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a company linked to the baroness Michelle Mone Has failed to meet deadline to repay almost £122 million to the government Health Secretary Said.
Repayment was due after the company, ppe MedPro found in breach of contract for surgical gowns corona virus pandemic.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) earlier this year successfully sued PPE MedPro, a consortium led by Lady Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman.
He claimed it breached the deal for 25 million gowns because they were “defective” by not being sterile.
In a ruling earlier this month, Mrs Justice Cockerill found that the gowns were “not sterile, as required by contract, or not reasonably recognized as being sterile”, which meant they could not be used in the NHS.
He ordered them to repay £121,999,219.20 plus interest by 4pm on Wednesday, but the day before the decision, PPE Medpro entered administration.
After the deadline, Health Secretary Mohd. Wes Streeting Said that PPE Medpro has “failed to meet the deadline to make payment” and interest on the amount is “now accruing daily”.
He said: “At a time of national crisis, PPE Medpro sold substandard kits to the previous government and pocketed taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
He continued: “We will push PPE MedPro with everything we have to get these funds back where they belong – into our NHS.”
PPE Medpro was also ordered to pay interest, which is understood to be £23,673,029.20, meaning the total figure owed is approximately £145.6 million.
From Thursday till the payment is made, interest will be charged at the rate of 8 percent per annum.
A spokesperson for the consortium had earlier said it was ready to “talk” with the government with a view to a “possible solution”, but earlier on Wednesday said it had not received any response.
He said: “On Friday 11 October, it was made clear that PPE Medpro’s consortium partners remain open to discussions with the Government through administrators to reach a potential solution.
“It was made very public, and the government was made aware of it.
“Yet, what is very disappointing is that the government has made no effort to respond or engage in the discussion.”
It is understood that the consortium is keen to reach an agreement with the government.
At a trial in June and July, PPE MedPro’s barristers said it had been “singled out for unfair treatment” and accused the government of “buyer’s remorse”, claiming the gowns had deteriorated due to the conditions in which they were kept after delivery.
Lady Mone said on X the day before the verdict that the government had made her and Mr Barrowman “the poster couple for the PPE scandal” and claimed to have turned down multi-million pound offers to settle the case.
He then also criticized Mrs Justice Cockerill’s decision, calling it a victory for the “establishment”, while Mr Barrowman said it was a “mockery of justice”.
PPE MedPro still insists that it provided all 25 million gowns and disputes that the gowns were not sterilized, and also says that the court made its decision on technical grounds.
Lady Mone, who created the lingerie brand Ultimo which she sold in 2014, was made a Conservative peer by David Cameron in 2015.
He faced calls from several high-profile politicians to leave his peerage following the decision, but in a letter to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said he had “no wish to return” to the House of Lords as a Conservative peer.