A company associated with Baroness Mone has failed to meet a deadline set by the High Court to repay £122 million to the Government for providing faulty PPE. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has expressed determination to pursue PPE Medpro aggressively for the outstanding amount, which includes interest and now totals over £145 million. The Department of Health and Social Care successfully sued the consortium, led by Baroness Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman, for supplying 25 million substandard surgical gowns in 2020.
Despite a court order to repay the funds with interest at an annual rate of 8%, PPE Medpro filed for insolvency just before the ruling, revealing minimal assets. Streeting criticized the company for profiting from inadequate equipment during a national emergency and failing to meet the payment deadline.
The Mirror initially disclosed the connection between Baroness Mone and PPE Medpro, which secured significant contracts to deliver protective gear during the pandemic. The company was referred to the government by the Scottish businesswoman through a controversial process, denying any direct involvement to the media initially, only to later admit to benefiting from substantial profits generated by the firm.
PPE Medpro’s legal team argued during the trial that their client faced unfair treatment and contested the gown’s sterility issues. Baroness Mone and her husband faced backlash following the High Court ruling, with calls for her removal from the House of Lords intensifying. The peer, appointed by David Cameron, took a leave of absence in 2022, rendering her without voting rights in the Lords.
The situation has sparked public outrage, with a petition garnering over 285,000 signatures demanding Baroness Mone’s resignation from the House of Lords. While removing her peerage would require parliamentary action, she retains the option to voluntarily step down from her position in the upper chamber.