CONSERVATIVE colleague Michelle Mone had her home raided by police as part of an investigation into allegations of multi-million dollar PPE fraud.
The National Crime Agency is investigating contracts won by PPE Medpro, a firm set up by a business associate of the Tory pair.
A special NCA unit has reportedly been investigating the fraud allegations for a year.
Mone referred Medpro PPE to the UK government for Covid contracts through the “VIP lane”, which has since been made illegal. The company won over £200m in Covid PPE contracts from the Department of Health in 2020.
READ MORE: Court orders Doug Barrowman, husband of Michelle Mone, to pay hefty tax bill
The Baroness’s £11million London home, one of a series of properties raided by officers this week, is owned by an offshore company linked to her husband, Doug Barrowman.
Arrest warrants were executed at four Isle of Man addresses on Wednesday, including the headquarters of the Knox Group, which Barrowman founded and chairs.
No arrests were made, but documents and electronic devices were seized.
Isle of Man Police confirmed: “Isle of Man Police, in support of an ongoing NCA investigation, executed search warrants at four addresses in the Isle of Man. No arrests were made.”
PPE Medpro bought 25m gowns from a Chinese company for £46m and sold them for £122m, according to documents seen by The Guardian.
The gowns were rejected after an inspection by the health service and ultimately never used.
Mone previously claimed that she had “no role or involvement” with PPE Medpro, but admitted she had been involved in the “very simple, lonely, short step” of recommending it through the VIP lane.
The colleague insisted that she “didn’t do anything else about Medpro PPE.”
She has been asked to explain why the leaked Whatsapp messages allegedly show her discussing business matters.
Mone allegedly wrote: “We are about to take off on the plane. The sizes are in the order. We are waiting for the official purchase order [purchase order]this should arrive today.
Mone’s lawyers said he could not be expected to comment on “unknown and unattributable WhatsApp messages allegedly sent 19 months ago”.
An NCA spokesman said: “The NCA does not routinely confirm or deny the existence of investigations or the names of those who may or may not be under investigation.”
Mone (top centre) is also facing an investigation by the Lords’ standards watchdog into the award of government contracts.
The Lords Standards Commissioners said they are investigating possible breaches of the peer code of conduct in relation to their alleged involvement in procurement of contracts for Medpro PPE.
The move follows a complaint from fellow Labor member George Foulkes after reports of the contracts being awarded in the early days of the pandemic.
Mone has consistently denied being “connected with PPE Medpro in any capacity.”
According to a statement on the commissioners’ website, the investigation covers potential violations of code of conduct provisions that prohibit peers from accepting financial inducements to exert parliamentary influence and require them to publicly declare all relevant interests.
Mone was named a life partner by David Cameron in 2015 after selling an 80% stake in his lingerie company Ultimo.
Reference-www.thenational.scot