Conservative peer Michelle Mone has defended her involvement in securing £200 million in Covid-19 PPE contracts, claiming that “business isn’t plain sailing”. The comments come amid a National Crime Agency investigation into potential fraud by PPE Medpro, the company that received the contracts after Mone referred it to ministers.
According to a Guardian analysis, Mone, her husband Douglas Barrowman, PPE Medpro and three intermediary companies appear to have made over £100 million in profits from the government contracts, most of which were moved offshore. The supply chain stretches from the Isle of Man to Cyprus, Hong Kong and China.
Mone announced she is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to clear her name. The couple have put several assets up for sale, including a yacht and properties, after secretly receiving at least £65 million from PPE Medro profits, according to bank documents.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he was “absolutely shocked” by the revelations, and MPs voted to force the government to release documents related to the contracts. Mone had lobbied ministers on behalf of PPE Medro, which was placed on a VIP lane for politically connected suppliers.
