A FIRM linked to the Scots Tory peer Michelle Mone made a profit of as much as £76 million selling PPE to the NHS that was never used, according to reports.

The Glasgow-born millionaire businesswoman is linked to the firm PPE Medpro, which provided the UK Government with 25m gowns that were never used.

It bought PPE from a Chinese firm for £46m and sold it on for £122m, according to documents seen by The Guardian.

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The gowns were rejected after an inspection by the health service and ultimately never used.

PPE Medpro became a supplier to the UK Government during the pandemic through the notorious “VIP lane” giving preference to well-connected firms for public contracts.

The company has been accused of “profiteering” while the country was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National:

An SNP spokesperson said: “These are eye-popping sums of taxpayers’ money for kit that was rejected and never used. It is simply obscene that anyone could bank a profit of around £76m from one deal on the back of the pandemic.

“There is a permanent stench of graft and corruption emanating from this Tory VIP lane scandal where so many millions of pounds found their way into the pockets of Tory pals.

"Those who made such outrageous amounts from a crisis which caused such misery should hand it back. Anything less is immoral.

“Michelle Mone has some very serious questions to answer from the House of Lords commissioner for standards – like why was she texting messages from a private jet that appear to show her discussing gown sizes if, as she insists, she had nothing to do with this outrageous abuse of public funds?

“When Mone was made a Baroness by David Cameron she was supposed to be the country’s business start-up tsar. Since then she certainly appears to be doing alright for two people – Michelle Mone and her husband.”

Gillian Mackay, the Scottish Greens’ health spokesperson, said: “The UK Government’s pandemic procurement is an ever-growing scandal that I’m sure will be of great interest to the public inquiry. 

“You have to ask yourself what kind of person would seek to profiteer from the public purse at the height of a pandemic when key workers were pulling together to keep us all safe.

“The answer it seems is people like Lady Mone of Mayfair.”

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Mone is linked to the firm through her husband Douglas Barrowman, also from Glasgow.

The couple’s friend and business associate founded PPE Medpro on the same day he resigned as the secretary for Mone’s media and branding company MGM Media.

They have denied having any involvement with the firm but leaked texts revealed Mone had recommended it to the Cabinet Office before it was officially formed as a company.

A spokesperson for PPE Medpro told The Guardian said it saved the Government money, adding: “The supply chain was significant, involving the sourcing team, manufacturers, sterilisation plants, packaging, quality assurance teams, logistics, finance and much more.

“This global team of people and companies worked around the clock 24/7 to deliver PPE to the frontline to save lives.”

The National approached the firm for further comment.

The Department for Health and Social Care is currently attempting to claw back the money it gave to PPE Medpro for the kit.

A spokesperson for the department said: "We have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to protect health and social care staff on the frontline, with over 19.1 billion PPE items delivered so far.

“We are currently engaged in a mediation process with PPE Medpro and are unable to comment on the specifics of this contract.”