'Aggressive' Michelle Mone was 'threatening' over Covid tests: In his explosive Pandemic Diaries, Matt Hancock accuses the Tory peer of throwing around 'wild accusations' to try to help firm win Covid contract
Matt Hancock accuses Michelle Mone of 'wild accusations' to try to help firm win Covid Matt Hancock has claimed that he felt pressured by Michelle Mone's 'extraordinarily aggressive' lobbying to try to help a firm win a contract to supply Covid lateral flow tests. In his explosive Pandemic Diaries, the former health secretary accuses the Tory peer of sending him a 'threatening' message complaining the company she was helping had not secured a lucrative deal. Mr Hancock says in his book, which is being serialised on The Mail+ and in the Daily Mail, that by the end of the email she had 'worked herself into a complete frenzy' and was throwing around 'wild accusations'.
Mark Drakeford spends £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on World Cup trip.
Mark Drakeford spent £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip to the World Cup in Qatar, it has emerged.
The First Minister of Wales defied criticism around the hosts’ human rights record by travelling to Doha for Wales’s game against the United States on Nov 21.
Vaughan Gething, the Welsh economy minister, attended his nation’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of England eight days later.
A Freedom of Information request has now revealed the five-figure cost of their trip, which Mr Drakeford had previously justified as a “very special opportunity” to promote Wales.
Jane Dodds, the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, said: “What these Freedom of Information requests show is what we long suspected, human rights have taken a backseat in the Welsh government’s priorities during its engagements with Qatar in favour of investment deals.
“There is also a question over whether spending £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip for two ministers to Qatar is good value for money, especially in a cost of living crisis.”
It was also claimed the Welsh Liberal Democrats had submitted a second Freedom of Information request which suggested the office had never been used to promote human rights in the country.
Ms Dodds called on Mr Drakeford to shut the office of the Welsh government in Qatar and said the Welsh Labour Party should donate £13,000 of its own funds to human rights charities.
Asked why he was not following the lead of Sir Keir Starmer, leader of his national party, in boycotting the tournament, Mr Drakeford said the arguments about why people had chosen not to come were “real and to be respected”.
“In the end, our conclusion was that people in Wales would not have wanted to see a seat for Wales left empty,” he told reporters in Doha.
“It really is a very special opportunity to promote Wales on the world stage.”
Mr Drakeford went on to point to millions of pounds that were invested by the Qataris in a new gas terminal in Wales, as well as a series of meetings he had held with other interested businessmen while out in Asia for the tournament.
Baroness Mone takes leave of absence to ‘clear her name’ over PPE allegations.
Tory peer Baroness Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to “clear her name” over allegations about her links to a firm awarded contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.
The news emerged as Labour prepared to force the Government to release records relating to the award of contracts to PPE Medpro.
Reports – denied by Lady Mone – have suggested the peer may have profited from PPE Medpro winning public contracts worth more than £200 million to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the pandemic.
The peer, who founded lingerie firm Ultimo, claims the accusations have been “unjustly” levelled against her.
A statement released by her office said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her.”
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings, and will not be able to claim any allowance.
Labour will present a humble address motion later on Tuesday to force a binding Commons vote to secure the release of documents relating to the contracts.
Tory MPs are not expected to be ordered to oppose the motion, which will require the details of the contracts to be handed to the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
The Lords standards watchdog is investigating Baroness Mone over her alleged involvement in procuring contracts for PPE Medpro, although this has been paused “while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation”.
The Guardian newspaper last week reported that the Tory peer and her children received £29 million originating from profits of the company.
Lady Mone has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company, and her lawyers have previously said she is “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
The Government has also come under fire for the use of “VIP lanes”, whereby preferential treatment for public contracts can be given to organisations recommended by MPs and peers.
The motion tabled by Labour in the Commons would compel the release of “all papers, advice, and correspondence involving ministers and special advisers, including submissions and electronic communications” relating to the PPE Medpro contracts to the Public Accounts Committee.
