Firm linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone breached £122m PPE contract, judge rules

A company linked to Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone breached a government contract of nearly £122m to supply surgical gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the High Court has ruled.

The £121.9m sum, the price of the gowns, must now be repaid by the company, PPE Medpro.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) brought the case, saying it provided 25 million "faulty", non-sterile gowns.

Money latest: Citroen C3 drivers told to stop using cars immediately

On Wednesday, the High Court ruled the gowns did not comply with the requirement of having a validated process to demonstrate sterility, and it was not possible for the DHSC to have sold them and recoup the loss.

The company, a consortium led by Baroness Mone's husband, businessman Doug Barrowman, was awarded the government contract after she recommended it to ministers.

As well as wanting to recover the costs of the deal, the government wanted to recoup the costs of transporting and storing the items, which it said amounted to an additional £8.6m, though the High Court denied the latter request, saying the loss was not proved at trial.

PPE Medpro's counterclaim that the DHSC should have advised it on how to comply with the contract also failed.

'VIP lane'

Both Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman denied wrongdoing, and neither gave evidence at the trial in June.

She had initially denied involvement in the company or the process through which it was handed the government contract.

However, it was later revealed that Baroness Mone was the "source of referral" for the firm getting a place on the so-called "VIP lane" for offers of personal protective equipment for the NHS.

Yesterday, Baroness Mone, a businesswoman who was made a life peer in 2015 following her work as an "entrepreneurship tsar" during David Cameron's premiership, accused the government of making her and her husband a "poster couple for the PPE scandal", in a lengthy online tirade.

The response

In response to the ruling, Baroness Mone said it was "shocking but all too predictable".

Mr Barrowman said it was "a travesty of justice" and the judge gave the DHSC "an establishment win despite the mountain of evidence in court against such a judgment".

"Her judgment bears little resemblance to what actually took place during the month-long trial, where PPE Medpro convincingly demonstrated that its gowns were sterile," he said.

"This judgment is a whitewash of the facts and shows that justice was being seen to be done, where the outcome was always certain for the DHSC and the government. This case was simply too big for the government to lose."

Ahead of the ruling on Tuesday, PPE Medpro said it intended to appoint an administrator.

A spokesman for Mr Barrowman has told Sky News, "the DHSC would have to negotiate with the administrators [over the £121.9m sum that is owed], but the backers of PPE Medpro have always tried to negotiate with DHSC and they're happy to engage".

The news has been welcomed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK.

"We want our money back. We are getting our money back. And it will go where it belongs - in our schools, NHS and communities," Ms Reeves said.

"Profiting and corruption during the pandemic cost lives," the families group said. "Those responsible must be held to account."

(c) Sky News 2025: Firm linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone breached £122m PPE contract, judge rules