Christmas preparations on the Isle of Man – but there’s no sign of Michelle Mone at her luxury home

Published

3 years ago

December 10, 2022

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She is no stranger to the spotlight. A book deal, regular television appearances and a prolific presence on Instagram, all part of a carefully crafted public image that helped Michelle Mone secure a peerage in 2015.

Yet, Baroness Mone – or “Lady M” as she often refers to herself – has been keeping a low profile in recent weeks.

A series of damaging allegations have thrust the lingerie entrepreneur and Conservative peer into the centre of an alleged scandal that is engulfing the House of Lords.

She is accused of attempting to “bully and hector” ministers into awarding public PPE contracts worth more than £200m to a company called PPE Medpro during the pandemic and of profiting from the deal – a claim she strongly denies.

Having now taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords, Lady Mone says she wants to clear her name but she has been noticeably quiet so far.

On the Isle of Man, at the 154 acre-estate she shares with her husband Douglas Barrowman, preparations are under way for the festive period.

Christmas trees, wreaths and decorations adorn the home, but staff – who have been told not to speak to journalists – insist they have no idea where the couple are.

It’s a peaceful corner of the island and the gated property may offer Mone some refuge from the growing scandal – but the issue is not going away any time soon.

The House of Lords is looking into whether Mone broke any rules and the National Crime Agency has launched a fraud investigation into PPE Medpro, whose gowns were unusable because they failed NHS checks.

A number of official reports will follow but Lady Mone’s representatives have described it as a “witch hunt”.

At the centre of the storm is Michelle and her husband Douglas. According to files compiled by HSBC, which were first obtained by The Guardian, accounts linked to Barrowman, and later Mone, received millions of pounds in transfers from PPE Medpro.

Another leaked document lists PPE Medpro as an “entity” of Barrowman’s family office, the Knox family office on the Isle of Man.

It was prepared by Anthony Page, a finance director at one of its trusts and the registered owner of PPE Medpro.

At his home in the centre of the Isle, Mr Page was keeping a low profile.

He refused to speak when Sky News approached him for an interview.

Neighbours described him as “a very pleasant family man” and said they were surprised by the news of his involvement in the scandal.

Situation needs ‘proper investigation’

Residents told us that news usually travels fast on the Isle of Man, but there was a sense of resignation about the latest revelations. A feeling that this is just another Westminster scandal.

Frank Schuengel, a councillor for Douglas South Ward, said: “It’s a big topic in the UK, probably more there (than here) because we don’t have a House of Lords. It’s not applicable, we have our own government.

“It’s not the kind of politics that I would personally do but I’m sure there will be processes and investigations.

“It’s a shame whenever someone doesn’t act in a way that you would wish all politicians to act.

“But I think it’s being investigated and if something is not right, one would hope that any investigation would uncover that.”

Some wanted to avoid jumping to conclusions before investigations are completed, but others had already made up their minds.

On Strand Street, the main shopping high street in Douglas, one local resident said: “It is disappointing. I think that anybody that does that kind of thing just isn’t really a moral person. So, it’s a bad example. Hopefully more will come to light.”

Another added: “I just think it’s awful. There were a lot of irregularities surrounding all the PPE supplies during the pandemic. As far as Michelle Mone is concerned… and the situation around it, I think needs proper investigation.”

‘Corruption at the highest levels’

Mone’s lawyers claim she only made the “simple, solitary and brief step,” of referring the company to the government.

They insist she and her husband, Douglas, had no involvement in PPE Medpro, nor did they play any role in the process through which it was awarded its government contract.

That was before a series of damaging emails appeared to show her pressuring ministers to award PPE Medpro government contracts.

At the height of the pandemic, she wrote to former health secretary Matt Hancock, allegedly saying: “I am going to blow this all wide open.

