A new TV documentary examines the former Tory Prime Minister’s decision to appoint Glasgow-born entrepreneur Michelle Mone to the House of Lords.
Stream every episode of The rise and fall of Michelle Mone for free on BBC iPlayer
David Cameron “lost the plot” when he appointed PPE scandal tycoon Michelle Mone as a Tory peer, according to a former business associate. The ex-Tory Prime Minister was responsible for elevating the Glasgow-born entrepreneur to the House of Lords in 2015.
Mone, 53, and her husband Doug Barrowman, 60, are under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over a £203 million deal to supply NHS equipment during the pandemic. Currently on a leave of absence, the former Ultimo bra boss is the focus of a new two-part BBC documentary, The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone, which launches on BBC iPlayer tomorrow. Former colleagues in the show openly criticise the decision to grant her a peerage.
The documentary also examines the financial records of Mone’s lingerie company, MJM International, revealing that by 2012 the business had reported losses of around £500,000. PR consultant Jack Irvine, who worked with Mone in the 1990s, tells filmmakers he received a call from a senior Tory informing him about her upcoming peerage.
I honestly burst out laughing.
Irvine recalled,
I went through the history, the fantasy world, the money they’d lost and all the things she’d done and I said, ‘Anyway, who’s pushing this?’ He said David Cameron and George Osborne. I remember thinking at the time, Cameron and Osborne have completely lost the plot.
He continued,
At the time, Scottish businessman Douglas Anderson, head of the Glasgow-based Gap Group, wrote to Cameron to object to the appointment. He told the programme,
I’m a proud Scottish person and I don’t like anybody, but especially don’t like Scottish people, being less than truthful. If the only thing she achieved was self-publicity, I don’t think that’s a very good reason to put you into the House of Lords.
Mone is accused of using her peerage to access a “VIP fast lane” and recommend PPE Medpro—run by her husband, Doug Barrowman—to supply medical equipment to the government.
She denied any connection to the company for three years before confessing in 2023 that she had lied. Barrowman acknowledged earning £65 million from the equipment deals, with £29 million moved to a trust set up in Mone’s name and for her children.
The company is facing a £122 million lawsuit from the Government over an alleged breach of contract. The couple, who reside on the Isle of Man, have had £75 million worth of assets seized, including properties in Glasgow. They continue to deny any wrongdoing.
In a statement to the BBC, their spokesperson said they had “provided full and detailed statements to the NCA and co-operated with the investigation throughout. They have never been arrested and no charges [have] been brought against them.”
Mone said she was “deeply disappointed” that a programme was airing “which appears to be relying on misleading and one-sided accounts of my life and career.”
Without having seen the programme or the allegations in their full context, it would not be fair to respond to them individually. The allegations relating to my husband’s company, PPE Medpro, will be defended in court.
She added,
Source: DailyRecord