Family-run pest control firm with just 16 staff that won £350m PPE contracts is forced to pay £70m after supplying NHS with faulty masks and gowns during pandemic
PestFix has been forced to pay £70million after supplying the NHS with faulty masks and gowns at the height of the pandemic.
£350,000,000 was the value of the deal, not the profit.
If we were to randomly assign a gross profit of 20%, then that would be £70,000,000.
So on those (extremely arbitrary) assumptions, they broke even.
The actual profit could swing either way by tens of millions.
Firm was accelerated via the 'VIP' lane which gave preferential treatment But a batch of masks failed quality tests and six million aprons were rejected Pestfix employed just 16 people and had net assets of £18,000 when the virus struck, but it was awarded £350million of contracts to supply PPE.
The family-owned company won the lucrative deal after its chair met the Government procurement director at his father-in-law’s 80th birthday party.
Now Pestfix has paid a £70million settlement to the Department of Health for defective PPE following mediation.
The payout, first reported in Private Eye, is the first major win for ministers battling to recoup cash lost in the pandemic, but it is still a tiny proportion of the £2.7billion of outstanding disputed deals.
PestFix landed the massive contracts after director Joe England met the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) chief commercial officer, Steve Oldfield, at the 80th birthday party of Mr Oldfield’s father-in-law.
A Deloitte consultant, assisting the Government with Covid PPE procurement, forwarded the offer to civil servants, writing: ‘One for the VIP list please.’
As they have paid the £70 million you have to assume that they made a substantial profit on the contracts, as they only had £18k in assets when the pandemic started. It just sounds so corrupt.
Brexiteer ex-Tory MP Owen Paterson sues UK Government in European Court of Human Rights
The former MP had been a vocal critic of the ECHR while in Parliament.
In 2014 argued in a speech that the UK should not just quit the EU but to replace the European Convention on Human Rights, on which the European Court of Human Rights adjudicates.
Revealed: Tory peer Michelle Mone secretly received £29m from ‘VIP lane’ PPE firm.
Documents suggest husband passed on money from PPE Medpro, which secured £200m contracts after Mone lobbied ministers
The Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her children secretly received £29m originating from the profits of a PPE business that was awarded large government contracts after she recommended it to ministers, documents seen by the Guardian indicate.
Lady Mone’s support helped the company, PPE Medpro, secure a place in a “VIP lane” the government used during the coronavirus pandemic to prioritise companies that had political connections. It then secured contracts worth more than £200m.
Documents seen by the Guardian indicate tens of millions of pounds of PPE Medpro’s profits were later transferred to a secret offshore trust of which Mone and her adult children were the beneficiaries.
Asked by the Guardian last year why Mone did not include PPE Medpro in her House of Lords register of financial interests, her lawyer replied: “Baroness Mone did not declare any interest as she did not benefit financially and was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity.”
The leaked documents, which were produced by the bank HSBC, appear to contradict that statement. They state that Mone’s husband, the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, was paid at least £65m in profits from PPE Medpro, and then distributed the funds through a series of offshore accounts, trusts and companies.
The ultimate recipients of the funds, the documents indicate, include the Isle of Man trust that was set up to benefit Mone, who was Barrowman’s fiancee at the time, and her children. In October 2020, the documents add, Barrowman transferred to the trust £28.8m originating from PPE Medpro profits.
That was just five months after Mone helped PPE Medpro secure contracts to supply masks and sterile gowns for use in the NHS.
Contacted about the new disclosures, HSBC said it was unable to comment, even to confirm if the couple had been clients. A lawyer for Mone said: “There are a number of reasons why our client cannot comment on these issues and she is under no duty to do so.”
A lawyer who represents both Barrowman and PPE Medpro said that a continuing investigation limited what his clients were able to say on these matters. He added: “For the time being we are also instructed to say that there is much inaccuracy in the portrayal of the alleged ‘facts’ and a number of them are completely wrong.”
Mone, 51, and Barrowman, 57, have over the last two years repeatedly insisted they had no “involvement” in PPE Medpro, and “no role” in the process through which the company was awarded its government contracts. PPE Medpro has repeatedly refused to identify its mystery backers, but denied it was awarded contracts because of “company or personal connections” to the UK government or Conservative party.
The Guardian has previously reported how those claims seem to be at odds with documents appearing to show the couple were secretly involved in PPE Medpro’s business, and emails suggesting Mone repeatedly lobbied the government on its behalf during the nine-month period after she helped secure its place in the VIP lane.
However, the Guardian’s latest revelation – that the peer and her husband secretly amassed an offshore fortune on the back of PPE Medpro profits – could prove the most consequential for Mone, who has already been placed under investigation by the House of Lords commissioner for standards.
