Firm was ordered by high court to return sum paid by DHSC for unusable surgical gowns by 4pm on Wednesday
A company linked to the former Conservative peer Michelle Mone has failed to pay the government any of the £122m ordered by a high court judgment for supplying unusable personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic.
Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled that PPE Medpro must, by a deadline of 4pm on 15 October, return the money it was paid by the Department of Health and Social Care for 25m sterile surgical gowns under a contract awarded in June 2020.
Reacting just before 5pm, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said PPE Medpro had failed to meet the deadline and the government would pursue the company for payment. The DHSC said that interest, which has been running on the £122m from when the PPE gowns were rejected as unusable in late 2020, was now £23.7m – making the total owed almost £146m.
“At a time of national crisis, PPE Medpro sold the previous government substandard kit and pocketed taxpayers’ hard-earned cash,” said Streeting. “PPE Medpro has failed to meet the deadline to pay – they still owe us over £145m, with interest now accruing daily.
