Lady Mone takes a leave of absence from Lords
TORY peer Michelle Mone has taken a “leave of absence” from the House of Lords, saying the move was “to clear her name” over allegations she profited from a £200m government contract for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.
Her announcement yesterday, which came with immediate effect, was ahead of a Labour attempt to force the government into publishing all paperwork relating to PPE Medpro’s contract.
MPS last night voted in favour of the party’s motion, with ministers promising to release documents once current investigations have been completed.
Last week, the Guardian reported Lady Mone and her children received £29m from the profits of the company. She reportedly helped it secure a place in the “VIP lane” used by the government during the pandemic.
The Lords’ standards watchdog is investigating Lady Mone over her alleged involvement in procuring contracts for PPE Medpro, although this has been paused “while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation”.
She has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company, and her lawyers have previously said she is “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings and will not be able to claim any allowance.
A spokesman for the Tory peer said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her.”
Ahead of last night’s debate in the Commons, Chris Bryant, chair of the Commons Standards Committee, suggested Lady Mone could be trying to dodge a sanction by taking a leave of absence from the Lords.
The Labour MP told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “You don’t really step down, you don’t wipe away the fact you’re a member of the House of Lords, you apply for a leave of absence.
“If she’s done that genuinely because she wants to devote herself to other things, fine. I just have a sneaking suspicion that what she might be trying to do is avoid being sanctioned by the House of Lords because, obviously, it’s more difficult for the Lords to sanction someone who isn’t actually there as a sitting member.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner told the Commons: “The links between Medpro company and the Tory peer in question were never publicly disclosed. In fact they were denied repeatedly by
They have plenty of interest payments from their ill-gotten gains
the lawyers acting for those involved.
“We now know that the money ended up in offshore accounts directly linked to those individuals.”
Labour former minister Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent Central, said: “There’s been negligence, but there’s been something a little more sinister happening in Government.”
She said people had “stolen money from the public”, adding: “The people who have taken this money - unlawfully really, but really it was helped by Government ministers - but the people who have taken this money have had plenty of interest payments from their ill-gotten gains.
“But now is the time...to give that money back. And that includes the donations that have been given from these people who have had a bung from this Covid crisis - the donations to the Tory party need to come back into the public purse.”
UK health minister Will Quince said yesterday the information would be released when investigations are concluded.