Baroness Mone has admitted she made an “error” after she publicly denied having links to PPE Medrpro currently being investigated by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The Tory peer, 52, spoke publically for the first time today over the scandal during the Covid pandemic, issuing a public defence over accusations her family profited by selling unusable PPE equipment.
NCA agents raided her home last year as part of an inquiry into PPE Medpro which was awarded £203million in Government contracts following lobbying from the baroness.
The firm was asked to supply facemasks and medical gowns between May and June 2020 under a “VIP lane” for suppliers.
However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) warned the firm had breached its contract as it claims the gowns provided were “not fit for use” by the NHS.
In a documentary series released on YouTube, Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman claimed they would be cleared because they had “done nothing wrong”.
In 2020, Mone was accused of failing to disclose a financial interest in the firm which reportedly paid at least £65million to Barrowman.
Mone has now admitted she made an “error” in denying the involvement but that the Government had been aware of it prior to the deal being struck.
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It is estimated that £4billion was spent on unusable PPE
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“I made an error in what I said to the press,” she says in the film.
“I regret not saying to the press straight away, ‘Yes, I am involved.’ And the Government knew I was involved.
“And the emergency team, cabinet team knew I was involved. The Government, DHSC, knew that I was involved, NHS, all of them.”
Also in the film, which was funded by PPE Medpro but led by investigative reporter Mark Williams-Thomas, Mone claimed it was “100 per cent a lie” to suggest she was not transparent with officials.
She has also alleged that a “DHSC negotiator” offered to accept a bribe to make the case “go away” and accused the Government of turning her into a “scapegoat” for the Conservative Party.
“I am ashamed of being a Conservative peer given what this Government has done to us,” she told The Telegraph.
Boris Johnson appearing at the Covid InquiryGBNIn total, an estimated £4billion was spent on unusable PPE with the DHSC claiming the gowns were not fit for purpose.
The documentary has pointed the finger at the Government’s procurement teams as they ordered 5 years’ worth of supply of PPE but sterile PPE has a shelf life on average of only 2 years.
Mone added: “We just can't take anymore. We’re sick and tired reading all the lies every single day in the media.
“I think everyone feels that because we have been silent that we are guilty.”