Lady Mone chose to take the leave of absence and Labour claimed Rishi Sunak had been “too weak” to act himself.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “The Tories are all out of excuses. Ministers must now set out clear timelines on when, where, and how this information will be released.
“They can’t keep taking the public for fools by refusing to come clean on what they knew about this dodgy deal.
“Rishi Sunak was too weak to remove the whip and has left it to Baroness Mone to finally read the writing on the wall.”
Baroness Mone takes leave of absence to ‘clear her name’ over PPE allegations.
Tory peer Baroness Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to “clear her name” over allegations about her links to a firm awarded contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.
The news emerged as Labour prepared to force the Government to release records relating to the award of contracts to PPE Medpro.
Reports – denied by Lady Mone – have suggested the peer may have profited from PPE Medpro winning public contracts worth more than £200 million to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the pandemic.
The peer, who founded lingerie firm Ultimo, claims the accusations have been “unjustly” levelled against her.
A statement released by her office said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her.”
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings, and will not be able to claim any allowance.
Labour will present a humble address motion later on Tuesday to force a binding Commons vote to secure the release of documents relating to the contracts.
Tory MPs are not expected to be ordered to oppose the motion, which will require the details of the contracts to be handed to the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
The Lords standards watchdog is investigating Baroness Mone over her alleged involvement in procuring contracts for PPE Medpro, although this has been paused “while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation”.
The Guardian newspaper last week reported that the Tory peer and her children received £29 million originating from profits of the company.
Lady Mone has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company, and her lawyers have previously said she is “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
The Government has also come under fire for the use of “VIP lanes”, whereby preferential treatment for public contracts can be given to organisations recommended by MPs and peers.
The motion tabled by Labour in the Commons would compel the release of “all papers, advice, and correspondence involving ministers and special advisers, including submissions and electronic communications” relating to the PPE Medpro contracts to the Public Accounts Committee.
Lady Mone chose to take the leave of absence and Labour claimed Rishi Sunak had been “too weak” to act himself.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “The Tories are all out of excuses. Ministers must now set out clear timelines on when, where, and how this information will be released.
“They can’t keep taking the public for fools by refusing to come clean on what they knew about this dodgy deal.
“Rishi Sunak was too weak to remove the whip and has left it to Baroness Mone to finally read the writing on the wall.”
No doubt that he is very weak. Or that the Tories are a shady bunch.
"Leave of absence"? In what parallel universe does she live?
She last voted, on anything, in the House of Lords 8 months ago. She last contributed to any Debate there, in any capacity, in March 2020.
Sometimes, Lawyers can say things that are entirely accurate, but cause non-Lawyers to be misled. So-when her Lawyers say that she has not received any money, you might think that that means she has not received any money.
But it does not preclude an offshore Trust Fund, set up in such a way that she officially has no input (a Blind Trust), being awarded, say, £29 million, and that she just happens to be 1 of the potential beneficiaries...
When Matt Slimeball Hancock looks down on you from a moral standpoint, you really need to realise where exactly you fit in the Human Race...
Michelle Mone tells the government ‘I’m here to help’ by introducing her new three-day-old penicillin supply company.
The possible shortage of penicillin is unlikely to be a problem, now that Tory Baroness Michelle Mone has created a new company that specialises in providing it.
Mone, who has a stellar track record of meeting the government’s critical needs at short notice, said she would be happy to introduce ministers to executives from her new firm who have lots of ‘contacts’ in the penicillin industry.
She told government officials, “Whatever you want, we can get it. Pills, powders, liquids – we do it all. And yes, it might cost a few quid more than you’re paying elsewhere, but that’s supply and demand, isn’t it?
“The marketplace has spoken, and it has said loud and clear that it would like me to once again get very rich by exploiting the taxpayer during a medical crisis. It would be churlish not to listen when it speaks so loudly.
