Tory peer’s London home raided by police over multi-million pound PPE fraud probe

The London home of Tory peer Michelle Mone has been raided by police as part of a probe into a multi-million pound PPE fraud.

The National Crime Agency is investigating deals by PPE Medpro, a company set up by a business associate of Baroness Mone.

Her £11 million London home, owned by an offshore company linked to her husband’s Isle of Man business, is one of a string of properties raided by NCA officers this week.

According to Mirror reports, it is understood a special unit within the NCA has been looking into the allegations for a year.

PPE Medpro won more than £200 million in Covid contracts from the Department for Health in 2020 after Baroness Mone referred the firm to the Cabinet Office via the so-called “VIP lane”.

Warrants were executed at four addresses on the Isle of Man on Wednesday, including the headquarters in Douglas of the Knox Group of companies, which was founded and is chaired by Mone’s businessman husband Doug Barrowman.

‘Resign’

Late last year a Liberal Democrat peer called on the House of Lords to strengthen its conduct rules after no action was taken against Mone after she allegedly sent a racist message to a man of Indian heritage.

According to reports, Mone told a man, Richard Lyonton-Jones, that he was “a waste of a man’s white skin” during a disagreement following a fatal yacht crash off Monaco in 2019.

In the weeks after the crash, in which a crew member died, Mone accused Lynton-Jones and his partner of parting soon after the incident, and questioned whether Lyonton Jones’s partner had suffered trauma.

Lynton-Jones messaged Mone, saying: “I would prefer you back the fuck off.” According to the complaint, Mone then replied:

“You & your mental loony of a girlfriend have been parting [sic] like mad! … Your [sic] a low life, a waste of a mans [sic] white skin so don’t give us your lies. Your [sic] a total disgrace.”

She added: “Now you deal with the police enquiries including your nut case bird.”

Lynton-Jones responded: “A waste of a white mans skin? Did not know you were racist, Michelle.”

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.