Labor has accused ministers of potentially covering up a PPE deal with a company linked to Tory counterpart Michelle Moon after the health ministry refused to release documents related to the deal, citing sensitivity to trade.
The dispute comes days after the National Crime Agency (NCA) searched Monet’s home as part of an investigation into a potential fraud at PPE Medpro, which won more than £ 200 million in public procurement without a public tender.
Angela Raynor, Labor’s deputy leader, wrote to the government in January asking for the release of correspondence and records related to the deal, as happened with a test contract won by another company, Randox, after lobbying by then-MP by Tory Owen Patterson.
In the letter, Raynor noted that Medpro won both contracts through a “VIP ribbon” for politically affiliated companies, after Mone contacted two ministers in May 2020 to say he could supply PPE.
“I would now ask the government to take the same approach as the Randox contract, which was such a controversial issue, and is now committed to placing all correspondence and records related to the award in the house library. [of Commons] for parliamentary control, “Raynor wrote.
In a response sent last week, Junior Health Minister Edward Argar defended efforts to purchase medical protective supplies at the start of the Covid pandemic, saying the alternative was “not providing the PPE that was desperately needed; it is clearly not an option. “
“All bids were subject to rigorous financial, commercial, legal and political evaluations,” Argar said, adding that decisions were made by officials without evidence that ministers were involved and that due diligence was appropriate. circumstances. “
He added: “However, we are not in a position to provide correspondence and records related to the award of the PPE Medpro contract, as they remain commercially sensitive, given that the department is currently involved in a product brokerage process, which he received from PPE Medpro Ltd, which includes confidentiality commitments. “
The company’s 25 million medical gowns were never used after employees rejected them after an inspection, with the Ministry of Health and Welfare (DHSC) trying to recover the PPE Medpro money through mediation. PPE Medpro claims that it has complied with the terms of its dress contract and is entitled to withhold the money it has paid.
In a statement, Raynor said the government’s refusal to release the documents “smells like cover-up.”
She said: “The fact that Medpro is an intermediary for providing useless PPE is not an excuse for non-transparency with the public – in fact, it only reinforces the need for clarity on how this irritating waste was allowed to happen.
“The government has shown complete disregard for working people by wasting taxpayers’ money on bad contracts.
On Wednesday, the NCA searched several Medpro-related properties on the Isle of Man and London, including the Isle of Man office building where PPE Medpro is registered and the mansion where Lady Moon lives with her husband, business mogul Douglas Barrowman.
In response to previous stories, Mone’s lawyers said any suggestion of an association or secret agreement between Tory’s partner and PPE Medpro would be “inaccurate” and that she was not involved in the business. “Baroness Monet is neither an investor, nor a director, nor a shareholder in any way related to PPE Medpro. It has never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process in which the contracts were awarded to PPE Medpro. “
Mone’s lawyers said that after she took the “simple, independent and short step” of referring PPE Medpro to the government, she did nothing more about the company.
Isle of Man police confirmed that search warrants were carried out at four addresses on the island on Wednesday “in support of an ongoing NCA investigation”. There were no arrests.
DHSC sent all inquiries about Medpro to the NCA.
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