The UK government’s use of a so-called “VIP lane” to award millions of pounds’ worth of contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) was unlawful, the High Court has ruled. The Good Law Project and EveryDoctor took legal action over nearly £600 million ($822 million) of contracts awarded to pest control firm PestFix and hedge fund Ayanda Capital at the height of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The High Court was told a VIP lane was reserved for referrals from MPs, ministers, and senior officials, with the campaigners arguing the government “prioritised suppliers including PestFix and Ayanda because of who they knew, not what they could deliver.” In a judgment on Wednesday, Judge Dame Finola Mary O’Farrell said the use of the VIP lane, officially known as the high priority lane, was unlawful. However, she found both of the companies’ offers “justified priority treatment on its merits” and were “very …