Michelle Mone, a previous member of the Conservative party, is being accused of bribery in an ongoing investigation by the National Crime Agency. The investigation focuses on her role in a company that received government PPE contracts worth millions of pounds.
In a movie funded by PPE Medpro, Mark Williams-Thomas, the producer and host, reveals that Mone and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, are facing three criminal accusations as part of the ongoing NCA inquiry.
Williams-Thomas states that the NCA is investigating both individuals for accusations of participating in a scheme to deceive, committing fraud through misrepresentation, and accepting bribes. Both individuals have denied these allegations. He also mentions that he has been granted full access to their criminal records.
According to documents featured in the film, Mone and Barrowman, a businessman specializing in tax planning and wealth advisory in the Isle of Man, have both been questioned by the NCA.
The footage posted on YouTube on Sunday shows heavily edited documents, including statements that seem to have been written in advance by Mone and Barrowman for their interviews with the NCA.
A document mentions an allegation of bribery against Mone, but the sentence is partially obscured. It mentions her role in the House of Lords and uses the phrase “compensation for improper actions”.
In May 2020, Mone reached out to Michael Gove and Theodore Agnew, government ministers, on behalf of PPE Medpro. They offered to provide PPE through their team in Hong Kong. Just a few weeks later, the government granted the newly established company two contracts valued at a combined £203m.
For a while, Mone and Barrowman strongly denied their connection to PPE Medpro through statements from their attorneys. However, the Guardian recently uncovered that the couple has publicly acknowledged their involvement in the company for the first time.
In April 2022, the National Crime Agency (NCA) carried out searches at the offices of PPE Medpro as well as the residences in London and the Isle of Man belonging to Mone and Barrowman.
In November 2022, the Guardian disclosed that HSBC bank’s leaked records revealed Barrowman’s involvement as an investor in PPE Medpro. It was also revealed that he received a minimum of £65m from the company’s earnings. The records showed that Barrowman then moved £29m to an offshore trust, with Mone and her three adult children listed as beneficiaries.
After two weeks, Mone decided to temporarily leave her position in the House of Lords. According to her representative, she made this decision in order to prove her innocence against the false accusations made against her.
The press secretary for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that Mone’s leave of absence resulted in her losing the Tory whip “by default”. However, she still holds a position as a member in the House of Lords, having been appointed by David Cameron in 2015.
In the film supported by PPE Medpro, Williams-Thomas inquired if Mone had received any advantages from PPE Medpro funds, either directly or indirectly.
She responded by stating that her husband is an entrepreneur and that he played a role in supplying PPE along with other entrepreneurs. The consortium he led was able to provide large quantities at competitive prices, resulting in saving the NHS millions of pounds. She acknowledged that her husband’s post-event decisions and any benefits from them are solely at his discretion. As his wife, she may indirectly benefit, but this is no different from other married couples. Ultimately, she does not have access to the money earned from these ventures.
Williams-Thomas inquired Mone about whether she had been untruthful to the media regarding her lack of involvement in PPE Medpro, which was false.
She stated that she had made a mistake in her initial statement to the press and expressed regret for not immediately clarifying her involvement. She confirmed that both the government and the emergency and Cabinet teams were aware of her involvement, as well as the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS. However, her legal team advised her and her husband not to comment on or mention her involvement with PPE Medpro.
The Guardian reached out to a spokesperson from PPE Medpro, who previously stated that they were authorized to speak for Mone and Barrowman. They were asked several questions regarding the NCA investigation. In reply, a representative from the company stated, “All your inquiries are answered in the documentary.”
I was hired by PPE Medpro to conduct a thorough inquiry and create and present a show, which allowed me access to both the civil and criminal cases, as well as to Baroness Mone and Doug Barrowman. The production team had complete control over the content and neither Mone nor Barrowman made any editorial changes.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has announced that it is currently conducting an investigation into potential criminal activities involving the procurement of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro. This investigation was initiated in May 2021 and is still ongoing, according to a statement released by a spokesperson for the agency.
Source: theguardian.com
