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Baroness Michelle Mone has accused the Chancellor of the Exchequer of employing “dangerous and inflammatory” language after a company with ties to her and her husband was mandated to pay £122m for breaching a Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) contract.
During a fringe event at the Labour Party conference this week, Rachel Reeves reportedly made a remark suggesting the government harbored a vendetta against the peer.
In a formal letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Baroness Mone stated that Reeves’ language was “incendiary and has directly increased the risks to my personal safety.” She further claimed to have received “threats and abuse” on social media platforms following Reeves’ remarks.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that the gowns provided by PPE Medpro did not meet the standards stipulated by the government.
PPE Medpro was established by a consortium headed by Baroness Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman. The company was awarded a government contract for the supply of PPE upon the recommendation of Baroness Mone.
Subsequent to the court judgment, Baroness Mone has faced bipartisan calls for the revocation of her peerage. However, the removal of peerages can only be enacted through an Act of Parliament.
In the letter, which has been reviewed by the BBC, Baroness Mone called upon Sir Keir Starmer to order an “urgent, independent investigation into whether ministers or officials have improperly influenced the NCA [National Crime Agency], CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and civil litigation process.”
She also insisted that the Chancellor retract her aforementioned comments.
Baroness Mone stated to Sir Keir: “I feel compelled to alert you to the dangerous and inflammatory statement made by your Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.”
She argued that the term “vendetta” implies “vengeance, feud, and blood feud,” and that Reeves’ comments have caused Baroness Mone and her family to feel unsafe.
She further stated that her social media presence has “gone into meltdown with threats and abuse,” adding, “we need only look at the tragedies of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess to understand the dangers of such reckless language.”
Jo Cox was the Labour MP for Batley and Spen, who was tragically murdered in 2016.
Sir David Amess was the Conservative MP for Southend West when he was fatally stabbed in 2021.
In closing her letter, Ms. Mone directly addressed the Prime Minister: “Do you stand by your chancellor’s assertion that the government has a vendetta against me? Or will you act decisively to end this campaign, protect my safety, and restore integrity to government?”
She concluded by stating, “Failure to take urgent action will leave me with no choice but to pursue all available legal remedies, including defamation, harassment, and misfeasance claims, while also taking steps to ensure my personal safety and that of my family.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told BBC News that what she had heard from the case against PPE Medpro was “enough” for Baroness Mone to be stripped of her title.
The Cabinet Office has declined to issue a statement on the matter.
However, a Treasury source informed the BBC that “When both the Labour Chancellor and Conservative leader agree with each other you’ve lost the argument.”
Mone was appointed as a Tory peer by David Cameron in 2015 but had the whip removed following the revelations regarding the contract to supply medical gowns.
The High Court determined that Medpro failed to adequately demonstrate whether its surgical gowns, intended for use by NHS personnel, had undergone a validated sterilization process.
Following the ruling, Mrs. Justice Cockerill stipulated that the £122m damages cost must be settled by 16:00 BST on 15 October.
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