Wed, 01 Oct 2025

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 Baroness Mone-linked company ordered to pay £122m over PPE contract

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the government would "do everything" in its power "to get that money back".
The Department of Health and Social Care sued PPE Medpro over claims its medical gowns did not meet healthcare standards, specifically that they had not undergone a validated sterilisation process. Medpro had argued that even if the gowns were not sterile, they could have still been used by NHS workers or sold to third parties. However, the judge rejected this argument, stating that the NHS did not need more isolation gowns and that Medpro had failed to provide evidence of a valid sterlisation process. The company must pay £121,999,219 in damages, plus interest, with 15 October set as the deadline for payment. The government is working with administrators to try and claim the money back. A spokesperson for Mr Barrowman described the ruling as "a travesty of justice", while Baroness Mone called it "shocking but all too predictable". The company's director Anthony Page had called on Baroness Mone, a former Conservative peer and lingerie tycoon, during negotiations to secure the gown contract. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would do everything in her power to get the money back and that it belonged in schools, hospitals, and communities.
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