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The husband of Conservative peer Michelle Mone says the couple has been “hung out to dry” to distract from government incompetence, as the scandal around the provision of PPE during Covid-19 continues.
In a two-page statement on social media, businessman Doug Barrowman claimed they were being “treated as a punchbag” and maintained that his company Medpro had followed a transparent process in being awarded £200m in Covid-era contracts.
The two-page statement was shared on social media
(PA)
The firm has fallen under scrutiny after making an estimated £65m in profit from deals to provide the government with personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns.
The National Crime Agency are examining a £3m payment made to Baroness Mone’s Coutts bank account, which was transferred after £65m in PPE profits was handed to accounts linked to M Barrowman.
In a scathing online attack on officials, Mr Barrowman claimed that his company had acted no differently to any of the 51 suppliers fast-tracked through the high priority lane and that it was curious that only their contract was facing litigation.
A Freedom of Information request in 2021 revealed that his wife had personally lobbied cabinet minister Michael Gove and had recommended Medpro for the PPE contract.
Addressing this, he said: “Yes, Michelle was involved in introducing Medpro to the Cabinet Office. After all, Michelle had 25 years’ experience in sourcing and manufacturing of mass-produced goods and knew first-hand the logistical challenges of sourcing, supplying and delivering large amounts of product at short notice”.
Baroness Mone had personally recommended her husband’s firm for a Covid-era contract
(PA Media)
However, former Tory health minister Lord Bethell said Baroness Mone “wasn’t honest about her financial interest to me”, while Mr Gove has said he has been cooperating with the NCA investigation.
Mr Barrowman said there had been “thousands” of emails and claimed the government officials were aware of his wife’s involvement with the business and that they were a married couple.
During a recent BBC interview with Laura Keunssberg, Baroness Mone admitted lying to journalists about her involvement in the company but said she was an “indirect beneficiary”.
She told the host: “It’s my husband’s money. It’s his money. It’s not my money and it’s not my children’s.” She added: “I’m saying to you that I didn’t receive that cash. That cash is not my cash, that cash is my husband’s cash, we are married. If one day, God forbid, my husband passes away before me, then I am a beneficiary, as well as his children and my children.”
Aside from the NCA inquiry, the government issued breach of contract proceedings against PPE Medpro in December 2022 over the 2020 deal for sterile gowns. The company is defending the legal action.
She was made a life peer in 2015 and is facing calls to be barred from the House of Lords
(PA)
Mr Barrowman also alleged that he had previously offered to settle the dispute, writing: "What makes this case somewhat unique is the government is also using the arm of the NCA (National Crime Agency) to threaten criminal proceedings unless we settle.
“We have tried to settle on numerous occasions and have been told to increase the figure before they are prepared to (in their words) ‘call the dogs off’".
Claiming that they were being blamed to distract attention from the government’s handling of PPE procurement, he added: “It suits the agenda of the government and their media spin doctors to scapegoat my wife and I for their own lamentable failures.”
Baroness Mone, a Scottish businesswoman who founded the lingerie company Ultimo, was made a Conservative peer under former prime minister David Cameron in 2015.
The Tory party has said she is no longer a member and does not hold the whip in the House of Lords. She is now facing calls to be barred from the Lords while Rishi Sunak has said that the government is taking the case against PPE Medpro “incredibly seriously”.
The couple deny any wrongdoing.
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