Baroness Bra is involved in crime probe over £203m PPE contracts
A TORY peer suffered a fresh blow last night as a Westminster sleaze watchdog stated for the first time that she is caught up in a criminal inquiry.
Michelle Mone has been under investigation by the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards since January over her alleged links to a medical supplies firm that won £203million in government contracts after she recommended it to ministers.
She is accused of breaching the Lords Code of Conduct by failing to declare an interest in PPE Medpro as well as by lobbying for it to win the huge deals to provide surgical gowns and face masks.
Yesterday the watchdog stated for the first time that the matter is under investigation as part of a criminal inquiry into the scandal.
Although it emerged in April that the National Crime Agency had searched the Isle of Man home that Baroness Mone shares with her husband as part of a potential fraud investigation into PPE Medpro, she has always denied any involvement in the firm. A statement on the Parliament website said: ‘The Commissioner is unable to finalise or publish any report into the conduct of Baroness Mone while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation. Once any criminal process is complete or has ceased, the Commissioner will complete his investigation and publish his report.’
It came as the 51-year-old lingerie tycoon – dubbed Baroness Bra – was criticised by MPs over allegations that she made millions from poor- quality medical supplies sold to the NHS.
The controversy reached the Commons yesterday after The Guardian reported that £29million in profits from PPE Medpro had been transferred by her husband, Douglas Barrowman, to an offshore trust whose beneficiaries were Lady Mone and her children, despite her denying benefiting financially from the firm.
In an urgent question on PPE procurement, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ‘Documents seen by The Guardian revealed yet another case of taxpayers’
money being wasted, with a total failure of due diligence and a conflict of interest at the heart of government procurement.
‘In May 2020, PPE Medpro was set up and given £203million in government contracts after a referral from a Tory peer.
‘It now appears that tens of millions of pounds of that money ended up in offshore accounts connected to the individuals involved – profits made possible through the company’s personal connections to ministers and the Tories’ VIP lane, which was declared illegal by the High Court.’
She asked if any public money had been recovered from PPE Medpro.
Health minister Neil O’Brien acknowledged that it had been reported that PPE Medpro ‘had an underperforming contract’.
He said that in such cases, the Government writes to firms outlining a claim for damages ahead of litigation if an agreement cannot be reached.
‘We have not got to the point where a satisfactory agreement has been reached,’ he said.
Lady Mone attempted to dismiss the growing scandal surrounding her. ‘Don’t believe everything you read, or everything you think,’ she wrote on Instagram, in a post that was applauded by footballer’s wife Rebekah Vardy.