Lady Hallett, who read the “closed” evidence provided by the NCA, said: “There is clearly sensitive material obtained by the inquiry in its Module 5 investigation into Medpro which is not in the public domain and to publish it would, in my view, aggravate rather than ameliorate the risk of harm or damage to any possible criminal trial.
They added: “The NCA has provided evidence in support of the inquiry’s Module 5 investigation, parts of which will be heard in closed proceedings in order to protect the integrity of the NCA’s ongoing investigation and any future proceedings.”.
Baroness Heather Hallett concluded there would be a risk of prejudice to potential criminal proceedings if “sensitive evidence” is heard in public, with the inquiry set to begin four weeks of scrutiny of decisions to purchase personal protective equipment on March 3.
The NCA said the restrictions should include the identity of any person under investigation and evidence relating to the opinion of government officials concerning the company’s contracts.
An NCA spokesperson said the PPE investigation remains a priority for the agency, adding in “serious economic crime investigations these lines of inquiry can be incredibly complex”.
