Civil legal proceedings have been lodged by the UK Government to recover £122m from the company awarded two large PPE contracts during the pandemic.

PPE Medpro secured the contracts in 2020 through the government’s ‘VIP-lane’, allegedly on the recommendation of Scottish bra tycoon Baroness Mone.

The company supplied medical equipment, including hospital gowns, but the government says it was never used.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have commenced legal proceedings in the High Court against PPE Medpro Limited for breach of contract regarding gowns delivered under a contract dated 26 June 2020.

“We do not comment on matters that are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings.”

The DHSC is also seeking to recover the costs of storing and disposing of the gowns, which its officials rejected after an inspection when they arrived at the NHS depot in Daventry.

PPE Medpro said the case over the supply of sterile gowns would be “rigorously defended” and accused the DHSC of a “cynical attempt to recover money from suppliers” who acted in good faith.

It said in a statement: “PPE Medpro will demonstrate to the courts that we supplied our gowns to the correct specification, on time and at a highly competitive price.

“The case will also show the utter incompetence of DHSC to correctly procure and specify PPE during the emergency procurement period. This will be the real legacy of the court case and it will be played out in the public arena for all to see.”

The company has been at the centre of a Westminster controversy, with Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone taking a leave of absence from the Lords following allegations linking her to it.

Reports – denied by Lady Mone – have suggested the peer may have profited from the firm winning contracts worth more than £200m to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “After nearly a year of hiding behind a mediation process with a company linked to one of their own peers, Conservative Ministers have finally been shamed into action to recover taxpayers’ money after damning revelations, public outcry and Labour pressure.

“Time will now tell if the shoddy contracts they drew up are sufficiently robust to retrieve the public money they carelessly handed over. 

“Labour will put an end to this culture of Conservative cronyism and waste with a new plan for procurement and an Office for Value for Money to ensure taxpayers’ money is treated with respect.”