Today the High Court ordered a company linked to ex-Tory peer Baroness Mone to pay £122 million to the Department of Health for breaching an NHS contract during the pandemic. The company – PPE Medpro – was set up by a group led by the peer’s husband Doug Barrowman.
During the pandemic, Mone recommended the company to the government through the ‘VIP lane’ on the same day it was incorporated – fast-tracking it to the top of a priority list for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts. While the then-Conservative government had flagged concerns with the company at the time – namely over its recent incorporation in 2020 and the conflict of interest with Baroness Mone – it was seen as a positive that the company was so eager to contract on the Department of Health’s terms.
PPE Medpro was awarded millions of pounds to supply millions of medical gowns during the pandemic – but none of them made it into wards, after the company was unable to prove they had been correctly sterilised. Now PPE Medpro has two weeks to pay up over the ‘faulty’ equipment – which presents a significant challenge to a company that has filed for administration with net assets of just £666,000.
This isn’t the first time Mone – who was elevated to the House of Lords by David Cameron in 2015 – has come under scrutiny for her involvement in the PPE contract scandal. In 2022, Rishi Sunak removed the Tory whip from the peer, saying he was ‘shocked’ about allegations she had benefited financially after recommending the firm. Almost a year later, Mone revealed to the BBC that she had, in fact, lied over her links to PPE Medpro.
The latest development has prompted SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn to call for the Glaswegian businesswoman to be stripped of her peerage – a move that is only possible through an act of parliament. Not that Mone is backing down, with the Baroness tweeting today that the ruling is ‘nothing less than an establishment win for the government in a case that was too big for them to lose’.
But ultimately the judgment has drawn attention back to the various scandals that arose during the pandemic – and which arguably catalysed the erosion of public trust in mainstream political parties. As support for Reform UK continues to surge across the country, this story is yet another reminder of a fractious time when senior political figures were perceived to be acting above the law.
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