Chancellor Rachel Reeves (Labour) has declared that Michelle Mone should not remain in the House of Lords after a company linked to the Conservative peer was ordered to repay almost £122 million to the Government. The Department of Health and Social Care successfully sued PPE Medpro over allegations it breached a contract to supply 25 million surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reeves told BBC 5 Live: "She clearly shouldn't be in the House of Lords." When asked about Mone's leave of absence to clear her name, the Chancellor replied: "I hope she won't be back in the House of Lords."
The Chancellor acknowledged limitations in removing Mone's title, saying: "I'm not sure if that's within my powers" when asked about stripping her peerage, adding: "Clearly she shouldn't be making laws, should she?" Peerages can only be removed by an act of Parliament, though Mone could choose to resign from being a member of the House of Lords.
Court ruling details
Mrs Justice Cockerill found in her 87-page ruling that the gowns "were not, contractually speaking, sterile, or properly validated as being sterile", making them unusable for the NHS. The High Court ruled that PPE Medpro had breached the contract and ordered the company to pay the money by 4pm on 15th October.
PPE Medpro has since gone into administration, prompting disappointment from Reeves. She said: "I think it tells you a lot about the company that instead of saying sorry and paying back the money, they've gone into administration, but we will now work with the administrators and all different authorities to do everything we can to get that money back."
Barristers for PPE Medpro told the trial it had been "singled out for unfair treatment" and accused the Government of "buyer's remorse", claiming the gowns became defective because of storage conditions after delivery.
Political responses
Reeves described the ruling as "a vindication of this Government's belief that many of these contracts done during the pandemic ripped off taxpayers". During a Labour conference fringe event, she reportedly joked about having a vendetta against Lady Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, saying: "Too right we do."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting (Labour) said: "PPE Medpro put NHS staff and patients in danger with substandard kit whilst lining their own pockets with taxpayers' money at a time of national crisis." He added that the Government would "ruthlessly pursue any company which tried to exploit the pandemic for their own ends".
Baroness Mone criticised the judgment as a win for the "establishment", whilst Barrowman called it a "travesty of justice". Mone said: "Today's judgment against PPE Medpro is shocking but all too predictable. It is nothing less than an establishment win for the Government in a case that was too big for them to lose."
Contract background
Lady Mone recommended PPE Medpro to ministers through the "high priority lane" on the day the company was incorporated in May 2020. The contract was awarded despite concerns about potential conflicts of interest, given her husband's involvement with the firm.
The judge found that Mone facilitated calls between officials and acted as the company's "big gun" during contract negotiations. She referred the firm to the high priority lane, which managed recommendations from MPs, ministers and officials, as the Government scrambled to secure protective equipment.
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group welcomed the court ruling and called for Lady Mone to be stripped of her title. Reeves hit back at Mone's establishment claims, saying: "What was a stitch-up was the VIP fast line in the first place."
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
