Baroness Michelle Mone says she has 'no wish to return to House of Lords as Tory peer' amid PPE contract row
The Conservative peer was "shocked to the core" to learn of the "inflammatory language" used about her by party leader Kemi Badenoch.
Baroness Michelle Mone has said she has “no wish to return” to the House of Lords as a Conservative peer after a company linked to her was ordered to repay millions of pounds for breaching a Covid-19 PPE contract.
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On Wednesday, PPE Medpro was ordered to pay back nearly £122 million to the Government after it was found to have breached a contract to supply surgical gowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several high-profile politicians have called for Lady Mone to relinquish her peerage following the High Court judgment, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who called for Lady Mone to resign, said on Thursday that Lady Mone had brought “embarrassment and shame to the party”, and should have the “book thrown at her”.
Lady Mone responded in a letter to Ms Badenoch on Friday, saying she was "shocked to the core to read about your inflammatory language" used about her.
"What is it exactly that I have done wrong? Do you know? If so, please enlighten me,” Lady Mone wrote.
Read more: Petition to expel Michelle Mone from House of Lords reaches 280,000 signatures
Read more: Baroness Mone accuses Chancellor of ‘inflammatory’ language in letter to PM
She added there “seems to be a bit of amnesia” about her loss of the Conservative whip, stating that she had “removed it myself by taking a leave of absence”.
Lady Mone continued: “However, you will be pleased to hear that once I do clear my name, I have no wish to return to the Lords as a Conservative peer; that’s assuming there still is a Conservative Party before the next general election.”
While not a director of the firm, Lady Mone used her political contacts to introduce PPE Medpro to the government's "VIP fast-lane" in the early stages of the pandemic.
A family trust of which her children are beneficiaries received up to £29m of the profits raked in.
But Lady Mone has claimed she "never received a penny from PPE Medpro.“
"Reference to £29m being placed in a trust for me and my kids is a lie. It is a trust set up by my husband for the benefit of all our kids, not just mine.
“This is no different to how my husband manages all his business affairs. I have no entitlement to any of this money whatsoever,” she wrote to Ms Badenoch.
She also faces an ongoing criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA), with assets linked to the couple worth £75m frozen amid the probe.
Meanwhile, a petition to expel Lady Mone has gathered more than 280,000 signatures.
The petition, hosted by 38Degrees, states: "Expel Michelle Mone from the House of Lords.
"She's admitted she lied, and while she may be right that it isn't a crime, she should not be allowed to remain in position."