(Bloomberg) -- The UK’s health department has sued PPE Medpro Ltd., a firm caught in a controversy over the award of more than £200 million ($243 million) worth of contracts for protective kits and its links to a conservative peer.   

“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,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care. 

The lawsuit is part of a broader effort by the UK government to crack down on alleged irregularities in how contracts for billions of protective kits were awarded during the Covid pandemic. A number of contracts were awarded through a “high priority referral” route, which fast-tracked the procurement process. 

PPE Medpro in an email refuted all allegations of wrongdoing and will rigorously defend itself against them in court. Rather, Medpro said, the health department “vastly over ordered” protective kits, which expire over time. 

“The case will also show the utter incompetence of Department of Health and Social Care to correctly procure and specify PPE during the emergency procurement period,” the company said.

Close to 400 contracts worth £7.9 billion ($9.6 billion) were awarded through the new procurement routes in 2020, according to UK’s National Audit Office. About a third of these contracts were given to 51 suppliers referred by government officials, ministers and parliamentarians among others. Medpro’s contract was worth more than £200 million according to The Guardian.  

British businesswoman Baroness Mone referred PPE Medpro for a contract, according to government records. Mone, who is also a Conservative peer, and her children received £29 million from the profits of a PPE Medpro’s business paid into a offshore trust, the Guardian reported last month. 

Her lawyer told the newspaper at the time she didn’t declare any interest  in Medpro “as she did not benefit financially and was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity.” Mone did not immediately respond to an email from Bloomberg seeking comment. 

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