“I smell a rat here. It’s more than the usual red tape, incompetence and bureaucracy. That’s expected! I believe there is corruption here at the highest levels and a cover up is taking place… Don’t say I didn’t warn you when Panorama or Horizon run an exposé documentary on all this.

“I say a level playing field for all.”

PPE Medpro was later awarded two contracts worth more than £200m without tender. The entire process is now coming under intense scrutiny.

Lady Mone foresaw this – but she probably didn’t expect to be at the centre of it all.

World

‘The drones are always there… like a punishment’: A diary of daily life in Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

August 31, 2025

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'The drones are always there... like a punishment': A diary of daily life in Gaza

“We call drones our loyal friends, because they never leave us.”

Tasneem hears Israeli drones overhead, a constant fact of life in Gaza. It gets into your head, into your chest, she says.

“You can’t think, you can’t sleep. You can’t even be.”

“It’s always there, hanging above our heads, like some kind of punishment,” she says. In the background, the slow, constant buzz of a drone is audible.

“The people here in Gaza know that when the drone gets very low, at this level, something will happen. We all know what that something is… I don’t want to mention it.”

Tasneem al Iwini is 24. Like her peers across the world, she splits her time between work, studying for a master’s degree and spending time with her family of six.

Except she also has to deal with warplanes screaming overhead, rocketing food prices and the possibility that any day could be the last for her or her loved ones as Israel continues its war in Gaza.

To give a sense of what day-to-day life is like for her in Deir al Balah, Tasneem recorded a series of audio diary entries over the course of a week as part of her work with ActionAid and shared them exclusively with Sky News.

Day One: At least I’m still breathing

It’s incredibly hot today, Tasneem says. The kind of heat that makes your skin heavy and your thoughts slower.

I had so many things to do on my plate today, but honestly, I couldn’t move.

There’s no electricity and no fans, no air conditioner. So here I am just laying on my mattress and sweating.

My only relief is my plastic tray. I’m just using it as my personal fan…

I keep waving it back and forth, not to cool the room, but just to trick my brain into thinking I have control over this heat.

Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine I’m somewhere cold, as I actually prefer winter.

But then I hear the buzz of flies and mosquitoes in my ear and I remember this is Gaza, summer 2025. It’s exhausting, but at least I’m still breathing.

Day Two: Rocketing price of food

It’s Friday, which is a special day for us as it is the day we usually wait to cook something special. Today we are cooking maqluba (a traditional dish consisting of meat, rice and fried vegetables).

We haven’t tasted any kind of real protein like meat, chicken or fish for more than three months. I really miss chicken and fish badly.

But even this fake maqluba costs a lot, so many families can’t afford it… vegetables are very expensive.

Before the war we used to cook maqluba with at least four kilos of eggplants, because we are crazy about eggplants and its taste in maqluba . Now, if we manage to cook it with only two eggplants, that’s considered a luxury.

The price of one kilo of eggplant is more than 45 shekels. That’s approximately $12.50. Talking about tomatoes, the price is more than 90 shekels, which is approximately $27 per kilo.

Day Three: The drone reality

Here we go again. Our dear friend, the drone, Tasneem says as a buzzing noise hums in the background.

It just never leaves. It’s always there hanging above our heads like some kind of punishment.

The sound, I don’t even know how to describe it.

It’s not just noise. It gets into your head, into your chest. You can’t think, you can’t sleep, you can’t even be.

It drains something inside you slowly, and yet we live with it every day.

Later on:

Hi again. I’m just recording the gunfire. We are not sure what is happening outside, actually.

I can say that this is almost an every afternoon routine.

Day Four: A message to the world

Today I came across a small community kitchen, one of the very few still functioning.

Because of the current situation, especially the scarcity of food and the near-total blockade on the humanitarian aid, most of these kitchens have shut down…

Tasneem says that just after she left the office, the community kitchen was hit in an Israeli strike.

Three youths were killed, and many children were injured.

Those children were playing around and nearby the kitchen…

This time I went to send a message to the world, with a heavy heart burdened by the challenges and the impossible conditions we live under.

