"A company linked to peer Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman has been ordered to pay 122m in damages after a judge ruled it breached a government contract for the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid pandemic. The Department of Health and Social Care sued PPE Medpro over claims the medical gowns it supplied did not comply with relevant healthcare standards. The High Court ruled Medpro failed to prove whether or not its surgical gowns, which were to be used by NHS workers, had undergone a validated sterilisation process."
"During the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in 2020, the government scrambled to secure supplies of PPE as the country went into lockdown and hospitals across the country were reporting shortages of clothing and accessories to protect medics from the virus. In May that year, PPE Medpro was set up by a consortium led by Baroness Mone's husband, Doug Barrowman, and won its first government contract to supply masks through a so-called VIP lane after being recommended by Baroness Mone."
"However, just before Christmas that year, the Department of Health served the company with a notice rejecting the gowns and asking for a refund. The judgement said the government decided it was "not satisfied that the gowns were contractually compliant" after inspecting them, and claimed subsequent tests conducted found "a number of them were not sterile". Paul Stanley KC, representing the government, told the trial that of 140 gowns that were tested, 103 failed."
PPE Medpro, linked to Baroness Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, won government contracts in 2020 to supply masks and surgical gowns. The government ordered 25 million sterile gowns manufactured in China and received deliveries in August and October 2020. Inspections and subsequent testing found many gowns were not sterile, with 103 of 140 tested gowns failing. The Department of Health and Social Care rejected the gowns, sought a refund, and brought legal action. A High Court judgment found Medpro failed to prove validated sterilisation and ordered substantial damages for breach of contract.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]