Peerage for Mone broke protocol senior Tory
The Guardian|January 26, 2024
David Cameron breached "proper process" when he appointed Michelle Mone to the House of Lords in 2015, David Mundell, who was the secretary of state for Scotland at the time, has said.
David Conn
Peerage for Mone broke protocol senior Tory

Mundell, the Conservative MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, said Cameron had appointed Mone without No 10 consulting the Scotland Office, which is standard practice before awarding Scots peerages.

Cameron, who has recently been appointed to the Lords himself, and other Westminster Conservatives were impressed by Mone when she backed the union in the Scottish independence vote. She was already well known in Scotland through her lingerie business, Ultimo.

Mundell, who was the secretary of state for Scotland from 2015 to 2019, said some Scottish businesspeople were unhappy with Mone's peerage, but he did not have an opportunity to discuss it until after Cameron had confirmed the appointment.

"The peerage was a fait accompli by the time we heard about it," Mundell said. "I was unhappy the proper process was not followed and that the Scotland Office was not asked to provide any background or input. And I wasn't at all surprised to find that Scottish businesses were very, very unhappy about the appointment.

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