‘Baroness Bra’ Michelle Mone and her husband ‘were investigated by Britain’s FBI under caution’ amid probe into ‘Covid VIP lanes’ – after Tory peer admitted ‘error’ in denying links to PPE firm at centre of scandal

Baroness Michelle Monnet and her husband were allegedly investigated by detectives during an investigation into the couple’s PPE Medpro firm.

The fellow Conservative and bra magnate Ultimo are embroiled in a row over more than £200 million of “VIP stripe” contracts awarded to the company during the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK’s national law enforcement agency, the National Crime Agency (NCA), confirmed it has been investigating her and her husband Doug Barrowman’s role in the scandal since May 2021.

The documentary, aired on Sunday, revealed the couple were interviewed by NCA detectives during the investigation and their home was raided by officers last year in search of documents that could help the investigation.

Mirror reported that the interrogation was conducted with caution and they were not arrested.

An NCA spokesman said: “In May 2021, the NCA began an investigation into alleged criminal offenses committed in the procurement of PPE contracts by PPE Medpro.”

PPE Medpro has won government contracts worth more than £200 million to supply personal protective equipment after Lady Monet recommended it to ministers.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has since announced a breach of contract in the 2020 deal to supply the gowns.

Lady Monet said in the documentary that she and her husband Doug Barrowman would be acquitted because “we didn’t do anything wrong.”

But she admitted she “regrets” not immediately revealing her links to the PPE company, saying she made a “mistake”.

The Baroness went on to say that she suffers from panic attacks and nightmares about the NKA “breaking through the house” and she sees them standing over her bed.

While the rest of the UK was under strict lockdown, the couple got married and were able to share their celebration with 90 guests thanks to the Isle of Man’s decision to abandon social distancing before heading off on their honeymoon to the Maldives.

But behind the jubilant scenes, trouble was already brewing for the mega-rich lovers. Just a month after their luxurious wedding, journalists began asking questions about Lady Monet’s connections with PPE Medpro.

She has consistently denied any “role or function” at the company, and her lawyers have insisted she is “not associated with PPE Medpro in any capacity.”

But it later emerged that the former model contacted then Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove and Conservative peer Theodore Agnew in May 2020, offering to supply personal protective equipment “through my team in Hong Kong” – five days before Medpro’s PPE was even registered as a company. her husband’s business partners.

The government then quickly sought out the firm through a “VIP lane” for companies with political connections.

She and her husband broke their silence in the documentary, where they spoke to Mark Williams-Thomas, the investigative journalist who is best known for exposing Jimmy Saville as a pedophile in the television documentary The Other Side of Jimmy Saville, which he presented in 2012

Lady Monet initially denied any connection with PPE Medpro, but admitted in the film: “I made a mistake in what I said to the press.

“I regret that I didn’t tell the press right away: ‘Yes, I’m involved in this.’ And the government knew I was involved.”

According to the Sunday Telegraph, the film, part of the public fight, was financed by PPE Medpro.

Lady Monet, who was made a peer by Lord David Cameron in 2015, said the claim that she had not been straight with officials was “100% false” and her husband said a “DHSC negotiator” had suggested the matter may “close”. for the required amount.

In the documentary, she said: “This is 100 percent false. Not true. I wanted the boys to succeed, I wanted the NHS to succeed. I wanted a win-win situation.”

When asked how she felt when the pandemic hit, she said, “I thought I could fix it.” I could fix this by purchasing quality PPE in a timely manner at the best prices.”

The baroness said she was now breaking her silence on the dispute because she “simply cannot take it anymore.”

She claimed to have received messages from people calling for her to be jailed, to “put on an orange jumpsuit” and even someone who wrote: “I’m going to throw acid on her.”

The scandal has had a negative impact on her mental health: she admitted that she is seeing a doctor and is currently taking medication.

She said: “I’m not doing well with my mental health at the moment. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, but I’m in a lot of pain and I’m struggling.

“It was a real fight. But we will win because we did nothing wrong. It’s cruel and disgusting, but we will win.”

Lady Monet has said the government is using her as a scapegoat for its own Covid-related failures.

“I’m ashamed to be a fellow Conservative given what this government has done to us,” she told The Telegraph.

Uplift minister Michael Gove, who was allegedly involved in the contract process, insisted that “ministers did not make individual decisions” on pandemic-related contracts.

Mr Gove told the BBC Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “These decisions have been made after a painstaking process by teams of civil servants who assess the value of any proposed contract.

“So the suggestion that some have made, that somehow ministers were deliberately seeking to do a favor or line the pockets of other people, I think is completely unjustified as the decisions were only made after a proper, consistent and fair procurement process.

“As with any procurement process, it can sometimes happen that the goods purchased are found to be inadequate – this is deeply unfortunate, but it is a consequence of what has happened under pressure.”

Matt Hancock and Mr Gove were questioned by the NCA as part of the investigation.

Others questioned include Lord Bethell, a former health secretary, and Lord Agnew, who served in the Cabinet Office.

Former health secretary Hancock previously claimed the Baroness sent him “aggressive” emails.

In response, she said in the film: “Sometimes I may seem cocky, but I’m not aggressive or offensive. To be honest, I’m not a fan of his anyway.”

Mr Hancock was responsible for assigning four companies to the VIP contract scheme.

One was Excalibur Healthcare Services, a healthcare company run by a Labor Party donor that was asked to provide ventilators.

The firm was asking for £135 million, or £50,000 each, for the supply of 2,700 ventilators. Three weeks earlier, another company provided the same model VG70 ventilator for £8,800, according to the Times.

A DHSC spokesman said: “We do not comment on ongoing legal matters.”