PPE Medpro: Baroness Michelle Mone linked firm fails to repay £122 million to UK government by deadline

Earlier this month the UK Department of Health and Social Care won its legal case against the company over claims the personal protective equipment (PPE) it provided during the coronavirus pandemic did not meet relevant standards.

The company had until 4pm on Wednesday to repay the money, but has not yet done so.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK government would “pursue PPE Medpro with everything we’ve got to get these funds back” after failing to repay the damages on time.

He said: “At a time of national crisis, PPE Medpro sold the previous government substandard kit and pocketed taxpayers’ hard-earned cash.

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“PPE Medpro has failed to meet the deadline to pay. They still owe us over £145m, with interest now accruing daily.”

The firm had been ordered to repay £122m. Interest of £23.6m has been added to this, bringing the total sum they owe to £145.6m.

The sum will accrue interest at 8 per cent per year from Thursday until it is fully paid.

PPE Medpro is led by Doug Barrowman, Baroness Mone’s husband. The company was awarded the government contract in 2020 to supply PPE after being recommended by Baroness Mone herself.

After ordering 25m sterile gowns from PPE Medro, the UK government launched legal action in 2022 through the High Court, claiming the gowns did not comply with the standards agreed in the contract.

PPE Medpro had argued that it had complied with the contract and the gowns they supplied were sterile.

Since the High Court judgement, Baroness Mone has faced cross-party calls for her to be stripped of her peerage and banished from the House of Lords. An online petition calling for the same has since reached over 82,000 signatures.

Ms Mone has been on leave from the House of Lords since she lost the Conservative whip when the allegations were made public.

Peerages can only be removed by an act of parliament.