A company associated with Baroness Mone has failed to meet a deadline to repay £122 million to the Government for supplying faulty PPE. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to pursue PPE Medpro aggressively after it did not comply with the High Court’s order to pay by 4 pm on the specified date.
The Department of Health and Social Care successfully sued the group, led by Baroness Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman, for delivering 25 million substandard surgical gowns in 2020. The court instructed PPE Medpro to refund the public funds with interest, totaling over £145 million, accruing at 8% per year until repayment.
PPE Medpro declared insolvency the day before the court ruling, revealing minimal assets of £666,000 in its recent financial records. Streeting criticized the company for selling inadequate equipment during a national crisis, emphasizing the outstanding debt and daily accruing interest.
The Mirror initially disclosed the connection between Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro, which secured significant contracts for PPE distribution during the pandemic. The Scottish entrepreneur referred the firm through a VIP channel as the Covid outbreak intensified in 2020, denying any direct involvement to the media. However, it later emerged that she and her spouse profited £65 million from the company.
In 2023, the couple admitted to misleading the public about their association with PPE Medpro. A spokesperson for the consortium mentioned willingness to negotiate with the Government for a potential settlement, criticizing the lack of response from the authorities.
Legal representatives for PPE Medpro argued during the trial that the company faced unfair treatment, attributing gown defects to post-delivery storage conditions. Baroness Mone and Mr. Barrowman denounced the Government’s portrayal of them as the faces of the PPE scandal, claiming rejected settlement offers and alleging a miscarriage of justice.
PPE Medpro maintains it delivered as promised and contests the sterility issues, citing a technicality in the court’s judgment. Baroness Mone faces extensive public scrutiny post the High Court ruling, with a petition signed by over 285,000 individuals demanding her removal from the House of Lords.
Appointed a Tory peer by David Cameron, Baroness Mone took a leave from the Lords in 2022, relinquishing her party affiliation. Removing her peerage would necessitate parliamentary action, although she retains the option to resign from the House of Lords.