The thinktank Fashion Roundtable is delivering a letter to Downing Street urging the housing secretary Andy Burnham to commit to manufacturing NHS and Ministry of Defence uniforms in the UK, arguing that domestic public procurement contracts would help preserve Britain's manufacturing industry. The letter, signed by more than 1,200 people including adventurer Ben Fogle and Sewing Bee presenter Patrick Grant, comes amid growing concern over reliance on overseas suppliers, with critics citing wasted PPE spending during the pandemic and security fears over uniforms made in China.

Campaigners point to the Covid inquiry's finding that nearly £10bn was wasted on flawed PPE procurement, much of it from China, contrasting this with Scotland's domestic PPE production, which generated £66.7m in economic value and 1,400 jobs. They cite the US's Berry amendment, which legally requires military uniforms to be made domestically, as a model, and note Burnham's own preference for UK-made clothing. Industry figures such as Kate Hills of Make It British and Patrick Grant, who owns manufacturer Community Clothing, say guaranteed government contracts would give firms confidence to invest and hire, though Grant warned the procurement process is currently too complex for smaller manufacturers to bid for.