Experts say they were 'duped' into appearances in Michelle Mone's PPE documentary amid investigation into company linked to 'Baroness Bra' that was awarded £200 million in government contracts

Experts have claimed they were 'duped' into appearing in Baroness Michelle Mone's documentary amid an ongoing investigation into the PPE Medpro firm.

The Conservative peer and Ultimo bra tycoon starred in the film as part of her public defence over the controversy surrounding 'Covid VIP lane' contracts that were awarded to the company during the pandemic.

She gave an interview where she denied any 'role or function' in PPE Medpro, which was awarded than £200 million to supply the Government with personal protective equipment after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.

The documentary, which was funded by PPE Medpro, according to the Sunday Telegraph, also heard from experts discussing the use of PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic and the wider scandal in general.

However, they have now said they were unaware of Baroness Mone's involvement or that it had been paid for by the firm, with one claiming he had been 'used' to add 'respectability and seriousness' to the now 'discredited' film.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), confirmed it has been investigating her and her husband Doug Barrowman's role in the scandal since May 2021.

PPE Medpro was awarded Government contracts worth more than £200 million to supply personal protective equipment after Lady Mone recommended it to ministers.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has since issued breach of contract proceedings over the 2020 deal on the supply of gowns.

She and her husband broke their silence in the documentary where they spoke to Mark Williams-Thomas, an investigative journalist who is best known for exposing Jimmy Saville as a paedophile in The Other Side of Jimmy Saville, a television documentary he presented in 2012.

David Oliver, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians, also appeared in the film to discuss PPE shortages in hospitals during the pandemic.

Mr Oliver, 57, said he was initially approached in August by Mr Williams-Thomas's assistant, and he understood that the film would focus on PPE supplies during Covid rather than the scandal itself.

He told The Sunday Times: 'At no point was it mentioned by the production team that they would be receiving funding from PPE Medpro or any other PPE supplier — let alone that they would be using my interview in a documentary that also gave a platform to Baroness Mone.

'If either of these things had been made clear to me at any point, I would have refused to be interviewed or have my interview used.

'I do not think Mr Williams-Thomas has behaved with integrity, transparency or full disclosure. It is disappointing to be used in that way, to try and provide an appearance of respectability and seriousness to a documentary that has been discredited as a piece of independent investigative journalism due to its funding and Michelle Mone using it as a platform for her self-defence.' 

Another expert, Nadra Ahmed, chairman of the National Care Association, said she was also unaware that Baroness Mone would appear in the film and that it was funded by PPE MedPro.

She told The Sunday Times she was interviewed by Mr Williams-Thomas in September for what she thought was a documentary about PPE. She only recently discovered that it would feature 'exclusive interview with Baroness Mone'.

Ms Ahmed told the newspaper: 'I was told it was a documentary about PPE, because I would not have got involved with anything where there was a third party involved unless I knew who they were.

'I’m disturbed to hear it, definitely. I’m a bit annoyed to say the least that this person did not tell me this was being funded by people who were trying to defend themselves, whether they’re right or wrong, I don’t really care. I feel they should have been upfront.'

Lady Mone had initially denied having any links to PPE Medpro but admitted in the film: 'I made an error in what I said to the press.

'I regret not saying to the press straight away, 'Yes, I am involved.' And the Government knew I was involved.'

Lady Mone, who was made a peer by Lord David Cameron in 2015, claimed it is '100% a lie' to suggest she was not transparent with officials, and her husband claimed a 'DHSC negotiator' suggested the case could 'go away' for the right sum.

She said in the documentary: 'It's 100 per cent a lie. It's not true. I wanted the guys to succeed, I wanted the NHS to succeed. I wanted a win-win situation.'

When asked what she felt when the pandemic hit, she said: 'I thought I could fix it. I could fix it by getting quality PPE on time at the best prices.'

The Baroness said she broke her silence on the controversy as she 'just can't take it anymore'.

She claimed she has received messages from people calling for her to be put in jail, for her to be 'put in an orange jumpsuit' and even someone who wrote 'I'm going to throw acid on her'.

The scandal has negatively affected her mental health, as she admitted she is seeing a doctor and is on medicine currently.

She said: 'I'm not doing well at the moment with my mental health. I don't want people to feel sorry for me but I'm in a lot of pain and I'm struggling.

'It's been a real fight. But we will win because we've done nothing wrong. It's cruel and it's nasty but we will win.'

Lady Mone argued she is being used as a scapegoat by the Government for its own Covid failings.

'I am ashamed of being a Conservative peer given what this Government has done to us,' she told The Telegraph.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, who allegedly had involvement in the contract process, insisted that 'ministers did not take individual decisions' on pandemic contracts.

Mr Gove told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'Those decisions were taken after a painstaking process by teams of civil servants who assess the worthiness of any contract that's put forward.

'So the suggestion, which some have put forward, that somehow ministers were seeking deliberately to do favours, or line the pockets of other individuals, I think is totally unjustified because the decisions were only taken after a proper, coherent and fair procurement process.

'As with any procurement process, might it sometimes be the case that the goods which have been bought turn out to not to be adequate - that is deeply regrettable but that is a consequence of what happened at pressure.'

Matt Hancock and Mr Gove were both questioned by NCA as part of their investigation.

Others questioned include Lord Bethell, a former Health Minister, and Lord Agnew, who served in the Cabinet Office.

Former Health Secretary Hancock has previously claimed the Baroness sent him 'aggressive' emails.

In response, she said in the film: 'I can sometimes come across as feisty, but I'm not aggressive, I'm not abusive. To be honest, I'm not a fan of his anyway.'

Mr Hancock was responsible for four companies being referred to the VIP contracts scheme.

One of them was Excalibur Healthcare Services, a medical company run by a Labour donor that was asked to provide ventilators.

The firm charged £135 million, or £50,000 each, to supply 2,700 ventilators. Three weeks earlier another company had provided the same model of VG70 ventilator for £8,800, according to the Times.

A DHSC spokesman said: 'We do not comment on ongoing legal cases.'