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| UK government urged to strip Michelle Mone of peerage | UK government urged to strip Michelle Mone of peerage |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Mone was made a life peer in 2015 by then Prime Minister David Cameron | Mone was made a life peer in 2015 by then Prime Minister David Cameron |
| Baroness Michelle Mone should be stripped of her peerage for her role in a Covid contract scandal, the SNP have said. | Baroness Michelle Mone should be stripped of her peerage for her role in a Covid contract scandal, the SNP have said. |
| A company linked to the Glaswegian entrepreneur has been ordered by the High Court to repay £122m to the UK government for breaching an NHS contract. | |
| PPE Medpro, which was set up by a consortium led by Mone's husband, Doug Barrowman, was awarded lucrative deals to supply 25 million medical gowns during the pandemic. | PPE Medpro, which was set up by a consortium led by Mone's husband, Doug Barrowman, was awarded lucrative deals to supply 25 million medical gowns during the pandemic. |
| SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn called on Labour ministers to remove her title through an act of parliament. | SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn called on Labour ministers to remove her title through an act of parliament. |
| The UK government has welcomed the court ruling and vowed to recover the money from PPE Medpro. | The UK government has welcomed the court ruling and vowed to recover the money from PPE Medpro. |
| A spokesman for Mr Barrowman, who is also from Glasgow, described the judgement a "whitewash", while Mone said it required a "quantum leap of faith". | A spokesman for Mr Barrowman, who is also from Glasgow, described the judgement a "whitewash", while Mone said it required a "quantum leap of faith". |
| The protective equipment PPE Medpro was contracted to supply has been in storage since 2020 after the company failed to prove it was correctly sterilised. | The protective equipment PPE Medpro was contracted to supply has been in storage since 2020 after the company failed to prove it was correctly sterilised. |
| Mone - who recommended the company to the government through the "VIP lane" - initially denied being linked to the firm, but admitted to the BBC in 2023 that she had lied about not being involved. | Mone - who recommended the company to the government through the "VIP lane" - initially denied being linked to the firm, but admitted to the BBC in 2023 that she had lied about not being involved. |
| Her peerage can only be removed through an act of parliament, with SNP Westminster leader Flynn urging Labour ministers to take that step. | Her peerage can only be removed through an act of parliament, with SNP Westminster leader Flynn urging Labour ministers to take that step. |
| He told BBC Scotland News: "This can't be the end of the story. The public need to have that money returned to them. | He told BBC Scotland News: "This can't be the end of the story. The public need to have that money returned to them. |
| "That money needs to be back in the public purse but most importantly there needs to be consequences | "That money needs to be back in the public purse but most importantly there needs to be consequences |
| "Michelle Mone should not be in the House of Lords. The government can make sure that doesn't happen and I will support them if they do that." | "Michelle Mone should not be in the House of Lords. The government can make sure that doesn't happen and I will support them if they do that." |
| Flynn added: "Is it ok that Michelle Mone continues to sit in the House of Lords, is it ok that she continues to make laws over all of our lives? | Flynn added: "Is it ok that Michelle Mone continues to sit in the House of Lords, is it ok that she continues to make laws over all of our lives? |
| "I think the overwhelming view from the Scottish public will be no." | "I think the overwhelming view from the Scottish public will be no." |
| Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman have criticised the court's ruling | |
| Baroness Mone of Mayfair was given her title by then prime minister David Cameron in 2015. He also appointed Mone as his government's "entrepreneurship tsar". | Baroness Mone of Mayfair was given her title by then prime minister David Cameron in 2015. He also appointed Mone as his government's "entrepreneurship tsar". |
| The baroness was stripped of the Conservative whip following revelations about PPE Medpro and is on leave from the House of Lords. | The baroness was stripped of the Conservative whip following revelations about PPE Medpro and is on leave from the House of Lords. |
| Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie called for Mone to step down from the House of Lords, which he said should be abolished. | |
| He said: "Even by the standards of the Lords, this saga has been totally shameful. | |
| "It's clear that Michelle Mone should resign, but the problem isn't just her individual choices, it is the system that put her in such a powerful and unaccountable position in the first place." | |
| A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: "The Conservative Party removed the whip from Michelle Mone when these allegations came to light." | |
| 'Full force of the law' | 'Full force of the law' |
| A High Court judge ordered that PPE Medpro must pay back the £122m plus intertest to the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). | A High Court judge ordered that PPE Medpro must pay back the £122m plus intertest to the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). |
| DHSC minister Stephen Kinnock said that the money "needs to be paid back and that's what's going to happen". | DHSC minister Stephen Kinnock said that the money "needs to be paid back and that's what's going to happen". |
| He added: "We have now got the full force of the law behind us." | He added: "We have now got the full force of the law behind us." |
| Mone described the court ruling as "nothing less than an establishment win for the government in a case that was too big to lose". | Mone described the court ruling as "nothing less than an establishment win for the government in a case that was too big to lose". |
| A spokesman for Mr Barrowman said: "This judgment is a white wash of the facts and shows that justice was being seen to be done, where the outcome was always certain for the DHSC and the government." | A spokesman for Mr Barrowman said: "This judgment is a white wash of the facts and shows that justice was being seen to be done, where the outcome was always certain for the DHSC and the government." |
| Legislation to remove peerages has not been introduced since 1917, when it was used to strip titles from "enemies" of the UK during World War One. | Legislation to remove peerages has not been introduced since 1917, when it was used to strip titles from "enemies" of the UK during World War One. |
| More recent legislation has created provisions for cancelling or suspending a person's membership of the House of Lords, but only in certain circumstances such as when they have been convicted of a serious criminal offence. | More recent legislation has created provisions for cancelling or suspending a person's membership of the House of Lords, but only in certain circumstances such as when they have been convicted of a serious criminal offence. |
| A separate National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into Medpro has been ongoing since May 2021. | A separate National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into Medpro has been ongoing since May 2021. |
| It is looking into suspected criminal offences committed over the procurement of PPE. | It is looking into suspected criminal offences committed over the procurement of PPE. |