“So here I am, just a girl, asking you boys, to give me millions of pounds of taxpayer money to maybe supply you something you need. Or not. There are no guarantees, obviously.
“Please don’t be put off by the fact that before Monday I couldn’t pick a packet of penicillin out of line-up – just write the **** cheque and be done with it.”
Matt Hancock. Rewriting history. To make him look like less of a d1ck.
He is currently suspended from the Tory Party. His prospects of his Constituency Party endorsing him as Candidate for the next election approximate to a big fat 0.
A man with less of a future than Ronaldo. Jumped before he was pushed. So he can flog his nasty little diary.
Matt Hancock. Rewriting history. To make him look like less of a d1ck.
He is currently suspended from the Tory Party. His prospects of his Constituency Party endorsing him as Candidate for the next election approximate to a big fat 0.
A man with less of a future than Ronaldo. Jumped before he was pushed. So he can flog his nasty little diary.
Matt Hancock. Rewriting history. To make him look like less of a d1ck.
He is currently suspended from the Tory Party. His prospects of his Constituency Party endorsing him as Candidate for the next election approximate to a big fat 0.
A man with less of a future than Ronaldo. Jumped before he was pushed. So he can flog his nasty little diary.
Matt Hancock’s constituency ruled he was ‘not fit’ to represent them before he resigned as an MP
The ex-Health Secretary announced on Wednesday he would be stepping down from parliament at the next election, saying he intended to “engage with the public in new ways”.
But his surprise statement followed a letter from his constituency chairman to the Tory chief whip Simon Hart – seen by i – that the local association officers believed the MP for West Suffolk is “not fit to represent this constituency”.
The letter, from Terry Wood, president of West Suffolk Conservatives, was sent to Mr Hart on 1 December and is due to be published in the weekly local paper, the Newmarket Journal, today.
Not a Tory M.P. but it just shows the contempt they all show for the public.
Businessman who made £13m from largely unused PPE celebrates birthday with ‘briefcase of cash’ cake
We paid £149m for his visors but most gathered dust. After 21,700% rise in his company’s profits he celebrated his birthday with a cash cake.
A businessman who paid himself a £13 million dividend from profits of a government PPE contract celebrated his birthday last week by eating a “briefcase of cash” cake on a private yacht, according to a Sunday Times investigation.
Philip Johnson, Ramfoam’s owner, and his wife, Linda, have been enjoying the high life since they bagged a £70 million contract during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But according to reports, 70 per cent of the protective equipment they supplied was unused.
The company was also able to service the new orders without taking on any additional employees to cope with the work.
Meanwhile, up to September 2021, the Directors’ remuneration went up from £37,044 to £4,872,551.
Responding to today’s story, Anya Johnson posted an image boarding what appears to be a private jet with the caption: “Living up to what the paper said”.
Comments
Matt Hancock accuses Michelle Mone of 'wild accusations' to try to help firm win Covid
Matt Hancock has claimed that he felt pressured by Michelle Mone's 'extraordinarily aggressive' lobbying to try to help a firm win a contract to supply Covid lateral flow tests. In his explosive Pandemic Diaries, the former health secretary accuses the Tory peer of sending him a 'threatening' message complaining the company she was helping had not secured a lucrative deal. Mr Hancock says in his book, which is being serialised on The Mail+ and in the Daily Mail, that by the end of the email she had 'worked herself into a complete frenzy' and was throwing around 'wild accusations'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11500789/Matt-Hancock-accuses-Michelle-Mone-wild-accusations-try-help-firm-win-Covid-contract.html
Mark Drakeford spends £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on World Cup trip.
Mark Drakeford spent £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip to the World Cup in Qatar, it has emerged.
The First Minister of Wales defied criticism around the hosts’ human rights record by travelling to Doha for Wales’s game against the United States on Nov 21.
Vaughan Gething, the Welsh economy minister, attended his nation’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of England eight days later.
