A company with ties to Baroness Michelle Mone has reportedly failed to meet the deadline for repaying £122 million related to a breached Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) contract.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) prevailed in a legal case against PPE Medpro, a consortium fronted by Lady Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman. The suit alleged that the supplied PPE failed to meet requisite healthcare standards.
A High Court judge determined that certain gowns provided by the company were not “sterile”.
Following the company’s failure to remit damages by the 16:00 BST deadline on Wednesday, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting stated that the government would “pursue PPE Medpro with everything we’ve got to get these funds back.”
PPE Medpro entered administration on September 30, a day before the court issued its judgment.
Streeting commented: “At a time of national crisis, PPE Medpro sold the previous government substandard kit and pocketed taxpayers’ hard-earned cash.”
He added, “PPE Medpro has failed to meet the deadline to pay – they still owe us over £145 million, with interest now accruing daily.”
The firm was also directed to pay £23.6 million in interest, bringing the total outstanding sum to £145.6 million.
According to the DHSC, this amount will accrue interest at an annual rate of 8% from Thursday until fully satisfied.
Forvis Mazars, one of the joint administrators tasked with taking control of the business and recovering debts owed to creditors, has declined to comment.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has previously indicated that it is investigating the PPE Medpro matter.
A spokesperson for Mr. Barrowman has stated that £83 million of the government deal was disbursed to other companies, though it remains unclear whether these entities are also under NCA scrutiny.
PPE Medpro was awarded the government contract in 2020 for the supply of PPE, following a recommendation from Baroness Mone.
Subsequent to ordering 25 million sterile gowns from PPE Medpro, the government initiated legal proceedings through the High Court in 2022, alleging that the gowns did not conform to the agreed contractual terms.
PPE Medpro has maintained that it fulfilled its contractual obligations and that the gowns were indeed sterile.
The company’s most recent financial statements, covering the period ending July 31, indicate that the business held £666,025 in net assets.
The filing with Companies House also revealed that approximately £4.2 million in reserves had been utilized to contest the legal dispute.
Since the court’s decision, Baroness Mone has faced bipartisan calls for the revocation of her peerage.
However, the removal of a peerage requires an act of Parliament.
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