THE UK Government has been asked what it has “got to hide” as it has not released a “single sheet” of evidence over an investigation into a PPE firm linked to a Tory peer.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said there were “serious questions” about the contracts which were awarded to PPE MedPro, a firm linked to Conservative peer Michelle Mone.
Mone’s husband has a financial interest in a firm, which won £200 million in public contracts after she recommended it to the UK Government through its illegal “VIP lane”.
The Tory baroness neglected to inform the Government that her husband, Douglas Barrowman, could benefit from the deal when she referred the firm.
Mone had previously denied any link to PPE MedPro, but Whatsapp messages allegedly show her discussing the company’s affairs.
The firm received £200m in public funds during the pandemic to supply medical gowns and face masks.
PPE Medpro – which was only incorporated in the UK in May 2020 – bought 25 million gowns from a Chinese firm for £46m and sold it on for £122m, according to documents seen by The Guardian.
Bringing up the awarding of the contracts in parliament, Labour’s Rayner said: “MedPro, a company linked to Baroness Mone, was handed hundreds of millions of pounds in Government contracts during the pandemic.
“It has now been reported it has been raided by the police as well as her home.
“There are serious questions about the due diligence that was performed on this company, so can the Leader of the House let us know what evidence they hold and why they are refusing to give a single sheet of it out into the public domain?
“What have you got to hide?”
Cabinet Office minister Jacob Rees-Mogg pointed out that he is no longer the Commons Leader, a role now filled by Mark Spencer. He did not offer any further answer.
Rees-Mogg said: “I would make a point to her that Business Questions follows in due course and that it will be her opportunity to raise these things with the Leader then.”
Last month, the UK Government refused to release documents relating to the PPE Medpro deal. Ministers insisted the files were “commercially sensitive”, adding they are now in mediation about products supplied by the firm.
The National Crime Agency is investigating the contracts, with a special unit looking into allegations of fraud for a year, reports say.
Mone’s £11m London home was one of a string of properties raided by officers in April.
Mone has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company and her lawyers have said she is “not connected to PPE MedPro in any capacity”.
