Over 65,000 individuals have signed a petition demanding the removal of Michelle Mone’s peerage and expulsion from the House of Lords. The petition, spearheaded by campaigners representing bereaved families, criticizes Baroness Mone for remaining in the Lords despite her association with scandal-ridden PPE Medpro, which owes the UK government over £122 million for providing substandard protective gear.
Following a High Court ruling that found PPE Medpro in breach of contract for supplying inadequate surgical gowns, Baroness Mone, a former Conservative peer appointed by David Cameron, expressed her reluctance to rejoin the House of Lords in a letter to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. Although the removal of her peerage would necessitate parliamentary action, Baroness Mone hinted at the possibility of resigning from her position as a member of the Lords.
In response to accusations of misconduct, Baroness Mone defended her actions, emphasizing her role in procuring PPE during the pandemic. She refuted claims of financial gain from PPE Medpro and criticized the Tory leader for using “inflammatory language” against her. The Conservative Party clarified that Baroness Mone had lost her party membership and would not receive the Conservative whip upon any potential return to the Lords.
Denying any involvement in PPE Medpro to the media, Baroness Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, later admitted benefiting from profits generated by the company. The couple faced scrutiny for referring PPE Medpro to ministers through the VIP lane and for misleading the press about their ties to the firm. Despite ongoing controversies, Baroness Mone denounced a recent judgment against them as biased and criticized the government’s handling of the case.
