Michelle Mone: Lib Dems demand publication of PPE contract

EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Liberal Democrats are demanding the publication of documents related to the contract awarded to Conservative peer Michelle Mone’s company PPE Medpro, alongside any emails and text messages between Baroness Mone and government ministers.

It comes after Matt Hancock claimed that Baroness Mone sent him “threatening” and “aggressive” messages lobbying him to award contracts to companies she was affiliated with and stood to make a profit with.

Liberal Democrats are also calling for VIP lanes for PPE to be scrapped. In a vote in the House of Lords last week, the Government voted against a Liberal Democrat amendment to ban VIP lanes in future procurement decisions.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

“The public deserves to know the full details of how Baroness Mone and this company landed these contracts. We shouldn’t have to read Matt Hancock’s diary to find out the details of what happened.

“In the midst of a global health crisis, Conservative ministers allowed their friends to cash in on human suffering, skip the queue and receive millions in PPE contracts. Conservative MPs should back calls for transparency and not vote for a crony cover up.

“It’s been nearly three years since the start of the pandemic, but the public is still being drip fed new scandals through leaks and bombshell revelations teased out in interviews. How many more are left to uncover?

"It's time for Tory MPs to call time on this Conservative cronyism and back calls for transparency rather than voting for a cover up."

ENDS