Separately, PPE Medpro has become the subject of a potential fraud investigation by the National Crime Agency. In April this year, NCA officers searched several addresses, including the mansion Mone and Barrowman occupy in the Isle of Man. At the time, lawyers for PPE Medpro declined to comment on the NCA investigation.
The controversy over Mone and PPE Medpro threatens to embroil the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who has pledged to make “integrity and accountability” pillars of his leadership. David Cameron, who was himself embroiled in a lobbying scandal last year, was the Conservative leader who appointed Mone the baroness of Mayfair in 2015. The former owner of a lingerie business, she has proven to be one of the party’s most high-profile and controversial peers.
Sunak reappoints Rees-Mogg’s ex-business partner a month after sacking him
Rishi Sunak has been criticised for reappointing a controversial minister a month after sacking him.
Dominic Johnson, who is Jacob Rees-Mogg’s former business partner and a key Conservative Party donor, has returned as a minister for international trade.
He was first appointed as investment minister by Liz Truss at the beginning of October, and was then handed a life peerage to enable him to carry out the Government role, becoming Lord Johnson of Lainston on October 19.
But when Mr Sunak took over from Ms Truss at No 10, Lord Johnson was dismissed after only 26 days in the post, and a day after making his maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Emily Thornberry @EmilyThornberry Surely this isn't true: Dominic Johnson has now been re-appointed by Rishi Sunak as a Trade minister? The same Dominic Johnson who was sacked from the role a month ago, and then told British farmers they should convert their farms into offices? Please tell me this is a joke.
@EmilyThornberry · 18 Nov For two years, Dominic Johnson – Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner – was on the DIT board, before becoming a life peer and a short-lived trade minister under Liz Truss. This quote – via Politico Trade – tells you everything about the DIT’s attitude to UK farming in recent times.
Comments
PestFix has been forced to pay £70million after supplying the NHS with faulty masks and gowns at the height of the pandemic.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11439869/Family-run-firm-won-contract-procure-PPE-forced-pay-70m-supplying-faulty-PPE.html
If we were to randomly assign a gross profit of 20%, then that would be £70,000,000.
So on those (extremely arbitrary) assumptions, they broke even.
The actual profit could swing either way by tens of millions.
But a batch of masks failed quality tests and six million aprons were rejected
Pestfix employed just 16 people and had net assets of £18,000 when the virus struck, but it was awarded £350million of contracts to supply PPE.
The family-owned company won the lucrative deal after its chair met the Government procurement director at his father-in-law’s 80th birthday party.
Now Pestfix has paid a £70million settlement to the Department of Health for defective PPE following mediation.
The payout, first reported in Private Eye, is the first major win for ministers battling to recoup cash lost in the pandemic, but it is still a tiny proportion of the £2.7billion of outstanding disputed deals.
PestFix landed the massive contracts after director Joe England met the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) chief commercial officer, Steve Oldfield, at the 80th birthday party of Mr Oldfield’s father-in-law.
A Deloitte consultant, assisting the Government with Covid PPE procurement, forwarded the offer to civil servants, writing: ‘One for the VIP list please.’
As they have paid the £70 million you have to assume that they made a substantial profit on the contracts, as they only had £18k in assets when the pandemic started.
It just sounds so corrupt.
The former MP had been a vocal critic of the ECHR while in Parliament.
In 2014 argued in a speech that the UK should not just quit the EU but to replace the European Convention on Human Rights, on which the European Court of Human Rights adjudicates.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/brexiteer-ex-tory-mp-owen-paterson-sues-uk-government-in-european-court-of-human-rights/ar-AA14q5g8?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d323c680830a4693bad6783075c1aae4
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/dominic-raab-faces-fresh-bullying-claims-from-raft-of-senior-civil-servants/ar-AA14uTbR?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=00ff369e5ac44fb7afb59a5912534184
Documents suggest husband passed on money from PPE Medpro, which secured £200m contracts after Mone lobbied ministers
The Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her children secretly received £29m originating from the profits of a PPE business that was awarded large government contracts after she recommended it to ministers, documents seen by the Guardian indicate.
Lady Mone’s support helped the company, PPE Medpro, secure a place in a “VIP lane” the government used during the coronavirus pandemic to prioritise companies that had political connections. It then secured contracts worth more than £200m.
Documents seen by the Guardian indicate tens of millions of pounds of PPE Medpro’s profits were later transferred to a secret offshore trust of which Mone and her adult children were the beneficiaries.
Asked by the Guardian last year why Mone did not include PPE Medpro in her House of Lords register of financial interests, her lawyer replied: “Baroness Mone did not declare any interest as she did not benefit financially and was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity.”