I still hold on to hope that this war will end… Because honestly, here in Gaza, we have lost trust in the world, governments and every actor.

Day Five: How many children must die?

Good evening, dear friends. I don’t really know what to say. I feel like my heart is just a drain.

Yesterday I promised to take you through the rest of my day, but honestly, I came home feeling exhausted…

I bought just two cucumbers, and that cost me $8. Yes, $8 for two cucumbers.

This is what it means to say that even the basics have become impossible to get in Gaza.

I came home, washed the cucumbers and cut them into small pieces so all of us could taste what it feels like to eat cucumber.

Tomatoes are even worse. They are completely unaffordable in the market.

And every time I think about the situation we are living through here in Gaza, I feel like I’m out of patience. I just can’t take more.

How many of us have to die before the world decides to intervene? And how many children must die, not from bombing or shelling, but from starvation and malnutrition?

Today, the telecommunications company in Gaza announced that in the next 24 hours it is expected that internet services will shut down again because of the fuel shortage and because of the occupation, who continue to block fuel from entering the Strip.

And this does not mean losing the internet only. It means patients in the ICUs will lose connection to life. It means ambulances, fridges for medications and blood, even water pumps for both drinking and domestic use will stop working.

I was planning today to come home and study for my final exams, but I just sat there for a moment thinking about our reality.

And I couldn’t, I couldn’t do anything. So instead, I decided to record this for you. This is what Gaza looks like right now.

Day Seven: The cemetery is full… and the horror of jets overhead

There are many types of weapons being used… and here in Gaza, we the people have learned to genuinely distinguish between them.

We know each sound by heart.

For example, we know the sound of the F-16 (fighter jet) very well. We can even guess when it has a target.

It has a special tone, like it’s rushing towards something. There is a tension in the air, and we feel it in our bodies.

Whenever I hear one of them, I swear I feel like this is the last moment of my life. I cover my ears with both hands and run to stay nearby my family, because in this moment my heart tells me, if something happens, let it happen to all of us together.

I know that’s not how it works, but that’s how I cope. That’s the only way I feel some false sense of control…

Sometimes it feels like the pilot is showing off, flying lower over the heads of women, children and civilians, as if to say: “Look at me. I can do this.”

Every time the jets go low, I start praying, I do everything I can as if it is the end of my life.

In another voicenote from the same day, Tasneem talked about her walk to work.

I pass by the cemetery every day. Today, I saw a situation that truly broke my heart.

There was a group of angry people gathered around the person who is responsible for digging graves.

They were shouting, saying the cemetery is completely full, and now they have started opening all the graves without knowing who is buried there and without getting any consent from the families of the dead.

They are placing new dead bodies on the top of the old ones, whether they are men, women or children.

Most people were furious, and honestly, I was so disappointed and heartbroken when I saw this.

This is one of those things I wish I never had to witness, but I wanted to share it with you, because it says so much about how bad things have become.

‘Critical moment’ for Gaza

Tasneem works with the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza and has partnered with ActionAid in the UK.

A spokesperson for ActionAid UK said: “Humanitarian workers like Tasneem are risking their lives every day to support and advocate for their fellow Palestinians in Gaza, despite experiencing the same intolerable conditions that they are.

“Just imagine having to go to work when you haven’t had a proper meal in days, knowing that at any moment you could be killed by bombing: that is their daily reality. Yet still, people like Tasneem are bravely speaking out and telling their stories so that the world knows the truth about the horrors they are facing…

“This is a critical moment. It’s time for the world to take meaningful action and use every diplomatic lever available to bring about a permanent ceasefire and end the siege on Gaza immediately so that food and other aid can enter unhindered, rapidly and at scale.”

World

‘The drones are always there… like some sort of punishment’: Woman’s diary of daily life in Gaza

Published

15 hours ago

August 31, 2025

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