Michael Gove and Matt Hancock questioned by 'Britain's FBI' on Michelle Mone row

26 November 2023 , 13:13

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There is no suggestion Michael Gove and Matt Hancock were involved in any alleged wrongdoing (Image: PA)

Matt Hancock and Michael Gove have been interviewed by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of a probe into a PPE company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone.

The ex-Health Secretary and Levelling Up Secretary are among witnesses spoken to by "Britain's FBI" in recent months as part of an inquiry into PPE Medpro, which won £200million of Government contracts to supply masks and gowns during the pandemic.

Others questioned include Lord Bethell, a former Health Minister, and Lord Agnew, who served in the Cabinet Office. It is understood they were interviewed by the NCA as witnesses and not under caution. There is no suggestion they were involved in any alleged wrongdoing.

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: "Another day, yet another Covid scandal. The public deserve the truth about exactly what went on behind the scenes. The Conservative Government need to be held to account, enough is enough."

Michelle Mone has come under fire for her actions (PA)

Former lingerie tycoon Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman came under scrutiny after concerns were raised about her alleged failure to declare financial interests in PPE Medpro. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is suing PPE Medpro for more than £130m, including storage and costs, over gowns it bought for £122m but says it cannot use because they were not sterile. PPE Medpro rejects the claims.

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Baroness Mone announced she was taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords last December to "clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her", her spokesperson said. The decision caused her to lose the Conservative whip.

The peer, who was nicknamed Baroness Bra due to her background as the founder of lingerie firm Ultimo, was accused to have tried to bully ministers into awarding public PPE contracts to PPE Medpro. She first flagged the company as a possible supplier of PPE five days before the firm was incorporated at Companies House. PPE Medpro was awarded two contracts, one worth £81m to supply masks and another worth £122m for medical gowns between May and June 2020.

Mr Hancock claimed in his 'Pandemic Diaries' she had sent him an "extraordinarily aggressive email" in 2021 to try to secure a contract for an unnamed second firm supplying lateral flow tests. He said he did not reply and the firm was not awarded the contract.

Leaked bank account documents reportedly showed Mr Barrowman received £65m in profits from the PPE deal in September 2020 and then transferred £29m to a trust set up to benefit Baroness Mone and her children the following month. The Mirror revealed earlier this year that Baroness Mone and Ms Barrowman bought a £7m ­property in the Algarve, Portugal, through an offshore firm last July - three months after their homes were raided by police over the £200m PPE deal.

Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman only admitted their involvement with the firm for the first time earlier this month. A representative for the couple said: “The UK government was fully aware of Baroness Mone’s involvement. Like many other peers and MPs on the high priority lane, she acted as an intermediary/liaison between PPE Medpro and the Cabinet Office/Department of Health and Social Care.” When The Mirror exposed the connections between the couple and PPE business, we were told by a spokesman for the peer that: “Baroness Mone has no comment as she has no role or involvement in PPE Medpro.”

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We acted swiftly to procure PPE at the height of the pandemic, competing in an overheated global market where demand massively outstripped supply. Due diligence was carried out on all companies and every company was subjected to the same checks. We have launched legal proceedings against the firm in question and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

It was reported overnight that a woman has been arrested over an alleged blackmail plot against Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman, according to the Daily Record. The unnamed woman, described by police as in her 40s, was arrested at her home in Weybridge, Surrey, last week. She was released on bail after being interrogated. Detectives from both Surrey Police and the Isle of Man Constabulary are involved in the joint investigation.

Sophie Huskisson