Michelle Mone

2022 - 4 - 29

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Financial Times"

Properties linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone raided in PPE ... (Financial Times)

PPE Medpro was set up by a business associate of Mone and received more than £200mn in contracts after it was fast-tracked as a supplier.

Michelle Mone's home raided as PPE firm linked to Tory peer ... (The Guardian)

The National Crime Agency has launched a potential fraud investigation into a PPE company linked to Michelle Mone and searched the Tory peer's shared home.

The government rejected PPE Medpro’s gowns after checks in the UK and has said it is seeking to recover its money through a dispute resolution process. It is not known whether the searches of PPE Medpro-associated properties are part of a wider investigation by the NCA into potential fraud related to PPE procurement during the pandemic. PPE Medpro’s first government contract, worth £80.85m for the supply of face masks, was awarded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in late May 2020. In January the Guardian reported that leaked files appeared to suggest Mone and Barrowman were secretly involved in the PPE Medpro business. Responding to previous stories, Mone’s lawyers have said any suggestion of an association or collusion between the Tory peer and PPE Medpro would be “inaccurate” and that she was not involved in the business. However, the investigation is likely to resurface questions about the wider £12bn in PPE contracts the government awarded during the pandemic under emergency rules that bypassed normal competitive tender processes.

Michelle Mone's home raided in connection with £200m Covid PPE ... (insider.co.uk)

The National Crime Agency is investigating deals done by company set up by an associate of the Baroness.

It is not known which PPE Medpro deal or deals the NCA is investigating. The sizes are in the order. We are waiting for the official PO [purchase order], this should come in today.” They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.” But it is believed that the investigation is being carried out by a team of officers with expertise in cross-border and financial crime. The Department for Health is in dispute with PPE Medpro over millions of surgical gowns which it bought for £122m in 2020.

Police raid Baroness Mone's mansion in £200m PPE contract inquiry (Telegraph.co.uk)

Officers remove documents, computers and phones in searches of four properties, including Isle of Man home of the Tory peer.

PPE Medpro has insisted it met the terms of the contract and denies any wrongdoing. It was reported earlier this year that gowns purchased by the Government for £122 million had been bought from a Chinese manufacturer for just £46 million. More than 12 officers turned up at the Knox House building in Douglas, the island’s capital, where PPE Medpro is based.

Lingerie tycoon's house 'raided in £200000000 PPE fraud' probe (Metro)

Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone's London home was reportedly searched as part of a National Crime Agency inquiry into suspected PPE fraud.

A spokesperson for Isle of Man police told Metro.co.uk: ‘The Isle of Man Constabulary, in support of an ongoing NCA investigation, executed search warrants at four addresses in the Isle of Man. No arrests were made.’ Meanwhile legal representatives for the company have said the gowns purchased by Department of Health were ‘fully inspected’. Baroness Mone – is also the subject of an inquiry by the House of Lords’ standards commissioner over her alleged involvement with the company. However 25million surgical gowns purchased by the Government were never used in hospital as they were ditched by the Department of Health and Social Care following an inspection. The company was started by an associate of Baroness Mone and was later entered into the so-called ‘VIP lane’ for surgical supplies. In May 2020, before the deal was struck, the Glasgow-born lingerie tycoon is said to have referred PPE Medpro to the Cabinet Office minister responsible for procurement.

Police raid home of Tory peer over £203m PPE Medpro fraud probe (PoliticalFiber.com)

Police have raided the home of a Tory peer as part of an investigation into government contracts worth £203 million awarded to PPE Medpro.

PPE Medpro maintains it met the terms of the contract and is entitled to keep the £122 million. In June 2020, PPE Medpro won a £122 million DHSC contract to supply 25 million sterile surgical gowns. A few weeks after the company was founded, PPE Medpro was awarded an £80.5 million contract by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in May to supply face masks.

Michelle Mone: who is the Baroness, is she linked to PPE Medpro ... (NationalWorld)

The Isle of Man mansion of Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone has been searched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation into a PPE company ...

Mone and her husband married when she was 19 years old, and she went on to work for Labatt Brewing Company as a marketer. Mone's attorneys have responded to previous stories by saying that any indication of a relationship or cooperation between the Tory peer and PPE Medpro is "inaccurate", and that she was not involved in the company. No arrests were made. Mone was invited to join the board of directors for the Prince's Scottish Youth Commercial Trust by Prince Charles in 2001, and she was awarded an OBE by the Queen in 2010 for her business achievements. The agency searched multiple premises connected to the corporation in the Isle of Man and London on Wednesday (27 April). The Isle of Man mansion of Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone has been searched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation into a PPE company linked to Mone and her shared home.