Mone husband in prosecution snub

Peer absent as husband refuses to answer questions over fraud claims

- GERARD COUZENS

BUSINESSMAN Doug Barrowman refused to be grilled by prosecutors yesterday at his fraud trial in Spain.

There was no sign of his wife, Tory peer Baroness Mone, at the second day of the £5million embezzlement case against Barrowman in Santander.

He faces up to five-and-a-half years in jail plus a hefty fine if convicted of misappropriation and tax fraud.

State prosecutors want Barrowman jailed for three years if convicted of misappropriation and two-and-a-half years for the alleged tax crime.

Barrowman and Mone are separately under investigation in the UK for fraud by the National Crime Agency for their role in more than £200million in PPE contracts. They insist they have done nothing wrong.