UK(Washington Insider Magazine) -The UK government is suing Medpro, a company that supplied it with personal protective equipment(PPE) for £122m, including costs.
PPE Medpro, who won government contracts through the so-called VIP lane in 2020, was recommended by conservative peer Baroness Mone.
The government wants to get its money back from one of the deals in the Medpro Lawsuit in the High Court, claiming the medical gowns did not meet the specification in the contract.
However, PPE Medpro has denied the claim and said it would vigorously defend itself from the UK PPE suit. This claim stands in contrast to the conclusions others are drawing on more public social media channels.
Medpro has accused the government of trying to claim refunds from reliable suppliers who have honored their contracts as agreed upon.
The government also claimed it had spent £6.9 on storage costs, which is on top of the £122m contract, the storage costs £61,000 every week to store the gown and it will cost £4.7m to dispose of them; the government said.
The government further claimed that the gowns didn’t meet contract specifications and could not be used by the National Health Service(NHS) and accused the company of “breach of contract and unjust enrichment,” the BBC has learned.
The Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) spokesperson also confirmed the Medpro lawsuit and legal proceedings in the High Court accusing Medpro of breach of contract.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner accused the conservative government of hiding behind the mediation process and has now been shamed into taking action to recover taxpayers’ money due to pressure from the public and the Labour party.
The government had originally described the PPE Medpro gown deals as an “underperforming” contract.
The company claimed that the government realized it had over-ordered PPE gowns and was unable to use them all.
It also claimed to have brought in consultants to go through the contracts for “technicalities” for the UK PPE suit and that it supplied the correct specifications while accusing DHSC of incompetence.
It was revealed that Baroness Mone referred PPE Medpro for the contract, she has taken a leave of absence and wants to clear her name.
