UK
PPE Medpro partners open to settlement over £122m COVID gowns contract breach
Partners of a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone have said they are open to a possible settlement with the government after the company was found to have breached a £122m PPE contract.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had accused PPE Medpro of providing 25 million “faulty”, non-sterile gowns during the COVID pandemic.
The High Court ruled earlier this month that it must pay back a £121.9m sum, the price of the gowns.
PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Lady Mone‘s husband Doug Barrowman, filed to enter administration earlier this month.
In a statement on Friday, Mr Barrowman said: “The consortium partners of PPE Medpro are prepared to enter into a dialogue with the administrators of the company to discuss a possible settlement with the government.”
PPE Medpro has spent £4.3m defending its position.
It said offers to settle on a no-fault basis had been made, including the remake of 25 million gowns, or a £23m cash equivalent, which were rejected.
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The consortium was awarded government contracts by the former Conservative administration to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.
It insists that it provided all 25 million gowns and disputes that the gowns were not sterile.
It is understood the partners want to resolve the issue, and administrators have been urged to approach the government to reach an agreement.
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In the High Court ruling, Mrs Justice Cockerill said the gowns “were not, contractually speaking, sterile, or properly validated as being sterile”. This meant they could not be used in the NHS.
Barristers for PPE Medro claimed it had been “singled out for unfair treatment” and accused the government of “buyer’s remorse”.
Michelle Mone recommended the firm, led by husband Doug Barrowman, to minsters. Pic: PA
It claimed the gowns had become defective because of the conditions they were kept in after being delivered. It also said the court made its ruling on a technicality.
Lady Mone branded the judgement a win for the “establishment”, while Mr Barrowman said it was a “travesty of justice”.
Baroness Mone, who created the lingerie brand Ultimo, was made a Conservative peer in 2015.
She now says she has “no wish to return” to the House of Lords.