Liz S
BBC Scotland and BBC2 are broadcasting a two part documentary on Michelle Mone that was made by Rogan Scotland production.
The first part is on Monday 26 May and the second part is on Wednesday 28 May.
These programmes are being shown on two separate channels , the 1st on Channel Scotland (channel 9) and the second is being broadcast on BBC2.
The programme is called “The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone”.
Looking at the online written preview of this programme on the BBC’s Media Centre it states:
“This two-part documentary series tells the extraordinary story of Baroness Mone of Mayfair, the millionaire lingerie entrepreneur, who’s now embroiled in a PPE scandal which broke in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic”.
“Embroiled” – deeply involved in a problematic or difficult situation, often a conflict or dispute.
To be embroiled is to be caught up in something negative or troublesome, but based on what we know so far and also what initially was denied by Ms Mone and then subsequently admitted by her , then is “embroiled” the best word to explain/describe her involvement in this situation , in what is a very much Tory party PPE scandal that she was implicated in due to her direct involvement in it with her instigating this contract being awarded to PPE Medpro ( set up as a company on the 12 May 2020 and who were then awarded their first Tory government PPE contract a month later that was worth £81 million).
This two part documentary , where the initial part will cover her early life and her ascendency in the business world and then the second part will cover her elevation to the HOL, and also this online written preview in the BBC Media Centre page states it is to cover “her links to a business which was awarded a PPE contract through the so-called ‘VIP fast lane’ during the pandemic”
“So-called” ?
No , it was not just “so- called” it was actually known to be a Tory VIP Fast lane for PPE Contracts, where it was not only Mone who benefitted from this but many other Tory family members, friends of Tory politicians and also donors to Tory politicians who also all benefitted from this Tory scheme aka Tory scandal.
However Ms Mone is on record as stating that she is to be made the “scapegoat” for this while other Tories, some who were government ministers , seem to be getting ignored or let off in this very much Tory scandal. (though let us see what the final outcome of the Police investigation establishes on this as to who is culpable and/or involved in this Tory scandal).
One does wonder if the second part of this documentary will focus very long on the Tory party’s involvement in this, after all there would be no story on this had they, the Tories, not generated this PPE “VIP fast lane” system in them awarding contracts to those who were either politically involved with the Tory party or who were in some way linked to a Tory politician.
I am not in any way making an excuse for Ms Mone as clearly , based on interviews she had previously given she initially misled people as to her connection with the company PPE Medpro.
PPE Medpro , who as a company, were awarded £200 million in Tory government contracts and these PPE Tory government contracts were based on Mone being the “source of referral”.
So years later she , Mone, then retracted her initial denial of being linked to this company as she admitted that she had lied about that very pertinent fact.
She, Mone, also did not declare PPE Medpro in the House of Lords register of financial interests as “she had previously stated through her lawyers that she did not benefit financially and was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
However “The Guardian newspaper reported that an Isle of Man trust, of which Mone and her adult children are beneficiaries, had received £29 million originating from PPE Medpro via a series of offshore transactions involving her husband Barrowman”.
The fact that she and her husband were understood to have gained millions from these Tory contracts to PPE Medpro is also something that sticks in the craw for many of us. Also the fact that there was no due diligence done by the Tory government in awarding these contracts, via Tory referrals, to companies like PPE Medpro based simply on connections to members of the Tory party also sticks in the craw.
However what really sticks in the craw is that so far no other Tory politician is being implicated in this VIP lane PPE contract fiasco and scandal and they should be IMO, as when one looks at who was given these PPE contracts and how they were linked to the Tory party, then surely that should be the basis of this as the real scandal in this PPE matter.
So to all of those who were so quick to make snide and derogatory remarks on what was promoted as being the “SNP police investigation” , where the over the top use of “blue tents” were used by the Police outside Ms Sturgeon’s home and so were shown in various TV news broadcasts and on front pages of newspapers around the UK , all to try and convey that this was extremely serious and not just bad but #SNPBAD as a ‘political’ matter.
Well I say ‘Nuts to you all’, as it, as a matter, pales into insignificance compared to what was blatant cronyism by the Tories in their VIP fast lane PPE ‘schemes’ of awarding contracts to those connected to Tories and where millions was spent on these contracts , then where much of the PPE, via these contracts, were then established as being unusable and so they had to be destroyed.
Also let us not forget another Tory peer , Dido Harding, who was in charge of what was regarded to be a failed NHS Test and Trace system in England where it was said that the budget that was set aside for it was approx £37 billion.
