British Tory MP admits she will benefit from contracts signed during pandemic

Michelle Mone, 'baroness' in the House of Lords (upper, not elected) of the British Parliament for the Conservative Party, admitted this Sunday that she will ultimately benefit from the income obtained by her husband's company, when it sold to the Government personal protective equipment during the pandemic, in the event that he or she dies.

Mone acknowledged in a BBC program that she lied to the press, although supposedly not to the Executive, when she previously denied that she would personally benefit, after having recommended her husband's company, Doug Barrowman, to the Ministry of Health during the health emergency.

PPE Medpro, from which Barrowman said this Sunday that it made a net profit of about 60 million pounds (70 million euros) from contracts valued at more than 200 million (232 million euros), is investigated for alleged fraud by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and has been sued by the Government.

Mone is also being questioned by the House of Lords, to which she was appointed by former Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, for failing to declare a possible conflict of interest.

In the interview with the BBC, the couple apologized for misleading about their role in the agreement with the Public Administration but she, who is on leave from the Lords and is no longer active in the ruling party, insisted that she has not committed “any crime”.

Mone admitted that “of course” she will benefit from the contracts eventually, as will her children, if her husband dies, as heirs to his fortune.

The Government, which is also facing criticism for its management of contracts during the pandemic, has sued PPE Medpro to try to recover a good part of the amount invested, after considering that many of the parts supplied did not meet the required standards.