Scottish Tory peer helped personal protective equipment firm gain £200m Covid contract
A Scottish Tory peer is among a list of politicians who referred companies to a controversial UK ‘VIP lane’ for Covid-19 contracts.
Baroness Michelle Mone, a Scottish entrepreneur who was handed a life peerage by the then-prime Minister David Cameron in 2015, was named on a leaked list published yesterday by political website Politico.
The list cites 47 firms that won contracts via the UK Government’s ‘fast-track’ system, which resulted in quick decisions around procurement of PPE in the early stages of the pandemic.
The information was set to published by the UK Government before next week after the information commissioner ordered its release and criticised its decision to withhold the information. According to the list, former health secretary Matt Hancock referred four firms to the VIP lane, with former highprofile Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings referring one, and MPS Julian Lewis, Steve Brine, Esther Mcvey and Andrew Percy all submitting referrals.
The disgraced Mr Hancock who stepped down after his affair with an aide was exposed, referred four companies to the VIP lane, while former Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, now leading the government’s Levelling Up agenda, referred Meller Designs, which won contracts worth £50 million. Meller Designs is run by Conservative Party donor David Meller.
Baroness Mone, who made her fortune in the lingerie sector, referred PPE Medpro through the VIP channel, with the firm later winning contracts worth £200m.
One of the company's directors, Anthony Paige, was previously a secretary for MGM Media who manages Baroness Mone’s personal brand and sits as a director of Knox House Trust, part of the Knox Group run by her husband Douglas Barrowman.
A lawyer for Baroness Mone told The Guardianneither of them had any role in the awarding of PPE Medpro’s contracts. A spokesperson for Baroness Mone said: “Baroness Mone is neither an investor, director or shareholder in any way associated with PPE Medpro. She has never had any role or function.”