Tory peer Michelle Mone received £29m from profits of PPE business

The Conservative peer Michelle Mone bagged £29 million in profits originating from a PPE business set up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

PPE Medpro secured a place in a “VIP lane” thanks to the help of Mone, who lobbied ministers to get preferred access.

The firm then secured contracts worth more than £200 million, from which she is believed to have £28.8 million in profits.

Leaked documents seen by the Guardian produced by the bank HSBC show that Mone’s husband, the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, was paid at least £65 million in profits from PPE Medpro, and then distributed the funds through a series of offshore accounts, trusts and companies.

The ultimate recipients of the funds, the documents indicate, include the Isle of Man trust that was set up to benefit Mone, who was Barrowman’s fiancee at the time, and her children.

In October 2020, the documents add, Barrowman transferred to the trust £28.8m originating from PPE Medpro profits.

The revelations have sparked outrage on social media.

Here’s what people had to say:

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.