Mone 'cover up' claim after second private hearing bid rejected

BARONESS Michelle Mone and her husband have accused the Covid-19 inquiry of being an “establishment cover-up” after their second bid to be made “core participants” in the probe was rejected.

-  Nina Lloyd

The couple claimed they were subjected to a “politically motivated witch hunt” after the inquiry’s chairwoman denied their application, which she said had been made “significantly out of time”.

Their first bid for special access, which came 468 days after the deadline of November 17, 2023, was rejected at the end of February.

Their second attempt also failed, with chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett warning allowing the application to continue would “lead to further diversion and cause significant disruption to the timetable” of hearings.

Evidence

Former Tory peer Lady Mone and husband Doug Barrowman have faced scrutiny about the “VIP-lane” contracts granted to some suppliers of PPE during the pandemic.

PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Mr Barrowman, was awarded government contracts worth more than £200million to supply equipment, after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.