.thetimes.com/article/9604...
November 8, 2025 at 9:07 PM
For years both Uniserve and the Cabinet Office (under the previous government) down played any links.

Uniserve were paid £1.4bn by the DHSC during the pandemic 🥵

Lopez’s office was literally next door to Uniserve’s ⤵️
November 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM
All of this and more is covered in my new book - VIP Lane: Cronyism and the Pandemic ⤵️

Viplanebook.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:47 PM
🚨 Company linked to Michelle Mone owes £39m in unpaid taxes ⤵️

👀Great report by David Conn 🗞️ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

A reminder that Mone/Barrowman admitted in recent interview they have £60m from the botched deal stashed in family trust funds ⤵️🤦🏻‍♂️
November 5, 2025 at 10:15 PM
My new book - VIP Lane: Cronyism and the Pandemic covers all of these controversial contracts and more…

Available here: Viplanebook.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Fourthly: Gove 🤝Baxendale/CIGA

Michael Gove Lobbied Government Officials to Hand Conservative Donor Multimillion Pound Covid Contract

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/23/m...
November 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Third up: Gove 🤝 Dyson

Michael Gove Told Officials to Buy 10,000 Ventilators From Dyson During Pandemic in ‘Affront’ to Procurement Rules

bylinetimes.com/2025/03/05/m...
November 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
An interesting interview with Michael Gove.

A shame his role in the PPE VIP Lane wasn’t discussed.

However, I found Gove comments on SpAd’s revealing. Instantly reminded me of decisions made by ministers/advisors who referred VIP firms - including Gove.

A reminder of Gove’s involvement:

🧵
November 3, 2025 at 9:12 PM
👀”We watched supposed orders, including even ones where we’d sign contracts and sent cash - vanish in the PPE crisis - companies welched on deals, and govts stopped planes flying.” 🤦🏻‍♂️

Dominic Cummings view on PPE procurement during COVID

Read more here; bylinetimes.com/2025/10/31/d...
November 1, 2025 at 11:46 AM
🚨Two years+ after @GoodLawProject revealed Luxe Lifestyle were on PPE Vip Lane thanks to the help of a former minister, the government finally corrects the record.

But, as I detail in my book Viplanebook.com this is still the tip of the iceberg.

It’s likely that 70 firms were on VIP Lane not 52
🧵
October 31, 2025 at 12:42 PM
🚨 The Covid Corruption Commissioner has referred additional PPE suppliers to the National Crime Agency for “Suspected Fraud”👀

Confirmed by James Murray HMT Minister ⤵️⤵️

www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=20... @bylinetimes.bsky.social @goodlawproject.bsky.social @goodlawproject.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The scandal that refuses to go away..

“Deborah Doyle, who lost her mum Sylvia Griffiths, 76, in a care home in April 2020, said news of the flat purchase was adding “insult to injury”.

“What a slap in the face for the care staff and the bereaved..”

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
October 28, 2025 at 10:54 AM
This is “billionaire island” fyi ⤵️
October 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
All of these characters get a good mention in my new book: VIP Lane.

📖viplanebook.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
In their last interview with the BBC, Mone and Barrowman accepted that £60m profit from the botched VIP Lane deal is sitting in family trust funds 🤦🏻‍♂️
October 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
You couldn’t make it up…

“Baroness Mone & her husband Doug Barrowman have bought a £10m home on America’s “billionaire island”, where their neighbours will include Amazon’s Jeff Bezos..”

Less than a month after PPE Medpro ordered to pay back £120m+ 🤦🏻‍♂️

www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...
October 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
🚨Very excited to say that I’ve been shortlisted for a British Journalism Award for my reporting, published by @bylinetimes.bsky.social on the Covid Inquiry & VIP Lane.

👀Read the reports that got me shortlisted here: bylinetimes.com/author/russe...

Thank you 🙏

pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazett...
October 23, 2025 at 2:17 PM
However, some have been shared. Including this outburst to PM Boris Johnson:

“Not only do I get completely fucked over by decisions on the 4th January that I took the shit and abuse for,.."

"..then at that point I then have to be deployed to sort out No10’s clusterfuck”.

👀👀
October 20, 2025 at 10:26 AM
🚨Covid Inquiry reveals yet ANOTHER former Minister has deleted all WhatsApp / text messages covering the pandemic years. 🤦‍♂️

Sir Gavin Williamson (former Education Secretary) revealed: "it is my practice to frequently delete such messages and not to enable back-ups"
October 20, 2025 at 10:26 AM
1000 more books signed and ready to be delivered. 🖊 📚

Thank you to everyone buying the book & supporting my investigations covering the PPE VIP Lane scandal.

5yrs in the making- still more to uncover.

But a copy here @bylinetimes.bsky.social: viplanebook.com or usual places 🙏
October 18, 2025 at 12:21 PM
👀Unsurprisingly PPE Medpro failed to repay the £122m on time, following its botched VIP Lane deal

In this recent interview Baroness Mone & Co admit £60m from that deal is sitting in a family trust fund. 🤷‍♂️

I talk a lot about my investigation into the PPE Medpro contract in my book: viplanebook.com
October 17, 2025 at 8:37 AM