Baroness Mone accuses Covid inquiry of ‘establishment cover-up’

Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman have accused the Covid inquiry of an “establishment cover-up” after their second attempt to be given an official role in the inquiry was rejected.

The couple claimed they were the targets of a “politically motivated witch hunt” after the inquiry’s chairwoman, Baroness Hallett, refused their application to be made “core participants”.

PPE Medpro, a firm led by Mr Barrowman, was awarded government contracts worth more than £200m after Baroness Mone recommended it to ministers.

If approved, the official status would have allowed the couple to access inquiry documents, make statements and apply to ask questions of witnesses.

Baroness Hallett first rejected their approach in February, saying it came 468 days after the deadline for applications, and she did not accept they had a large enough role “in the matters to be investigated by the inquiry”.

She had previously said her main focus is on the approach of ministers and the government, rather than Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suppliers.

The Covid inquiry is conducting four weeks of hearings looking at deals to buy £15bn of PPE during Covid.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has been investigating PPE Medpro since May 2021 over suspected criminal offences committed in the procurement process.

To date no charges have been brought and the Crown Prosecution Service has not been instructed in the case. Baroness Mone, 52, and Mr Barrowman, 59, have both denied wrongdoing.

A special inquiry hearing about the company will take place behind closed doors next week after Baroness Hallett said she was satisfied there was a risk of prejudice to the ongoing NCA investigation if “sensitive evidence” was made public.

In a joint statement, Baroness Mone and her husband said the decision to hear evidence in private was “a blatant betrayal of transparency and justice” and accused the NCA of waging “a ruthless smear campaign”.

The couple said: “While the inquiry refused to exclude PPE Medpro, it handed the NCA the power to dictate the proceedings behind a wall of secrecy, ensuring that only their version of events is heard – while we are denied the right to defend ourselves.”

In a social media post, Baroness Mone said she did not realise that the company would be “specifically profiled” by the inquiry until the end of February.

“Until then, it was understood that discussions were general, covering overall PPE procurement, not targeting any individual entity,” she added.

The couple’s statement was released after their second approach to be made core participants was rejected.

Baroness Hallett said allowing the application to proceed would have led to a “further diversion of resources” and have caused “significant disruption” to the inquiry’s timetable.