Former Tory peer Mone facing criminal bribery allegation as part of PPE inquiry

The former Conservative peer Michelle Mone is facing a criminal allegation of bribery as part of a long running investigation by the National Crime Agency into her involvement with a company that secured multimillion-pound government PPE contracts from the government.

- David Conn, Vikram Dodd

In a film paid for by the company, PPE Medpro, the producer and presenter, Mark Williams-Thomas, states that three criminal allegations are being made against Mone and her husband, Douglas Barrowman, as part of the National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

"The NCA investigation into them both is in relation to allegations of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation, and bribery, which they both categorically deny," Williams-Thomas states. He says that he has been given "complete access" to the couple's "criminal case files".

Mone and Barrowman, a tax planning and wealth advisory businessman based in the Isle of Man, have both been interviewed under caution by the NCA, documents shown in the film appear to suggest.

The documents, which are cropped in the film released on YouTube on Sunday, include what appear to be prepared statements by Mone and Barrowman for the NCA interviews.

One document refers to the bribery allegation against Mone, although the sentence is only partly visible. It references her position in the Lords and includes the phrase "reward for the improper performance".