One of the criticisms of that English Test and Trace system was an “over-use of consultants” where part of the critique was in a observation that it had to “wean itself off its persistent reliance on consultants” which were costing an average of £1,100 a day each and some of whom had been paid more than £6,600 a day“.
“The complexity of the system was also laid bare with news that it had involved more than 400 contracts being signed with 217 different suppliers. Some 70% of the value of those contracts were directly awarded rather than being put out to tender“.
Of course the real irony in this is that it was not an actual NHS system but it was actually a system that was ran by a private company called Serco, whose chief executive from 2014 to 2023 was Rupert Soames , who is the brother of Nicholas Soames , once a Tory MP and now a Tory Baron.
“On 21 September 2020 , a paper submitted to and endorsed by Sage, described the English test, trace and isolate system as “having a marginal impact on transmission at the moment”, owing to relatively low levels of engagement with the system, testing delays and likely poor rates of adherence with self-isolation”.
It was also reported in May 2021 that “Failures in England’s Test and Trace system are partly responsible for a surge in the Indian variant in one of the worst affected parts of the country, a report as seen by the BBC “.
Ultimately the consensus was that the English Test and Trace system swallowed up “unimaginable amounts of tax payers money” with “no measurable evidence to the progress of the pandemic” .
#Failed-And-Flawed-And-Very-Expensive-Tory-Scheme-Via-A-Private-Company
However the media are consumed with only and also only concerned in trying to bring down the SNP as a party, while with any scandals that are linked to other political parties they only seek a ‘scapegoat’, aka a sacrificial lamb (who is also culpable but not only culpable) , as opposed to the media identifying and so highlighting the involvement of many others in this scandal that are also connected to that other political ‘party’.
#No-Blue-Tents-For-The-Tory-Part-yPPE-Scandal
Vote SNP via a majority in 2026 or allow the British establishment to ignore the (many) scandals linked to other parties, like the Tory party, that extends to more than just one individual within the party, while simultanously they focus upon and only target the SNP , as a whole party, all to try to stop Scottish independence.
Liz S
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
#W̶e̶a̶l̶t̶h̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶u̶m̶u̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶
#Stronger together
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Michelle Mone is probably correct in her assertion that she is being made a ‘scapegoat’ for the PPE corruption. This does not mean that she is innocent of the accusations being made about her, especially as she has admitted significant parts of the ‘narrative’.
There are two ways to look at this.
Firstly, given Ms Mone’s background as a trader in Glasgow (I make no demeaning remarks about traders as a group) she is seen by the Tory establishment as an ‘upstart’, ‘the wrong social class’. Even though they were prepared to admit her to that class because she brought some benefits for them, she may now be seen as having ‘outlived her usefulness’ and can take the consequences.
Secondly, as has been known in the past, one member of a corrupt clique can ‘take the rap’ for the others, with the assurance that once the jail sentence has been served and/or the fine paid, the others ‘see her and her family are all right’.
But, she might decide to ‘spill the beans’ (there are any to be spilled) about others’ involvement. This might lead to a reduction in punishment for ‘turning king’s evidence’ or, it could lead to an ‘accident’.
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That is a great comment Anonymous @ 12.41pm
The real problem for Michelle Mone was that it was she herself who decided to join the Tory party , that has now turned out to be, for her, very much the ‘worse decision’ and also the ‘wrong party’ .
A ruthless party, aka very much a Dog eat Dog kind of party, though at the time she obviously thought that her career and financial prospects would improve considerably in her choice of party. Initially she was correct in her assumptions on this………….But……….
That decision and also her own actions have now seen her suffer a considerable cost to her , checks notes, reputation, also an assumed perception of her lack of savvy and I sincerely hope also there will be a huge negative impact on her personal finances.
Which are all things that should happen to those who become too greedy and too arrogant that they then allegedly assume they will get away with anything based on who they are , a Tory Peer, and which party they are a member of, Tory party.
Which now for her has very much proven to be a wrong assumption, and it also exposes her naivety in her having a such a false sense of security and an assumed protection because she was a Tory peer and a member of the Tory party.
You correctly stated that she was “‘the wrong social class” and so as she is not that kind of Tory , well then she will be considered as one that they will easily discard and abandon (and attack).
Michael Gove has already proven his lack of loyalty and allegiance towards her as he says he wants to see “Justice served”, just not served against him , he also said that he “hopes detectives bring a case against her”, but not against him obviously, though The Guardian newspaper revealed emails between her and his, Gove’s, private email address that implicates him having a role in this , allegedly.
