Conservative peer Michelle Mone just admitted that she stands to benefit from hefty PPE sales made during the pandemic – so people up and down the country are all calling for the abolition of the House of Lords.
After two years of denying such reports, Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman just confirmed that his consortium – PPE Medpro – had agreed to a £202 million contract with the government after the Covid outbreak.
Barrowman said this created a £60 million profit which he has put in a family trust, and which Baroness Mone will be able to access if her husband dies first.
Speaking to the BBC over the weekend, Baroness Mone claimed: “The only error that I have made is to say to the press that I wasn’t involved. I don’t see there is a case to answer. I can’t see what we’ve done wrong. It’s not a crime.”
The government is suing PPE Medpro for a breach of contract.
The couple also told the BBC they are under investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over allegations of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and bribery.
Baroness Mone, who founded the lingerie firm Ultimo, took a leave of absence from the Lords a year ago to “clear her name” as speculation over the PPE sales grew.
She was not suspended from the Lords, as energy efficiencies minister Lord Callanan wrongly claimed on Monday morning.
Callanan also told Sky News that he hoped “she would see sense”, and “she would not be coming back to the House of Lords”.
Mone, who became a lifetime peer in 2015 under David Cameron’s watch, can return to the Lords any time she wants.
It is possible to remove a peerage, according to the Lords official website, but it is “very difficult” and can only happen through “an act of parliament” according to the Titles Deprivation Act 1917.
No additional laws to tackle the issue have been introduced since, although there are some rules to cancel or suspend someone’s membership to the Lords in exceptional circumstances.
So, it’s not exactly surprising that Baroness Mone’s interview has X (formerly Twitter) calling for the House of Lords to be abolished altogether.
Plenty Of X users were also furious with Baroness Mone, of course.
While others were thinking about the wider picture...