Outrage that the Covid inquiry will hear evidence on Michelle Mone in private
There’s outrage that the Covid inquiry will hear evidence on Michelle Mone in private – but is it justified?
Mone [pictured aboard her yacht, the Lady M, that she claims was not bought with money that has anything to do with what follows] is alleged to have contacted Michael Gove during the Covid-19 crisis (via private email, so it could not be seen by the public via Freedom of Information request).
In it, she is alleged to have said that a company called PPE Medpro – which did not actually exist at the time – could supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to the National Health Service – equipment that was desperately needed because the Tories had binned the UK’s supplies of PPE that were kept in case of a major pandemic.
It is alleged that Gove added her to a so-called VIP list of people with connections to the Tory government, whose recommendations would be fast-tracked towards receiving contracts. This list was later declared illegal.
It is alleged that PPE Medpro then received a contract worth £203 million, to provide 210 million masks and 25 million surgical gowns to the NHS.
It is alleged that the gowns – for which the public purse paid £112 million – were rejected by the Department of Health after inspections.
It is alleged that the man Mone subsequently married, Douglas Barrowman, was a significant investor in PPE Medpro. Both she and he denied this.
It is alleged that a trust in which Barrowman is a beneficiary received £65 million from PPE Medpro – of which £29 million was passed on to another trust in which Mone and her family are beneficiaries. She has denied receiving any money that originated from PPE Medpro.
That’s all in the public domain, so the Covid Inquiry’s hearings about it should also be in public, right?
But there is an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA). It has been running since May 2021 – almost four years – and has had nothing to show for it, so far.
Apparently the NCA applied to the Covid Inquiry for a restriction order – ensuring that the hearings related to PPE Medpro would be held in private – claiming there was a risk of harm to its investigation if sensitive evidence about PPE Medpro was heard in public.
According to the BBC,
It then asked for 26 witness statements written by its staff to be withheld, and an order to be made preventing certain questions about the firm to be asked in the inquiry room in a public session.
It argued those restrictions should include the identity of any person under investigation; evidence relating to the opinion of any government official concerning PPE Medpro’s contracts; and evidence about payments to the company and who ultimately benefited.
The NCA has said there is a “realistic possibility that criminal charges against one or more individuals will flow from the investigation”.
That’s welcome. My question is: when?
An NCA spokesperson told the BBC
“It can take considerable time to ensure that a thorough, independent and objective investigation is conducted.”
That certainly seems true, with almost four years having passed since the investigation began.
Mone is now 52 years old; Barrowman is 59.
Is this going to be yet another instance in which the alleged wrongdoers are allowed to live full, wealthy and happy lives on ill-gotten public money, and we are only informed of any guilt after they have passed away and are beyond justice?
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