A Freedom of Information request has now revealed the five-figure cost of their trip, which Mr Drakeford had previously justified as a “very special opportunity” to promote Wales.
Jane Dodds, the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader, said: “What these Freedom of Information requests show is what we long suspected, human rights have taken a backseat in the Welsh government’s priorities during its engagements with Qatar in favour of investment deals.
“There is also a question over whether spending £13,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip for two ministers to Qatar is good value for money, especially in a cost of living crisis.”
It was also claimed the Welsh Liberal Democrats had submitted a second Freedom of Information request which suggested the office had never been used to promote human rights in the country.
Ms Dodds called on Mr Drakeford to shut the office of the Welsh government in Qatar and said the Welsh Labour Party should donate £13,000 of its own funds to human rights charities.
Asked why he was not following the lead of Sir Keir Starmer, leader of his national party, in boycotting the tournament, Mr Drakeford said the arguments about why people had chosen not to come were “real and to be respected”.
“In the end, our conclusion was that people in Wales would not have wanted to see a seat for Wales left empty,” he told reporters in Doha.
“It really is a very special opportunity to promote Wales on the world stage.”
Mr Drakeford went on to point to millions of pounds that were invested by the Qataris in a new gas terminal in Wales, as well as a series of meetings he had held with other interested businessmen while out in Asia for the tournament.
Tory peer Baroness Mone is taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords to “clear her name” over allegations about her links to a firm awarded contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.
The news emerged as Labour prepared to force the Government to release records relating to the award of contracts to PPE Medpro.
Reports – denied by Lady Mone – have suggested the peer may have profited from PPE Medpro winning public contracts worth more than £200 million to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the pandemic.
The peer, who founded lingerie firm Ultimo, claims the accusations have been “unjustly” levelled against her.
A statement released by her office said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her.”
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings, and will not be able to claim any allowance.
Labour will present a humble address motion later on Tuesday to force a binding Commons vote to secure the release of documents relating to the contracts.
Tory MPs are not expected to be ordered to oppose the motion, which will require the details of the contracts to be handed to the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
The Lords standards watchdog is investigating Baroness Mone over her alleged involvement in procuring contracts for PPE Medpro, although this has been paused “while the matter is under investigation by the police or another agency as part of a criminal investigation”.
The Guardian newspaper last week reported that the Tory peer and her children received £29 million originating from profits of the company.
Lady Mone has consistently denied any “role or function” in the company, and her lawyers have previously said she is “not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
The Government has also come under fire for the use of “VIP lanes”, whereby preferential treatment for public contracts can be given to organisations recommended by MPs and peers.
The motion tabled by Labour in the Commons would compel the release of “all papers, advice, and correspondence involving ministers and special advisers, including submissions and electronic communications” relating to the PPE Medpro contracts to the Public Accounts Committee.
Lady Mone chose to take the leave of absence and Labour claimed Rishi Sunak had been “too weak” to act himself.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “The Tories are all out of excuses. Ministers must now set out clear timelines on when, where, and how this information will be released.
“They can’t keep taking the public for fools by refusing to come clean on what they knew about this dodgy deal.
“Rishi Sunak was too weak to remove the whip and has left it to Baroness Mone to finally read the writing on the wall.”
Or that the Tories are a shady bunch.
@lucy4
There's a very interesting twist to that which I saw elsewhere;
"It was Baroness Mone's decision to seek a leave of absence, her spokesman added.
Her request could be rejected by the Lords authorities - but if it is approved she does not have to register any changes to her financial interests."
She last voted, on anything, in the House of Lords 8 months ago. She last contributed to any Debate there, in any capacity, in March 2020.
Sometimes, Lawyers can say things that are entirely accurate, but cause non-Lawyers to be misled. So-when her Lawyers say that she has not received any money, you might think that that means she has not received any money.
