A Tory peer and lingerie tycoon is facing an official probe into her links to a firm that won Government PPE contracts worth £200million via an unlawful ‘VIP lane’.
Michelle Mone, founder of Ultimo Underwear is under investigation by the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards about her connection with PPE Medpro.
The lingerie tycoon – nicknamed ‘Baroness Bra’ – has faced increasing scrutiny for her ties to a company that last year won two contracts worth a combined £203 million to supply the NHS with face masks and surgical gowns.
Lady Mone repeatedly denies any connection to the company. She recommended the Cabinet Office in May 2020 as a possible supplier.
Even though she does not have any official connections to the company in fact, it is now clear that her deniations are being challenged by public records of connections between Anthony Page and PPE Medpro’s owners and business owned and managed by Lady Mone with her husband Doug Barrowman, an Isle of Man billionaire.
Last week, Labour peer George Foulkes referred her to the commissioners. They have have now confirmed she is being investigated under several sections of the Lords’ code of conduct, including a section saying peers ‘must never accept or agree to accept any financial inducement as an incentive or reward for exercising parliamentary influence’.
Michelle Mone, founder of Ultimo Underwear is under investigation by the House of Lords Commissioners for Standards about her connection with PPE Medpro.
The lingerie tycoon – nicknamed ‘Baroness Bra’ – has faced increasing scrutiny for her ties to a company that last year won two contracts worth a combined £203 million to supply the NHS with face masks and surgical gowns.
A section in the code states that peer’s’mustn’t seek to confer only benefit upon an outside body or individual (a) where he/she has a financial interest (e.g., salary, fees) or (b). In return for payment, reward.
Lady Mone failed to disclose all her interests in PPE Medpro, and Lord Foulkes asked for the Commissioners’ investigation to determine if she had violated any rules regarding lobbying.
Mr Page, the sole owner of PPE Medpro, is a wealth management expert who works for Barrowman’s Knox House Trust, part of the Knox Group of companies based on the Isle of Man, where Lady Mone and her husband live on a £25 million estate.
Three sections from the Lords code of conduct are under investigation for Lady Mone
The Mail on Sunday reported last month that Mr Page was the director of the company which owns Lady M, a luxurious yacht on which Lady Mone cruised around the Adriatic. Neo Space is Lady Mone’s latest venture, and Mr Page holds the majority of its shareholders.
Lady Mone was the founder of Ultimo lingerie through MJM International’s parent company in 1996. David Cameron named her life peer in 2015.
Lady Mone will be fighting a separate battle to remove her name from libel. Richard Lynton Jones (of Indian heritage) filed a petition in the High Court alleging lady Mone had called Richard Lynton Jones an Indian “waste” of a man’s skin in a WhatsApp Group.
Lady Mone lawyers claim that the claim lacks merit, and they will defend it vigorously.