Company linked to Michelle Mone owes £39m in tax

Published: 06 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

A company tied to Conservative peer Baroness Michelle Mone has been found to owe £39 million in unpaid tax, according to newly released documents from its administrators. The firm, PPE Medpro, which came under scrutiny for its role in supplying personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic, now faces mounting financial and legal pressure as the scale of its debts becomes clearer.

The fresh revelation adds to the £148 million that the company has already been ordered to repay to the UK government following a High Court ruling earlier this year. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) successfully sued PPE Medpro over the supply of 25 million protective gowns that were deemed “faulty and unusable,” sparking one of the most high-profile controversies linked to the pandemic procurement programme.

PPE Medpro was founded in 2020 as part of an emergency effort to source medical equipment during the height of the pandemic. The company was spearheaded by businessman Doug Barrowman, husband of Baroness Mone, who was herself accused of lobbying ministers on behalf of the firm — a claim she has denied.

According to filings submitted on Tuesday, administrators have determined that the company has just £672,774 available for unsecured creditors, a fraction of what it owes. The new documents paint a stark picture of the company’s finances, indicating that repayment of the £39 million tax bill, alongside the court-ordered £148 million reimbursement, remains highly unlikely.

Government sources confirmed that despite the company entering administration last month, efforts to recover the money are ongoing. “We have absolutely not abandoned attempts to reclaim the full amount owed,” a DHSC spokesperson said. “We are continuing to pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that taxpayers’ money is recovered.”

The legal action against PPE Medpro centres on allegations that the gowns supplied failed to meet contractual standards and were never used in the NHS. The government argued that the garments were not fit for purpose, while the company has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, the High Court ordered PPE Medpro to repay £122.8 million, plus interest at a rate of eight per cent per annum. The ruling followed months of dispute between the government and the company, which had accused officials of mishandling the procurement process.

The latest filings also highlight tensions between the company’s administrators and government representatives, as PPE Medpro’s consortium partners say they have made multiple attempts to open settlement talks. A spokesman for the consortium said: “On Friday October 11, it was made clear that the consortium partners of PPE Medpro are prepared to enter into discussions with the Government, via the administrators, to reach a possible settlement. This was made very public, and the Government was made aware of it. Yet, very disappointingly, the Government has made no effort to respond or seek to enter into discussions.”

The statement suggests that PPE Medpro’s management is still seeking a negotiated resolution, though legal experts believe the government is unlikely to settle while the public inquiry into Covid contracts remains active. The issue has become politically charged, with opposition parties calling for full transparency over Baroness Mone’s alleged involvement and demanding stronger oversight of emergency procurement channels used during the pandemic.

Baroness Mone, a prominent businesswoman and Conservative peer, was elevated to the House of Lords in 2015. She initially denied any link to PPE Medpro but later admitted that she had referred the company to the government’s “VIP lane” — a fast-track process for pandemic-related contracts — after her husband’s business interests became public. The couple have faced significant public backlash, and in 2023, Mone took a leave of absence from the House of Lords amid mounting scrutiny.

Doug Barrowman has maintained that PPE Medpro fulfilled its contractual obligations and delivered quality products in good faith. He has described the government’s lawsuit as “politically motivated” and said the company has been unfairly targeted as a “scapegoat for wider failings” in pandemic procurement.

Financial analysts say the company’s tax liability, now combined with the existing judgment debt, places it in an impossible position. With limited assets and over £180 million in total obligations, PPE Medpro’s administration process is expected to result in minimal returns to creditors.

Meanwhile, the National Crime Agency continues its separate investigation into allegations of fraud and corruption related to Covid contract awards. While no charges have been brought against Baroness Mone or Barrowman, both have been questioned by investigators.

The PPE Medpro saga has become emblematic of broader concerns about the government’s handling of pandemic contracts. Billions of pounds were awarded under emergency measures, with many contracts later criticised for poor transparency and weak quality control.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has called for Baroness Mone to be stripped of her peerage, saying: “The British public deserves accountability. While nurses were risking their lives on the frontlines, some were lining their pockets through crony contracts. This case is about more than one company — it’s about restoring public trust.”

For now, the future of PPE Medpro remains uncertain. The administrators’ filings make clear that the company is insolvent, and with limited cooperation between its consortium and the government, the chances of a negotiated settlement appear slim.

Baroness Mone and her husband continue to reside in their Isle of Man estate, maintaining their innocence and vowing to challenge what they describe as a campaign of political persecution. However, public anger remains strong, and the case continues to symbolise the deep mistrust surrounding the UK’s pandemic procurement system.

As the government pushes ahead with efforts to recover taxpayer funds, PPE Medpro’s collapse serves as a stark reminder of how emergency measures during the pandemic opened the door to both opportunity and controversy.