Michael Gove has cooperated with a National Crime Agency (NCA) inquiry into a firm linked to Baroness Michelle Mone, he has confirmed.
Tory-appointed peer Baroness Mone has admitted to being involved with PPE Medpro – a company that received over £200m in government contracts during the pandemic – and that she is set to be a beneficiary of its £60m profits that have been put into a trust by her husband, Doug Barrowman.
But she claimed the pair have been made “scapegoats” by the government for its wider failings in procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID crisis, and alleged Mr Gove was the minister she recommended the firm to back in 2020.
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Asked about the scandal on Tuesday, Mr Gove gave no comment on Baroness Mone’s allegations.
However, he confirmed he had cooperated with the NCA probe into the company “because I want to ensure that it reaches its conclusion quickly [and] that justice can be served”.
Mr Gove added: “If there are further questions to ask about PPE procurement, and I believe the government has a strong record, then I am more than happy to do so with the COVID inquiry.”
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Asked whether Baroness Mone was still a member of his party after speculation on Monday, the housing secretary said: “My understanding, and I am no expert in this, is she is not officially a Conservative peer. My understanding is she is not a member of the Conservative Party. That’s my understanding.
“As I said earlier, Baroness Mone is subject to an NCA inquiry. I hope that inquiry results in a case being brought as quickly as possible.”
But in a statement to Sky News, a spokesperson for Baroness Mone said: “For Michael Gove to say the government has a ‘strong record’ on PPE is laughable.
“The DHSC and the Cabinet Office approved the purchase of 5 years supply of PPE when the remit was to build up only 4 months.
“At least £8.7 billion worth of PPE was then written off at the taxpayers’ expense. Whilst Michelle has now admitted her mistake, others at the very top of government must be held to account for this mess.”
In a BBC interview, Baroness Mone said she contacted Mr Gove at the start of the pandemic following a “call to arms for all Lords, baronesses, MPs, senior civil servants, to help, because they needed massive quantities of PPE”.
Mr Gove was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the COVID pandemic struck.
“I just said, ‘We can help, and we want to help.’ And he was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is amazing’,” Baroness Mone told the BBC.
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PPE MedPro is currently being sued by the Department of Health and Social Care over claims millions of the gowns it supplied failed to meet the standard required. Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman deny this.
Rishi Sunak, when asked about the Tory-appointed peer, said there was “a limit” to what he could say due to legal proceedings.
But the Prime Minister insisted he and the government “take all these things incredibly seriously”.
In response Baroness Mone alleged Mr Sunak was aware of her involvement in PPE Medpro, and said on X: “What is Rishi Sunak talking about?
“I was honest with the Cabinet Office, the government and the NHS in my dealings with them. They all knew about my involvement from the very beginning.”
