Partners of a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone have indicated a willingness to discuss a "possible settlement" after being ordered to repay nearly £122 million to the government for breaching a Covid-19 PPE contract.
PPE Medpro, a consortium led by Lady Mone’s husband Doug Barrowman, was instructed to return the funds following findings that it breached an agreement to supply surgical gowns during the pandemic.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had sued the firm at the High Court, alleging the gowns were "faulty" due to a lack of sterility.
The company recently filed for administration earlier this month.
The consortium secured government contracts from the then-Conservative administration to provide personal protective equipment after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.
A spokesperson for the consortium stated: "The consortium partners of PPE Medpro are prepared to enter into a dialogue with the administrators of the company to discuss a possible settlement with the Government."
In her ruling, Mrs Justice Cockerill said the gowns “were not, contractually speaking, sterile, or properly validated as being sterile”, which meant they could not be used in the NHS.
Barristers for PPE Medpro told the trial it had been “singled out for unfair treatment” and accused the Government of “buyer’s remorse”, claiming the gowns became defective because of the conditions in which they were kept after being delivered.
Lady Mone criticised the judgment, calling it a win for the “establishment”, while Mr Barrowman said it was a “travesty of justice”.
It is understood the partners want to resolve the issue and administrators have been urged to get in touch with the Government to reach an agreement.
Medpro UK spent £4.3 million defending its position.
It said that offers to settle on a no-fault basis have been made, including a remake of the 25 million gowns or a £23 million cash equivalent, but these were rejected.
PPE Medpro insists that it provided all 25 million gowns and that it disputes that the gowns were not sterile.
It has said that the court made its ruling on a technicality.
The gowns had a resale value of £85 million at the end of 2020 and if they had been sold on the international market as non-sterile gowns, it said.
Baroness Mone, who created the lingerie brand Ultimo, which she sold in 2014, was made a Conservative peer by David Cameron in 2015.
She has said that she has “no wish to return” to the House of Lords as a Conservative peer.