But it does not preclude an offshore Trust Fund, set up in such a way that she officially has no input (a Blind Trust), being awarded, say, £29 million, and that she just happens to be 1 of the potential beneficiaries...
When Matt Slimeball Hancock looks down on you from a moral standpoint, you really need to realise where exactly you fit in the Human Race...
The possible shortage of penicillin is unlikely to be a problem, now that Tory Baroness Michelle Mone has created a new company that specialises in providing it.
Mone, who has a stellar track record of meeting the government’s critical needs at short notice, said she would be happy to introduce ministers to executives from her new firm who have lots of ‘contacts’ in the penicillin industry.
She told government officials, “Whatever you want, we can get it. Pills, powders, liquids – we do it all. And yes, it might cost a few quid more than you’re paying elsewhere, but that’s supply and demand, isn’t it?
“The marketplace has spoken, and it has said loud and clear that it would like me to once again get very rich by exploiting the taxpayer during a medical crisis. It would be churlish not to listen when it speaks so loudly.
“So here I am, just a girl, asking you boys, to give me millions of pounds of taxpayer money to maybe supply you something you need. Or not. There are no guarantees, obviously.
“Please don’t be put off by the fact that before Monday I couldn’t pick a packet of penicillin out of line-up – just write the **** cheque and be done with it.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/baroness-michelle-mone-loses-conservative-whip-amid-ppe-contracts-controversy/ar-AA150A3u?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=4d52fc90d99d45349a5b884c7cfa95ba
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/rishi-sunak-absolutely-shocked-by-michelle-mone-allegations/ar-AA150AbK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=4d52fc90d99d45349a5b884c7cfa95ba
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63891100
He is currently suspended from the Tory Party. His prospects of his Constituency Party endorsing him as Candidate for the next election approximate to a big fat 0.
A man with less of a future than Ronaldo. Jumped before he was pushed. So he can flog his nasty little diary.
The ex-Health Secretary announced on Wednesday he would be stepping down from parliament at the next election, saying he intended to “engage with the public in new ways”.
But his surprise statement followed a letter from his constituency chairman to the Tory chief whip Simon Hart – seen by i – that the local association officers believed the MP for West Suffolk is “not fit to represent this constituency”.
The letter, from Terry Wood, president of West Suffolk Conservatives, was sent to Mr Hart on 1 December and is due to be published in the weekly local paper, the Newmarket Journal, today.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/matt-hancock-s-constituency-ruled-he-was-not-fit-to-represent-them-before-he-resigned-as-an-mp/ar-AA150ZVs?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=91916d828fe74634b50bba6fd6cc07ca
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/tory-mp-andrew-bridgen-covid-vaccine-192457505.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tory-mp-julian-knight-has-whip-removed-after-complaint-made-to-police/ar-AA151Jke?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ea2cd48eade74ac3bc832d1e4ecdb5d9
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/tory-mp-declared-bankrupt-owing-1-700-000-to-hmrc-and-barclays/ar-AA15dDJG?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=bed78eedf3454a45bb83afa13aac83f2
Businessman who made £13m from largely unused PPE celebrates birthday with ‘briefcase of cash’ cake
We paid £149m for his visors but most gathered dust. After 21,700% rise in his company’s profits he celebrated his birthday with a cash cake.
A businessman who paid himself a £13 million dividend from profits of a government PPE contract celebrated his birthday last week by eating a “briefcase of cash” cake on a private yacht, according to a Sunday Times investigation.
Philip Johnson, Ramfoam’s owner, and his wife, Linda, have been enjoying the high life since they bagged a £70 million contract during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But according to reports, 70 per cent of the protective equipment they supplied was unused.
The company was also able to service the new orders without taking on any additional employees to cope with the work.
Meanwhile, up to September 2021, the Directors’ remuneration went up from £37,044 to £4,872,551.
Responding to today’s story, Anya Johnson posted an image boarding what appears to be a private jet with the caption: “Living up to what the paper said”.