Man arrested as part of a criminal investigation in PPE Medpro

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with the ongoing investigation into PPE Medpro, a company awarded substantial government contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid pandemic -19.

The man, caught at his home in Barnet, north London, is suspected of conspiracy to commit fraud and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The arrest marks a significant development in the investigation into PPE Medpro, which won two contracts worth £203 million to supply PPE in the early months of the pandemic, bypassing normal competitive bidding regulations.

Fellow Tory Michelle Mone and her husband Douglas Barrowman, both involved in PPE Medpro, were previously interviewed under caution by NCA investigators. However, Barrowman is not the person arrested in this latest development.

In a statement, the NCA said: “A 46-year-old man from Barnet, London, was arrested this morning at his home address as part of an ongoing NCA investigation into suspected offenses involving the purchase of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro. . He is currently being interviewed by NCA officers.”

PPE Medpro was awarded contracts for millions of face masks and sterile surgical gowns in May and June 2020 following an approach by Mone to Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Theodore Agnew. These contracts were fast-tracked through the government’s “VIP” priority lane, reserved for companies with political connections, as standard procurement rules were suspended due to the urgent need for medical supplies.

Michelle Mone, who rose to public prominence with lingerie company Ultimo, was appointed to the House of Lords by David Cameron in 2015. Douglas Barrowman, a Scottish businessman based in the Isle of Man, is the chairman and founder of Knox Group, an offshore company . private wealth management firm.

In November 2022, The Guardian revealed HSBC documents showing that Barrowman received at least £65m of PPE Medpro profits, transferring £29m to an offshore trust benefiting Mone and her three children its adults. In media interviews last year, Barrowman confirmed his substantial profits and the establishment of the trust, also declaring his children as beneficiaries.

In December 2022, Mone took a leave of absence from the House of Lords to address the allegations against her. Despite initial denials of involvement with PPE Medpro, Mone admitted in a BBC interview that he had lied to the media, although he stressed that it was not a criminal act.

The NCA’s investigation into PPE Medpro began in May 2021, with search warrants executed at the homes of Mone and Barrowman and at the company’s offices in London and the Isle of Man in April 2022. The Lords Commissioner for Standards also launched an investigation into the role of Mone. in the procurement of PPE Medpro contracts, but this was suspended pending the outcome of the ANC’s criminal investigation.