Baroness Michell Mone has accused Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch of utilizing “reckless” language that would prejudice a police investigation, and says she has “no desire” to return to the Home of Lords as a Tory peer.
A day after she wrote to Sir Keir Starmer, accusing the federal government of pursuing a vendetta in opposition to her, the previous Conservative peer responded to feedback by Ms Badenoch following a Excessive Court docket ruling that an organization linked to Baroness Mone’s husband should repay £122m acquired for surgical robes.
The courtroom discovered that PPE Medpro, based by her husband Doug Barrowman, was in breach of contract with the Division of Well being and gave it two weeks to repay the sum.
Whereas not a director of the corporate, Baroness Mone used her political contacts to introduce PPE Medpro to the federal government’s “VIP fast-lane” at the beginning of the pandemic, and a household belief of which her kids are beneficiaries acquired £29m of the income.
A separate felony investigation by the Nationwide Crime Company (NCA) is ongoing, and property linked to the couple value £75m have been frozen whereas it continues.
In a collection of radio interviews, Ms Badenoch criticised Baroness Mone, accusing her of bringing disgrace on the Conservative Occasion and calling for her to step down from the Home of Lords.
“Where people do wrong, they should be punished,” she mentioned. “They should face the full force of the law and this is something that I very strongly believe in,” she mentioned.
“And as the prosecution against her continues, they should throw the book at her for every single bit of wrongdoing that has taken place.”
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Baroness Mone ‘should resign’
In a letter from her personal workplace, Baroness Mone accuses the Tory chief of being blind to the details and calls out a collection of different Conservative politicians who launched corporations to the VIP lane.
“I was shocked to the core to read about your inflammatory language on BBC Radio yesterday calling for me to resign from the House of Lords,” she writes.
“You are commenting on a live criminal investigation that could prejudice the outcome of any trial, and in so doing, you are reportable to the attorney general for breach of and contempt of court. Does no one ever tell you these things before you and your colleagues make reckless statements in the public domain?”
Baroness Mone goes on to say the NCA investigation has “nothing to do with PPE Medpro and the contracts”.
“The case theory of the NCA investigation is that I somehow misled the Conservative government about my alleged concealed involvement and ended up pocketing a lot of money,” she writes. “Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it isn’t true.”
She additionally says the Conservative authorities knew of her involvement and names former well being secretary Matt Hancock, Lord Agnew, Lord Feldman and Lord Chadlington as being amongst 51 “mostly Conservative peers and MPs” who launched suppliers to the VIP lane.
“So Kemi, my role was exactly the same as all other Conservative MPs and peers who were trying to help provide PPE… if I have done wrong, then so have all the others in the VIP lane. In which case, you should be calling out for them to resign as well. That’s if you manage to work out what it is they are supposed to have done wrong.”
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1:52The Excessive Court docket says an organization linked to Mone breached a authorities contract of almost £122m
She concludes by saying she has no want to rejoin the Lords as a Conservative Peer “assuming there still is a Conservative Party before the next General Election”.
Baroness Mone misplaced the Conservative whip when she took a go away of absence from the Lords in 2022, and Ms Badenoch has made it clear she wouldn’t be welcome again.
The letter comes as an internet petition calling for Baroness Mone to step down from the Lords, launched by the Covid-19 Bereaved Households for Justice, attracted 60,000 signatures in 24 hours.
The Conservative Occasion has been approached for remark.
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