However if she , Mone, goes rogue then who knows who or what she will reveal.
Whistleblower- a woman scorned- stooge- scapegoat -typical Tory.
Also if one watched the interviews she did on TV then she presented herself as a ‘victim’ , but let’s be honest she obviously knew that the sole purpose in her allegedly being the “source of referral” for PPE Medpro was for her own , alleged, financial gain.
(It did not help her case when it was exposed how new this company PPE Medpro were, almost as if it was only created as a company to acquire a government PPE contract, and then when successful it was found that the PPE they provided was unfit to be used so then it was all destroyed).
That’s why I ignored all of their sh*t about the so called SNP Police investigation against Tory blatant and constant cronyism (which as Bob says in his also great comment below, is not restricted to just this sorry and suspect episode on the Tory VIP fast lane contracts awarded for PPE during the pandemic).
Vote SNP via a majority in 2026……or else continue to be apathetic towards scandals and corruption in UK politics at WM to then allow them to continue.
Liz S
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*which as Bob says in his also great comment below
I obviously meant when I wrote “in his also great comment” that Bob’s comment was also as great as the comment made by Anonymous @12.41pm (and did not mean “also as great” in regards to my comment , that would make me as arrogant as Michelle Mone Ha Ha)
Liz S
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I’d dispute the “blatant cronyism by the Tories” as a singular case, Grenfell for instance – Without the restoration of corruption in the highest office of the land following Attlee et al, neither the Tories nor Labour could have gotten away with any of it.
It’s when their knackers are within kicking distance that corruption shrinks… Ever noticed a Tory or Labour with three Adam’s apples ?
Westminster protects itself a la ‘Cosa Nostra’….
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Well said Liz, there really isn’t any argument that this is all political when you see how the SNP have been treated compared to the real corruption at Westminster. What gets me are the big political commentators suddenly realising press bias exists now Labour is bearing the brunt of it in England but refuse to acknowledge the lazy assumptions they made about Scottish affairs were equally skewed
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“big political commentators suddenly realising press bias exists”
Indeed Brenda they are, yet again, as political commentators ‘late to the party’ so to speak.
We , who support Scottish independence, and who are referred to as being “Separatists” and also “Extremists” by the media, opposition parties and also by some political commentators as well.
Yet we , who are Scottish independence supporters , sussed out the the BBC as a dubious, unreliable and untrustworthy source of news and also we saw through the Labour party a long long long time ago .
We also saw through Neil Oliver a long time ago as well , when many of those same ‘political commentators’ were assuming that he, Oliver, was an honest, credible, intelligent and much esteemed (Ha Ha) Historian (Ha Ha) and now , post his hosting a weekly programme on GB News, they now regard him as a right wing crackpot whose support of people like David Starkey proves just how much of a lost cause he truly is, which we on here , and others like us, already knew anyway.
#WeWereRightAgain
The message here Brenda is that they should , as political commentators, firstly ask us who support Scottish independence what our opinions are and also our experience is with certain individuals, specific institutions and also certain political parties before they, as political commentators, yet again find out the hard way (that then will prevent them having, yet again, ‘egg on their faces’ at being so naïve and accepting of others , only to then discover the harsh truth aka reality about them ).
Maybe they , political commentators, could also even see our logic and credible arguments as to why we think we would be better off as an independent nation as opposed to still being a part of a totally ducked up UK, of which they themselves are only too aware of the dire state that the UK is always in as in #Sh*tHole, so no excuses from them that we , Scotland, are somehow far better off together with the rest of the UK.
(Of course most of them, as political commentators, know our country’s -as in Scotland’s- real worth, as in it’s value to their UK, hence their pretend indignation in their opposition arguments that they constantly present as supposed credible, honest and fact based arguments when in reality they too are guilty of BritNat propaganda).
None of the above is rocket science is it, but somehow when you are labelled as being “Nasty Nats” and “CyberNats” by dubious individuals and groups then apparently that then translates to you, as individuals and as a group, being not worth listening to, considering or even acknowledging within their Brexit UK.
Who speaks for Scotland at WM if not the SNP who speak up against many of the UK government’s cruel and terrible Reserved policies that they inflict upon us time and time again.
If I seem angry Brenda then that would be because I am, but a lot of my anger is directed mostly at some of my fellow citizens, as I am only an ordinary person of limited intellect, yet I can somehow manage to reason out so much, purely via research, common sense and logic and also very much via lived experience aka suffering as a UK citizen for too long.
