The high court has ordered PPE Medpro, the company linked to former Tory peer Michelle Mone, to repay £122m for supplying defective surgical gowns to the NHS during the pandemic. The judgment, delivered by Mrs Justice Cockerill, found that the company had provided unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) under a contract awarded via the government's VIP lane in June 2020.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves hailed the ruling as a victory for the government's efforts to recover wasted public money. 'We want our money back. We are getting our money back,' she posted on X, adding that the funds would go to schools, the NHS and communities.
However, the prospect of recovering the full sum appears slim. PPE Medpro was placed into insolvency on 30 September, the day before the judgment, leaving it with few assets. The company has until 15 October to repay the money, but there is no realistic possibility it can do so.
Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, have denied wrongdoing for years, only admitting their involvement in late 2023. Barrowman has criticised the judgment as a 'white wash of the facts', while Mone accused Reeves of inflammatory language. On Friday, their spokesperson indicated a willingness to discuss a settlement.
The scandal has raised questions about the VIP lane system, which prioritised politically connected suppliers during the pandemic. The gowns were rejected in September 2020 due to invalid labels and lack of sterility certification. Barrowman reportedly made at least £65m from PPE Medpro's profits, with £29m transferred to a trust benefiting Mone and her children.
