The New European Sues Michelle Mone Over Alleged Legal Intimidation Tactics
Baroness Michelle Mone is being sued by The New European, it was announced Wednesday, which aims to claw back “thousands of pounds” spent fending off her alleged “baseless” legal threats.
The lawsuit, which the newspaper will bring in collaboration with the Good Law Project, will commence next year and takes a stance against what the claimants describe as practices by high-net-worth individuals like Mone and her husband, businessman Doug Barrowman to hinder the free press.
“High net worth individuals cannot be given a free hit against campaigners or media organisations,” a spokesperson for the case said.
Mone is under fire over her direct involvement with PPE Medpro, a company led by her husband Doug Barrowman during the Covid pandemic to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to NHS medical staff. PPE Medpro was awarded lucrative contracts for personal protective equipment during the pandemic in mid-2020 following Mone’s direct approaches to ministers.
Central to the case is the newspaper’s reporting on the PPE Medpro scandal, which Mone and Barrowman allegedly tried to suppress through legal intimidation.
Mone, who denied benefiting financially from the contracts her husband procured. In particular, questions were raised about a £10 million luxury yacht called the Lady M that the couple purchased. The baroness admitted to lying to several publishers during a candid BBC interview with journalist Laura Kuensberg on Sunday, continue to battle against media outlets for their reporting – reports that have now been vindicated.
Matt Kelly, founder and editor-in-chief of The New European, commented in an article announcing the action: “Mone sought to pretend that the Lady M yacht had nothing to do with her. That is a nonsense. We were forced to spend several thousand pounds of costs in legal fees responding to her mendacious threats.”
Similarly, Jolyon Maugham, executive director of Good Law Project, emphasised that legal battle had broader implications.
“The law must not allow itself to become a tool whereby those with money can bully and silence those with none,” he said.
