It has been decided that Michelle Mone’s Covid inquiry will not be held in a public forum.
Now, evidence related to PPE Medpro (linked to Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman) will be heard away from external parties when the session is held, next month.
On 3 March, the inquiry will begin four weeks of hearings into decisions to buy Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.
Baroness Hallett said she was imposing the restriction as she was satisfied there was a risk of prejudice to criminal proceedings if “sensitive evidence” was heard in public.
Victims’ groups and media outlets, including the BBC, had argued the dangers were overstated, given the early stage of the police investigation and the material already in the public domain.
PPE Medpro, a company owned by Barrowman, is being probed after it was awarded more than £200m in contracts to supply PPE to the NHS after Mone recommended it through the UK Government’s “VIP lane” in 2020.
The firm is also being sued by the UK’s Department for Health and Social Care over the 2020 deal on the supply of gowns.
Spokesperson
A spokesperson for the couple said: “This comes as a result of a consensual process during which negotiations took place with the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service).
“It allows the wider businesses and assets of the Barrowman family to operate normally and free from any restrictions or uncertainties.
“Doug and Michelle did not contest the application and were happy to offer up these assets, which means they can begin the task of proving their innocence more quickly.
“Mr Barrowman finds it deplorable that private matters such as this are being conducted in the public realm via leaks from government departments and the CPS.”
As you would expect this news has caused much fury on-line from all sides of the political divide.
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Oh and then there is this…
