Hmrc Issues Winding Up Petition Against Tory Peer Linked Ppe Company Conservatives

PPE Medpro Ltd was awarded two contracts through the government’s ‘VIP lane’ after Lady Mone approached Michael Gove in May 2020 with a bid to supply personal protective equipment. He is already under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) for possible fraud. Details of the winding-up petition, first reported by courts blogger Daniel Cloake, say HM Revenue and Customs issued it against the company on Thursday morning. No details were given on the amount of tax he claims is owed, nor how long it has been outstanding. An HMRC spokesman declined to provide further information, citing a policy of not commenting on identifiable businesses. The Guardian previously revealed that Mone emailed her Tory colleague Theodore Agnew on May 8, 2020, telling him that Gove had asked her to contact him “urgently”. He proposed providing large quantities of face masks to the government, telling Agnew they could be sourced from “my team in Hong Kong”. Agnew, at the time a Cabinet minister in charge of procurement, referred Mone’s offer to civil servants who processed it through the VIP “high priority lane” for politically connected people. The company awarded the contracts, PPE Medpro Ltd, was not incorporated until 12 May 2020, four days after Mone approached Agnew. The company was awarded its first contract, for £80.85 million to supply 210 million face masks, a month later. The Department of Health and Social Care awarded the second contract two weeks later, for £122 million, to supply 25 million surgical gowns. Both contracts were awarded directly, without competitive bidding, in accordance with Covid emergency regulations. The second contract has been the subject of dispute after the DHSC dismissed the suits and has said it is seeking to recover its money through a dispute resolution process. PPE Medpro argued that it complied with the terms of its garment contract and was entitled to keep the money it had been paid. The company’s first financial accounts, for the year to 5 April 2021, said it had no assets, had profits of £3.9m, owed a further £4m and owed £913,019 in tax and social security within a year. Mone has consistently denied involvement in PPE Medpro. Lawyers provided by her said: “Baroness Mone is neither an investor, director or shareholder associated in any way with PPE Medpro. He never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded to PPE Medpro.” Her husband, Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, was similarly removed from the company, although his lawyers have not commented on whether he benefited financially from the company. In January, the Guardian reported that leaked files appeared to suggest Mone and Barrowman were secretly involved in the Medpro PPE business. Mone’s lawyers responded that the Guardian’s findings were “based entirely on conjecture and speculation and not based on fact”. House of Lords standards commissioner Martin Jelley then launched an investigation, which is ongoing, into whether Mone’s links to the firm breached membership rules. He has denied any wrongdoing. In April, the NCA executed search warrants at Mone and Barrowman’s mansion on the Isle of Man and several other properties, including the offices of PPE Medpro Ltd and its associated company of the same name registered on the Isle of Man. Lawyers for PPE Medpro, Mone and Barrowman have been contacted for comment on the liquidation petition.

title: “Hmrc Issues Winding Up Petition Against Tory Peer Linked Ppe Company Conservatives Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “John Blaney”

PPE Medpro Ltd was awarded two contracts through the government’s ‘VIP lane’ after Lady Mone approached Michael Gove in May 2020 with a bid to supply personal protective equipment. He is already under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) for possible fraud. Details of the winding-up petition, first reported by courts blogger Daniel Cloake, say HM Revenue and Customs issued it against the company on Thursday morning. No details were given on the amount of tax he claims is owed, nor how long it has been outstanding. An HMRC spokesman declined to provide further information, citing a policy of not commenting on identifiable businesses. The Guardian previously revealed that Mone emailed her Tory colleague Theodore Agnew on May 8, 2020, telling him that Gove had asked her to contact him “urgently”. He proposed providing large quantities of face masks to the government, telling Agnew they could be sourced from “my team in Hong Kong”. Agnew, at the time a Cabinet minister in charge of procurement, referred Mone’s offer to civil servants who processed it through the VIP “high priority lane” for politically connected people. The company awarded the contracts, PPE Medpro Ltd, was not incorporated until 12 May 2020, four days after Mone approached Agnew. The company was awarded its first contract, for £80.85 million to supply 210 million face masks, a month later. The Department of Health and Social Care awarded the second contract two weeks later, for £122 million, to supply 25 million surgical gowns. Both contracts were awarded directly, without competitive bidding, in accordance with Covid emergency regulations. The second contract has been the subject of dispute after the DHSC dismissed the suits and has said it is seeking to recover its money through a dispute resolution process. PPE Medpro argued that it complied with the terms of its garment contract and was entitled to keep the money it had been paid. The company’s first financial accounts, for the year to 5 April 2021, said it had no assets, had profits of £3.9m, owed a further £4m and owed £913,019 in tax and social security within a year. Mone has consistently denied involvement in PPE Medpro. Lawyers provided by her said: “Baroness Mone is neither an investor, director or shareholder associated in any way with PPE Medpro. He never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded to PPE Medpro.” Her husband, Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, was similarly removed from the company, although his lawyers have not commented on whether he benefited financially from the company. In January, the Guardian reported that leaked files appeared to suggest Mone and Barrowman were secretly involved in the Medpro PPE business. Mone’s lawyers responded that the Guardian’s findings were “based entirely on conjecture and speculation and not based on fact”. House of Lords standards commissioner Martin Jelley then launched an investigation, which is ongoing, into whether Mone’s links to the firm breached membership rules. He has denied any wrongdoing. In April, the NCA executed search warrants at Mone and Barrowman’s mansion on the Isle of Man and several other properties, including the offices of PPE Medpro Ltd and its associated company of the same name registered on the Isle of Man. Lawyers for PPE Medpro, Mone and Barrowman have been contacted for comment on the liquidation petition.