PRIVATEERS vying for a massive £1 billion NHS sell-off hid behind a veil of secrecy yesterday after health service bosses refused to publish the list of bidders.

A host of profit-hungry firms including US weapons giant Lockheed Martin and disgraced outsourcers G4S and Serco were known to be in the running for the huge primary care deal.

They were among 21 companies which attended a secret meeting to “express interest” in the contract.
Also in attendance was KPMG, which recently hired Tory MP Stephen Dorrell — until recently chair of the Commons health select committee.

But NHS England remained tight-lipped yesterday on the firms which had lodged a bid by last Friday’s deadline.
Health union Unison said it had been told that the details would stay secret following “legal advice” given to bosses.

Unison official Nick Bradley accused NHS England of shutting out workers and the union by refusing to release the names.
“I do not understand why it is not possible for both the trade union and the staff to be told which companies have submitted applications,” he said, describing the level of secrecy as “extraordinary.”

“To hide this information adds to our serious concerns about a process in which a massive arms manufacturer and a company linked to a sitting member of Parliament in the government have both expressed an interest by attending a bidder day earlier this year.”

The winner of the contract will control millions of patient medical records, oversee their transport and storage, and manage prescription payments and admin support for thousands of front-line professionals.

NHS “commissioning support units” were banned from bidding because they themselves also being primed for privatisation in 2016.

A public-sector bid for the 10-year contract would therefore have breached EU procurement regulations.
Mr Bradley said: “The secrecy around this contract is extraordinary.

“This is a dangerous experiment and it beggars belief that NHS England would award such a huge contract to a private company.

“Everything about the contract is wrong from its nature, secrecy and the rushed timescale.”