Baroness Mone attacks 'reckless' Badenoch over PPE police action call

Baroness Michelle Mone has broadened her onslaught connected her governmental critics, accusing Conservative person Kemi Badenoch of utilizing "inflammatory" and "reckless" connection that could prejudice a constabulary probe into her relation successful the awarding of PPE contracts.

A time aft she wrote to Sir Keir Starmer, accusing the authorities of pursuing a vendetta against her, the erstwhile Conservative adjacent responded to comments by Ms Badenoch pursuing a High Court ruling that a institution linked to Baroness Mone's hubby indispensable repay £122m received for surgical gowns.

The tribunal recovered that PPE Medpro, founded by her hubby Doug Barrowman, was successful breach of contract with the Department of Health and gave it 2 weeks to repay the sum.

While not a manager of the company, Baroness Mone utilized her governmental contacts to present PPE Medpro to the government's "VIP fast-lane" astatine the commencement of the pandemic, and a household spot of which her children are beneficiaries received £29m of the profits.

A abstracted transgression probe by the National Crime Agency (NCA) is ongoing, and assets linked to the mates worthy £75m person been frozen portion it continues.

In a bid of vigor interviews, Ms Badenoch criticised Baroness Mone, accusing her of bringing shame connected the Conservative Party and calling for her to measurement down from the House of Lords.

"Where radical bash wrong, they should beryllium punished," she said. "They should look the afloat unit of the instrumentality and this is thing that I precise powerfully judge in," she said.

"And arsenic the prosecution against her continues, they should propulsion the publication astatine her for each azygous spot of wrongdoing that has taken place."

In a missive from her backstage office, Baroness Mone accuses the Tory person of being ignorant of the facts and calls retired a bid of different Conservative politicians who introduced companies to the VIP lane.

"I was shocked to the halfway to work astir your inflammatory connection connected BBC Radio yesterday calling for maine to resign from the House of Lords," she writes.

"You are commenting connected a unrecorded transgression probe that could prejudice the result of immoderate trial, and successful truthful doing, you are reportable to the lawyer wide for breach of and contempt of court. Does nary 1 ever archer you these things earlier you and your colleagues marque reckless statements successful the nationalist domain?"

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Baroness Mone goes connected to accidental the NCA probe has "nothing to bash with PPE Medpro and the contracts".

"The lawsuit mentation of the NCA probe is that I someway misled the Conservative authorities astir my alleged concealed engagement and ended up pocketing a batch of money," she writes. "Well I'm atrocious to disappoint you, but it isn't true."

She besides says the Conservative authorities knew of her engagement and names erstwhile wellness caput Matt Hancock, Lord Agnew, Lord Feldman and Lord Chadlington arsenic being among 51 "mostly Conservative peers and MPs" who introduced providers to the VIP lane.

"So Kemi, my relation was precisely the aforesaid arsenic each different Conservative MPs and peers who were trying to assistance supply PPE… if I person done wrong, past truthful person each the others successful the VIP lane. In which case, you should beryllium calling retired for them to resign arsenic well. That's if you negociate to enactment retired what it is they are expected to person done wrong."

She concludes by saying she has nary privation to rejoin the Lords arsenic a Conservative Peer erstwhile her permission of lack ends, "that's assuming determination inactive is simply a Conservative Party earlier the adjacent General Election".

The missive comes arsenic an online petition calling for Baroness Mone to measurement down from the Lords, launched by the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, attracted 60,000 signatures successful 24 hours.

The Conservative Party has been approached for comment.