A so-called ‘truth’ statement sent out by Lady Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman omits a major lie that could even mean a criminal offence has been committed, according to Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates.
In a statement published by Lady Mone on X, formerly Twitter, Doug Barrowman said it “suits the agenda” of the UK Government to “scapegoat” him and his wife for their part in supplying items designed to protect against coronavirus infection through the firm PPE Medpro.
Lady Mone has admitted she lied when she denied having connections to the company, a consortium led by her husband, which was awarded contracts worth more than £200 million to supply gowns and face masks.
The lingerie entrepreneur stands to benefit from its £60 million in profits that have been placed into a trust by her husband.
Barrowman said he and his family have been “treated as a punchbag by the media for the past three years” and have “received death threats and a constant torrent of online and other abuse” as a result of the row.
In his statement of more than 1,000 words published on Monday, Mr Barrowman looked to turn the debate on to what he said were failures by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) during its PPE procurement.
But according to Neidle, the statement omits one critical element that could potentially land Barrowman in hot water.
In a blistering thread, the self-styled ‘tax realist’ said PPE Medpro and its directors probably committed a criminal offence in not disclosing that Barrowman controlled it, and Barrowman plausibly committed an offence himself.
Despite Companies House showing that Anthony Page and Arthur Lancaster were people with significant control, Neidle says it is “fairly obvious” they were mere placement.
And there was a similar failure to disclose who holds Barrowman’s Belgravia house, which could land him in trouble.
Neidle says: “Barrowman says how he organises his affairs isn’t a matter of public debate. It is when he breaks the law.
“And he says it’s not criminal matter. The Companies Act begs to disagree.”
Read the thread in full below:
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