Michelle Mone, the former Tory peer and self-styled Baroness Bra, was in a punchy mood on September 30, hurling legal threats at chancellor Rachel Reeves after accusing her of a “government vendetta” against her and her husband following remarks at a Labour conference fringe event.
Mone claimed Reeves “openly confirmed” that the government was pursuing a personal and political campaign against her, after responding “too right we do” when asked about allegations of bias towards the peer and her company PPE Medpro.
“Rachel, thank you for confirming what Doug and I have long believed,” Mone wrote on LinkedIn. “Your comment will now be passed to our legal team, who will find it highly useful in establishing the Government’s bias and position against us.”
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Alas for Mone, her legal term will now probably be too busy to pursue her claims against Reeves or indeed anyone else. A High Court judge ruled on October 1 that PPE Medpro breached a government contract of nearly £122m to supply surgical gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm now has 14 days to repay the cash.
Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, described the ruling as “a travesty of justice” and claimed that it was “a whitewash of the facts and shows that justice was being seen to be done, where the outcome was always certain for the DHSC [Department of Health and Social Care] and the government”.
Reeves, on the other hand, seemed aware that a public spat with Mone was probably the best bit of publicity she’s had in months, posting on X: “We want our money back. We are getting our money back. And it will go where it belongs – in our schools, NHS and communities.”
Still, the pair should be able to pay back the money easily enough. Does anyone want to buy a boat?
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