The leaked documents, which were produced by the bank HSBC, appear to contradict that statement. They state that Mone’s husband, the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, was paid at least £65m in profits from PPE Medpro, and then distributed the funds through a series of offshore accounts, trusts and companies.
The ultimate recipients of the funds, the documents indicate, include the Isle of Man trust that was set up to benefit Mone, who was Barrowman’s fiancee at the time, and her children. In October 2020, the documents add, Barrowman transferred to the trust £28.8m originating from PPE Medpro profits.
That was just five months after Mone helped PPE Medpro secure contracts to supply masks and sterile gowns for use in the NHS.
Contacted about the new disclosures, HSBC said it was unable to comment, even to confirm if the couple had been clients. A lawyer for Mone said: “There are a number of reasons why our client cannot comment on these issues and she is under no duty to do so.”
A lawyer who represents both Barrowman and PPE Medpro said that a continuing investigation limited what his clients were able to say on these matters. He added: “For the time being we are also instructed to say that there is much inaccuracy in the portrayal of the alleged ‘facts’ and a number of them are completely wrong.”
Mone, 51, and Barrowman, 57, have over the last two years repeatedly insisted they had no “involvement” in PPE Medpro, and “no role” in the process through which the company was awarded its government contracts. PPE Medpro has repeatedly refused to identify its mystery backers, but denied it was awarded contracts because of “company or personal connections” to the UK government or Conservative party.
The Guardian has previously reported how those claims seem to be at odds with documents appearing to show the couple were secretly involved in PPE Medpro’s business, and emails suggesting Mone repeatedly lobbied the government on its behalf during the nine-month period after she helped secure its place in the VIP lane.
However, the Guardian’s latest revelation – that the peer and her husband secretly amassed an offshore fortune on the back of PPE Medpro profits – could prove the most consequential for Mone, who has already been placed under investigation by the House of Lords commissioner for standards.
Separately, PPE Medpro has become the subject of a potential fraud investigation by the National Crime Agency. In April this year, NCA officers searched several addresses, including the mansion Mone and Barrowman occupy in the Isle of Man. At the time, lawyers for PPE Medpro declined to comment on the NCA investigation.
The controversy over Mone and PPE Medpro threatens to embroil the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who has pledged to make “integrity and accountability” pillars of his leadership. David Cameron, who was himself embroiled in a lobbying scandal last year, was the Conservative leader who appointed Mone the baroness of Mayfair in 2015. The former owner of a lingerie business, she has proven to be one of the party’s most high-profile and controversial peers.
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/jeremy-hunt-says-boris-johnson-134027320.html
Rishi Sunak has been criticised for reappointing a controversial minister a month after sacking him.
Dominic Johnson, who is Jacob Rees-Mogg’s former business partner and a key Conservative Party donor, has returned as a minister for international trade.
He was first appointed as investment minister by Liz Truss at the beginning of October, and was then handed a life peerage to enable him to carry out the Government role, becoming Lord Johnson of Lainston on October 19.
But when Mr Sunak took over from Ms Truss at No 10, Lord Johnson was dismissed after only 26 days in the post, and a day after making his maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Emily Thornberry
@EmilyThornberry
Surely this isn't true: Dominic Johnson has now been re-appointed by Rishi Sunak as a Trade minister? The same Dominic Johnson who was sacked from the role a month ago, and then told British farmers they should convert their farms into offices? Please tell me this is a joke.
@EmilyThornberry
·
18 Nov
For two years, Dominic Johnson – Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business partner – was on the DIT board, before becoming a life peer and a short-lived trade minister under Liz Truss. This quote – via Politico Trade – tells you everything about the DIT’s attitude to UK farming in recent times.
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/sunak-reappoints-rees-mogg-ex-132755820.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/mps-touched-up-and-bullied-house-of-commons-clerks-says-chris-bryant/ar-AA14zfGV?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=016dbfa2ffd94057a2e888158fe70291
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/1-3million-of-taxpayer-cash-spent-on-sculpture-for-no10-garden-in-extravagant-purchase/ar-AA14zJcb?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=e93fe5c179b54aba8e8054500c24c1a3
Is it called "The Stinker" (not the Thinker)
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tory-mp-who-declared-god-save-the-king-of-bahrain-in-speech-received-10k-hospitality-from-regime/ar-AA14QYSc?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2ab7b81c5bd542eca2dcef2529de6a55
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/rape-claims-against-senior-tory-mp-need-clear-evidence-before-party-acts-says-minister/ar-AA14RvEc?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=da58a6a9ca124186a03d2c98260586ca
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/tory-donor-s-demolition-firm-named-as-part-of-a-150million-corruption-plot/ar-AA14RWg6?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=da58a6a9ca124186a03d2c98260586ca