MICHELLE Mone is to begin her "fightback" in an appearance with her husband on the BBC's flagship politics show, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, this weekend.
It comes after the Tory peer admitted she made an “error” in publicly denying her links to the PPE Medpro firm being investigated by the National Crime Agency.
She told a YouTube documentary that she and her husband Doug Barrowman would be cleared, arguing they have “done nothing wrong”.
Mone was exposed in a number of newspaper reports to have links with PPE Medpro, currently being sued by the UK Government for providing it with unusable safety kit for medics during the pandemic.
The firm was awarded contracts worth £203m to supply PPE but is now facing accusations from the UK Government of a breach of contract because around £122m worth of gowns were faulty.
PPE Medpro has denied all the allegations.
In a new post on Twitter/X on Friday evening, Mone wrote: "I will appear on ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg' this weekend with my husband for our first exclusive interview since beginning our fightback against DHSC."
Her appearance comes after an expert told The National that her recent documentary – funded by a company linked with Mone – shows the Tory peer and businesswoman played “high-risk games” by having lawyers issue legal threats to the press.
The documentary, funded by PPE Medpro, exposed “dishonest statements” by Mone who previously denied her links with the firm, according to Dr Nick McKerrell, a senior law lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Speaking in the film, the Glasgow-born businesswoman said: “I made an error in what I said to the press.
“I regret not saying to the press straight away, ‘Yes, I am involved.’ And the Government knew I was involved.”
McKerrell told The National the admission may harm her case “in the court of public opinion” but would not affect the ongoing court case against PPE Medpro.
“To tell a lie, if you do it outwith court, even in a lawyer’s letter, isn’t an offence,” he said.
“As a journalist you’ll get emails like that saying: ‘This is defamatory’. It doesn’t mean anything, in a sense.
“It’s a high-risk game because they’re saying: ‘I’m going to take legal action against you’. And the newspaper, website, whatever, has to take the judgment call – are they serious, are they going to do this?”
He added: “It’s exposed dishonest statements that she’s made."
Mone used her appearance in the documentary to insist the Government was made aware of her links with the firm – despite lawyers acting on her behalf sending legal threats to journalists who exposed her involvement with the company.
Bank documents leaked in November last year showed her husband Barrowman was paid at least £65m out of PPE Medpro’s profits, with £29m going to an offshore trust from which Mone and her three adult children benefit.
The Guardian previously described her lawyers as issuing “aggressive legal threats” to journalists.
The Byline Times website reported PPE Medpro’s lawyers had also issued threats to them and to the Financial Times.
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer starting from 9am.
