Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman
(Picture: PA Wire)An extraordinary row has erupted between Carol Voderman and Michelle Mone after the Countdown star took aim at her former friend on This Morning.
Ms Voderman said she “dropped Ms Mone like a stone” on live TV while discussing a PPE contracts scandal.
Sources close to Ms Mone have hit back against Ms Voderman calling her “publicity hungry” and questioning the presenter’s motives.
The two women used to be firm friends but it emerged last month that Ms Voderman had ended the friendship “some time ago”.
She addressed the issue on national television on Friday during a rant that ended with Ms Voderman turning towards the camera directly, holding up both hands and saying: “Sue me, Michelle”.
The House of Lords is looking into concerns Ms Mone may have failed to declare an interest in PPE Medpro and lobbying for it to win £203million in NHS contracts.
She has lost the Tory whip after taking a break from Parliament in an attempt to clear her name.
Baroness Mone has previously denied any “role or function” in the company.
A source close to Ms Mone hit back as Ms Voderman telling Mail Online her comments were “outrageous” and branding the star “publicity hungry”.
“I really don’t understand why Carol has started this attack,” the source added.
The National Crime Agency has launched a potential fraud investigation into PPE Medpro and have searched Ms Mone’s house as part of the probe.
Health bosses paid PPE Medpro £122million for 25million surgical gowns under a contract agreed in June 2020.
The Department of Health and Social Care is now trying to recover costs and has launched legal action against PPE Medpro.
It is seeking £122m for the surgial gowns and £11.6m for storing and disposing of them.
In high court documents the Government has alleged the gowns were rejected as they were not sterile, their labelling was “invalid” and they “cannot be used within the NHS for any purpose’ for fear of compromising ‘the clinical safety of patients”, The Guardian reported.
A spokesperson for Ms Mone has previously denied that she had any inovlement in PPE Medpro.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, Baroness Mone did not declare any interest as she did not benefit financially and was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity,” they said.
