Baroness Mone. Pause, and let the words sink in. The blonde business titan who established the Ultimo bra brand — for which her own impressive embonpoint was the best advertisement — would not once have been an obvious candidate for the Lords. But it says a good deal about the debasement of the second chamber from David Cameron on that the ennoblement of any woman, however unimpressive — the young and inexperienced, as well as the tacky — occasions no surprise whatever. Lord Cameron is, right now, engaged in important work marshalling an international response to Israeli actions in Gaza. But when he can spare the time, perhaps he could let us know what it was about the generously endowed bra tycoon that qualified her to feature in his resignation honours list. No doubt he admired the entrepreneurial feistiness that enabled Michelle Mone to lift herself up by her bra straps from a deprived background in Glasgow to success and riches. But to the Lords?
It would seem to be precisely the ruthless, contacts-exploiting self-aggrandisement that got her into the Lords that characterised her efforts to get her and her husband’s noses into the trough that was public procurement during the pandemic, specifically in the provision of protective equipment for health workers. There were a lot of companies bidding for these contracts at a time when it seemed the Government couldn’t get rid of public money fast enough to meet demand. In the event, it spent £12 billion on protective gear, of which £4 billion-worth was unusable (no doubt, Baroness Hallett’s inquiry will be asking about this).