Anger that I still see others within my country, Scotland, who are either still very apathetic , still wilfully ignorant of facts or still complicit with those who oppose us in the UK media and also oppose us politically as those who support their UK being sustained.
Anyhoo I will have a wee alcohol free rosé wine to try and calm me spam….. for now that is…..one, two, three, back in the room ……..
#PlaceboEffect Ha Ha…..
I am sure that later normal service will be resumed (with me) as in becoming yet again Mrs Angry (also Ha Ha).
BTW I really do wonder will Michelle Mone, and also other Tories, ever be charged via this ongoing very very long police investigation down south?
Liz S
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Her assets have been frozen. Gov is after her for pay back.
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O/T
A post on Blue Sky by Mehdi Hasan (this is a guy who no one in any pro UK political party would want to be interviewed by , as he is way too sharp, too well informed and he is more than a match for any pro UK politician in that he will challenge their answers with a follow up question. That is, if he thinks that they are lying or that they are wrong. He is unique as an interviewer as he actually does his research prior to the interview as opposed to just going through the motions of doing an interview with a politician).
His Post:
“Apologists for Israel might want to reject the charge of genocide [and] suggest its hyperbole or even anti-Semitic, but the actual experts on genocide know a genocide when they see one – and they see one in Gaza.”.
Indeed in fact Israel are now turning on other politicians and governments elsewhere in the world , as in politicians and governments who had formerly supported Israel, but now these other politicians and their governments see it as being far more prudent in (them making a show of) finally realising that Israel intends to go way way way further than even they assumed that they would.
To criticise Israel’s actions in Gaza is not anti-Semitic and if anyone suggests it is , then what they are actually saying is that no one is allowed to voice an opinion , based purely on what they see to be actions and words that are very very wrong by Israel and which, as words and actions, are having catastrophic and deadly consequences for others such as the Palestinian people (that includes women and children).
As opposed to what is distinctly and so obviously clearly anti Semitic in people voicing an opinion or communicating something that displays an obvious hatred or a dislike of Jewish people.
Worth noting that if you play the anti Semitic card all of the time for every critique, even when it is obvious that as a critique it is based purely upon what is a genuine and honest response to something that many see as being wrong and cruel that Israel are doing, then in the future it, anti Semitism as an accusation, becomes meaningless and so then no one listens or cares when it really is words or actions that are obviously anti Semitic.
Of course these other politicians and governments failed to previously rein in Israel when they were killing thousands of Palestinians in fact they gave Israel a free rein to continue to do so. So absolutely no credit ,kudos or praise should they now receive as other politicians or other governments in their very much delayed current position of opposing Israel’s current actions. As I am sure their current position , as other politicians and governments has only been reached through their not wanting to be seen as being complicit with Israel in what amounts to genocide being committed by them.
(BTW that also applies to much of the UK media and also other media elsewhere who formerly were protecting Israel but now that their respective governments have changed course then they too are also those who are suddenly becoming aware of reality , a reality they already knew existed but failed to acknowledge to the public in their ‘reporting’ of the true situation happening in Gaza).
Meanwhile the SNP have been consistent in opposing what Israel have been doing, but that as a position , will be completely ignored by the UK media as they, the SNP, are never allowed to have any credit , kudos or praise given to them as a political party. The UK media and UK political parties work together to ensure that when the SNP do anything good for Scotland or indeed for others then it is twisted and spun to then become #SNPBAD.
Some of still remember last year, in the HOC, in what was supposed to be a day for a SNP motion for other MP’s to vote on, however instead Keir Starmer and Lindsay Hoyle conspired to stop other MP’s voting on their, SNP’s, Gaza motion. So instead in a corrupt act the Labour motion was chosen by Lindsay Hoyle to be voted upon by other MP’s, the same Lindsay Hoyle as the so called speaker of the house, who was elected as a , checks bloody notes, a Labour MP in the GE.
Unfortunately those who voted for Labour in Scotland last year and elected 37 Labour MP’s saw this act by Starmer and Hoyle in the HOC as acceptable or perhaps they were gullible enough to believe the media spin that the SNP only created this ‘motion’ to try and embarrass Keir Starmer as it was assumed some Labour MP’s would vote for their motion on what was supposed to be their, the SNP’s, day in the HOC for other MP’s to vote on a motion raised by them (then that day and motion was hijacked by Labour).
The rule appears to be that the SNP can never ever be seen to have any principles as a apolitical party as the UK media prefer them to only be seen by the public in Scotland as a party that is #BAD (24/7).
Liz S
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