Covid seems to have been profitable for some

She won’t be the only one. I hope Mone and the other people involved in the PPE scandal are made to pay for what they’ve done.

A friend sent me this article by Camilla Long, you will need to open the photo to read. I can’t find an online link.

HousePlantQueen

We should also be reminding ourselves that Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary for years, during which Operation Cygnet was run, and then quietly shelved. There is no excuse for a government which has been in power for a long time not to have contingency for emergencies, something as simple as making sure that there was an up to date directory of reputable PPE suppliers. I assume that if we suddenly found ourselves at war, we would have a list of arms manufacturers or would that be left to a Norfolk pub owner or a bra manufacturer to organise it? The first duty of any government, of any political persuasion is to ensure the safety of its citizens, and the Tory administration failed to do so.

Exactly. Which is why the inquiry is so important but also why it's taken so long to get underway. The public have short memories and even shorter attention spans.

Daisymae

HousePlantQueen

We should also be reminding ourselves that Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary for years, during which Operation Cygnet was run, and then quietly shelved. There is no excuse for a government which has been in power for a long time not to have contingency for emergencies, something as simple as making sure that there was an up to date directory of reputable PPE suppliers. I assume that if we suddenly found ourselves at war, we would have a list of arms manufacturers or would that be left to a Norfolk pub owner or a bra manufacturer to organise it? The first duty of any government, of any political persuasion is to ensure the safety of its citizens, and the Tory administration failed to do so.

Exactly. Which is why the inquiry is so important but also why it's taken so long to get underway. The public have short memories and even shorter attention spans.

I've given up thinking that our current and recent governments have had any sense of their duty to the public. They certainly have evaded scrutiny in every way they possibly can.

Sadly, I can't get your image to open in a readable form, Blossoming Which paper was it in?

MaizieD ' The public have short memories and even shorter attention spans.' - yes, unfortunately, they do. I suppose we're due a war next, are we? They seem popular following a recession - and a sure-fire way for a government to remain in power.

I've googled the interview. It was in the Times. Paywalled, but if anyone can get past it

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-interviewed-michelle-mone-she-makes-every-grasping-lazy-peer-look-like-an-angel-9rsscbqkv

I don't think the public would have any faith in this government's ability to run a war, Hetty. Though god forbid it's ever put to the test...

Michelle Mone to take a leave of absence from HoL.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63871448

It means she will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings or be able to claim any allowance.

Baroness Mone has been linked to PPE Medpro, which won government contracts during the Covid pandemic.

Her lawyers previously said she "had no role or function in PPE Medpro".

Her spokesman said the leave of absence was "with immediate effect" and was Baroness Mone's decision.

It also means she does not have to register her financial interests, although her request for a leave of absence could be refused.

Baroness Mone has not voted in the Lords since April and has not spoken in a debate since March 2020.

So,
1) She did nothing in the HoL anyway.
2) She's doing it to avoid registering her financial interests.

Perhaps she should take the time to pop down the bank and get our money back!

I see Hunt and Gove are saying that Mone bullied them, which suggests to me that they are complicit in the fraud.

They are trying to get their ducks in a row.

Not that they need to - no one ever answers in this wretched government😡

It means that she won't have to declare her financial interests as a member of the HoL. She's in the process of selling her UK assets, so looks as though she's going to leave the country. Frankly, she needs to be arrested at the airport.

However, if Gove and Hunt are indeed complicit, she'll be allowed to slip away.

growstuff

However, if Gove and Hunt are indeed complicit, she'll be allowed to slip away.

That is what is being suggested will happen.

It is bloody disgusting

Gordon Brown is right when he says that this government is the most corrupt for at least a century.

BTW I think it was Hancock not Hunt.

Let’s be blunt, the names are more or less interchangeable, they’re all as bad as each other.

growstuff

BTW I think it was Hancock not Hunt.

That’s right. Senior moment.

Surely their assets should be frozen?

Just reading that the NHS is on the verge of collapse.

If this is true, then I think there has to be a countrywide reaction.

And still there are people who would vote for this corrupt government if we had an election tomorrow. If people fussed less about things that don't matter, like H&M, and more about things that do such as the blatant in your face thievery and corruption, then this country would at least have a chance of being a better place for the majority of us, not just for the few.

I couldn't agree more HPQ.

👀

Tory MPs have been told that the government will not try to vote down Labour's humble address on PPE contracts linked to Michelle Mone

Means that the motion - which is trying to force the publication of texts and emails - will pass unopposed

Whitewavemark2

👀

Tory MPs have been told that the government will not try to vote down Labour's humble address on PPE contracts linked to Michelle Mone

Means that the motion - which is trying to force the publication of texts and emails - will pass unopposed

Good. I look forward to seeing details in the popular press. If only MM had been involved in dodgy PPE contracts, perhaps this corruption would have been revealed and discussed sooner.

HousePlantQueen

And still there are people who would vote for this corrupt government if we had an election tomorrow. If people fussed less about things that don't matter, like H&M, and more about things that do such as the blatant in your face thievery and corruption, then this country would at least have a chance of being a better place for the majority of us, not just for the few.

Why do we think that the Daily Mail, Daily Express and The Sun keep splashing their front pages with H & M?

The proprietors of the right wing press are past masters at distraction tactics.

Yes.

This weeks hate.

Next week it will probably be migrants again.

Quite honestly, the amount of money involved probably doesn't matter that much to Michelle Mone. Her husband is a billionaire and I'm sure they won't be poor (although, of course, the money could buy an awful lot of school meals or do some good).

The point is that this woman has an important constitutional role and all the power and networks which go with that. Hopefully, the investigation will be transparent. If there is actual fraud, she needs to be prosecuted. If the investigation shows any other kind of "dodgy" dealings (even if not quite illegal), people will know what they're dealing with. It would be a first step towards restoring some kind of trust in the people who are governing us.

And if it's proved that MPs are involved in any fraud, I hope they go down too.