A company connected to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone is being sued by the UK government for £122 million over claims it supplied unusable surgical gowns during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
PPE Medpro, which secured contracts during the crisis through what the government describes as an introduction by Baroness Mone, is accused of providing 25 million gowns that did not meet required sterility standards. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) alleges that the gowns were unfit for use in the NHS and is seeking to recover the full contract value along with £8.6 million in additional costs for transporting and storing the items.
Baroness Mone, known for her lingerie business background, recommended PPE Medpro to officials. The company was part of a consortium led by her husband, businessman Doug Barrowman. Despite their involvement in facilitating the deal, neither Mone nor Barrowman is expected to testify during the ongoing five-week trial.
Government counsel Paul Stanley KC told the court that the case is not about political connections or profits, but about technical compliance with contract terms for medical-grade equipment. He stated that PPE Medpro failed to sterilise the gowns using an approved process, and of 140 tested, 103 failed sterility checks. “The department was entitled to reject the gowns,” Stanley said, “and is now entitled to damages.”
Stanley also clarified that while Baroness Mone remained active during negotiations and described her husband's experience in supply chain management, her communications are not the subject of the legal claim. “This is simply about compliance,” he said.
The gowns were delivered between August and October 2020, with payments made months earlier. The government formally rejected the stock in December 2020, and it remains in storage.
Defending the company, Charles Samek KC argued that PPE Medpro has been unfairly targeted, calling the government’s claim “contrived and opportunistic.” He suggested that any contamination likely occurred after delivery due to improper handling, and that the test results were based on unrepresentative samples.
A spokesperson for PPE Medpro insisted the company “categorically denies breaching its obligations” and will “robustly defend” its position in court. Photo by B Milnes, Wikimedia commons.