Michelle Mone says she won't step down as Tory peer - and accuses chancellor of 'endangering' her

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Baroness Michelle Mone says she volition defy calls for her to measurement down from the House of Lords aft PPE Medpro, a institution founded by her husband, was ordered to repay £122m to the authorities for providing faulty PPE astatine the tallness of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The adjacent has faced calls to basal down from MPs crossed the governmental spectrum, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who earlier this week agreed with Baroness Mone's contention that the authorities was pursuing a "vendetta" successful trying to retrieve improper Covid funding.

"Too close we are," she said successful comments astatine the Labour Party conference.

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In an bonzer missive to the premier minister, Baroness Mone has accused Ms Reeves of endangering her and her household with her comments, citing the murders of Jo Cox and David Amess arsenic grounds of the risks facing parliamentarians.

She besides alleged ministerial interference successful the civilian and ongoing transgression investigations of PPE Medpro, and has called for an probe into whether ministers person "improperly influenced" the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Crime Agency.

In the letter, sent from the backstage bureau of Baroness Mone OBE and seen by Sky News, she addresses the premier curate directly, penning successful a idiosyncratic capableness "first arsenic a wife, 2nd arsenic a mother, and lastly arsenic a Baroness."

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£122m measure that whitethorn ne'er beryllium paid

Referring to Ms Reeve's comments, she writes: "The chancellor's deliberate usage of the word "vendetta", a connection connoting vengeance, feud and humor feud, is incendiary and has straight accrued the risks to my idiosyncratic safety.... My household and I present unrecorded with a heightened and genuine fearfulness of appearing successful public."

She goes connected to impeach Reeves and wellness caput Wes Streeting of "falsehoods" successful demanding that she manus backmost £122m, pointing retired that she was ne'er a manager of PPE Medpro and "never received a penny from it personally."

While the institution was founded by her hubby Doug Barrowman, a High Court judgement this week confirmed that Baroness Mone introduced it to the government's VIP accelerated lane for PPE providers, and lobbied connected its behalf successful negotiations.

She has antecedently admitted that £29m of nett from the PPE declaration was passed to a household spot of which she and her children are beneficiaries.

The adjacent has besides accused the Prime Minister of "a full lie" erstwhile "you stated successful Parliament that my children had received £29m into their slope accounts."

Baroness Mone said that pursuing these comments, she had received threatening and abusive communications, and cited the decease of TV presenter Caroline Flack, who took her ain life, arsenic showing "the fatal consequences of personalised nationalist vilification".

"Your furniture members, by repeating this knowingly mendacious claim, are inciting hostility and inflaming nationalist hatred against me."

 PA

Image: Baroness Michelle Mone and her hubby Doug Barrowman. Pic: PA

She has besides accused the location caput of influencing the NCA and Director of Public Prosecutions successful unspecified meetings to sermon "high-profile cases".

"That governmental power is being brought to carnivore is, therefore, undeniable," she said.

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On Wednesday, PPE Medpro was ordered to repay £122m paid for 25 cardinal surgical gowns that failed to conscionable sterility standards successful breach of its declaration with the Department of Health and Social Care.

PPE Medpro was enactment into medication the time earlier the judgment, with assets of conscionable £666,000.

Asked if Baroness Mone would measurement down from the Lords, a spokesperson said: "Those calling for Baroness Mone's resignation from the House of Lords would beryllium good advised to work the unfastened missive sent this greeting to the premier minister, which sets retired however this has present go a idiosyncratic onslaught and vendetta, politically motivated with nonaccomplishment of each equilibrium and objectivity."

Sky News has asked Number 10 and the Treasury for a effect to the allegations made by Baroness Mone.

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