Summary
Overview
This episode chronicles the unraveling of Baroness Michelle Moan's involvement in a £200 million PPE contract scandal during the COVID-19 pandemic. After 25 million surgical gowns were rejected as unusable, journalist David Conn spent years investigating the deal, eventually uncovering that Moan and her husband Doug Barrowman secretly received £29 million in profit. Despite repeated denials and legal threats, leaked documents exposed their lies, culminating in a disastrous BBC interview where Moan admitted to lying to the press and having access to the money.
The Rejected Gowns: A £122 Million Failure
In December 2020, an NHS inspector discovers that 25 million surgical gowns purchased from PPE MedPro for £122 million have all failed quality and sterility tests. The massive shipment, arriving from China during a deadly surge in COVID cases when hospitals were overwhelmed, is completely unusable. The inspector marks every package as rejected and stores them as potential evidence of criminal fraud, representing a devastating waste of desperately needed protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers.
- 25 million surgical gowns ordered from China during pandemic's deadly turn failed inspection
- Gowns marked CE but lacked certification numbers, meaning no quality assurance
- All gowns failed standard sterility tests despite £122 million cost
- Inspector stores rejected shipment as potential evidence of criminal fraud
" 25 million. That number is like a gut punch. It actually makes you emotional, doesn't it? Just thinking about how many key workers that could have helped. "
David Conn Begins His Investigation
Guardian journalist David Conn starts investigating the government's VIP lane for COVID contracts after hearing about rejected medical gowns from PPE MedPro. His research leads him to discover connections between the mysterious company and Baroness Michelle Moan through her husband Doug Barrowman. When he contacts Moan for comment while she's on honeymoon in the Maldives, her lawyers respond with aggressive denials, claiming any link between her and PPE MedPro would be "inaccurate, misleading and defamatory."
- David Conn learns that PPE MedPro supplied rejected gowns worth £122 million
- Conn traces MedPro to the Knox Group based in Isle of Man, connected to Doug Barrowman
- Moan married Barrowman on Isle of Man with five live bands after lockdown forced delays
- Moan's lawyers claim linking her to PPE MedPro is "grounded entirely on supposition and speculation"
" Can a baroness in the House of Lords famous for making lingerie really be connected to this? "
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