UK Baroness Michelle Mone,  a Scottish businesswoman and a Conservative Party-appointed life peer who later left the party, admitted in an interview with the BBC published on Sunday that she stands to benefit from millions of pounds of profit received by personal protective equipment (PPE) company PPE Medpro, which had a contract with the UK government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, both previously repeatedly denied their connection with the company, while their lawyers accused journalists who had claimed otherwise of defamation and libel. In response to BCC journalist Laura Kuenssberg’s accusations that it was not “just a slip-up” but that they “didn’t tell the truth,” Mone apologized and claimed that they “should have told the press straight up” as they have had “nothing to hide” and further argued that she was not trying to “pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.”

Mone and Barrowman have now both admitted their involvement with the company after years of denial. The news caused outrage as it was reported that Mone herself advocated for the company to receive government contracts worth more than £200m which led to her benefitting from £29m of its profits.

The government-awarded contracts in question were provided by the UK government within the “VIP lane” operation for suppliers of PPE during the pandemic, prioritizing companies with political connections. The operation was found to be unlawful by the UK high court in 2022 as it breaches the “obligation of equal treatment.”

The UK government initiated legal proceedings against PPE Medpro in 2022 in order to reclaim the full £122m awarded to the company for contract breaches and unjust enrichment. Another investigation is being conducted by the National Crime Agency regarding Mone’s conduct.