Tory peer Michelle Mone facing police probe over alleged racist texts

Scots Tory peer Michelle Mone is to be interviewed by Metropolitan Police over claims she messaged a man of Indian heritage to say he was "a waste of a man’s white skin".

The businesswoman from Glasgow, who made her fortune with her Ultimo push-up bras, will sit down with London cops after her alleged victim filed a complaint last year.

We reported in December how 50-year-old Mone is believed to have sent the WhatsApp texts in June 2019 to a financial consultant following a fallout about a fatal boat crash off the coast of Monaco.

The smash in 2019 saw a boat owned by pals of the millionaire smash into a yacht belonging to Mone and husband Douglas Barrowman, killing a crew member.

The bra tycoon allegedly sent the "white skin" messages to the man in the aftermath of the crash, along with disparaging remarks about the mental health of his partner.

Screenshots suggested Mone described the woman as a "mental loony" and a "nut case bird".

Mone has denied the claims since they were first reported to the commissioners for standards last year.

Baroness Mone, as she is known in the House, was appointed to the Lords in 2015 by Conservative PM David Cameron after becoming Downing Street's start-up business tsar.

The upper house at Westminster will not investigate the claims because the messages were not sent in the course of her parliamentary duties.

In a statement issued last month, representatives for Mone said: "Baroness Mone is 100 per cent not a racist.

"Baroness Mone and her husband have built over 15 schools in Africa in the past three years.”

The statement continued that Mone had no memory of the messages and has "no access" to them, and said it was "as illogical as it is inconceivable that she could or would have made such a comment or made it with the slightest racist intent".

Representatives for the Tory peer say at the time of the alleged communication, Mone had no knowledge the complainant "was anything other than white British, as his appearance is 100% white, with a cut-glass English accent".

The statement concluded: "She is not prepared to comment on the messages unless and until their authenticity has been confirmed but Baroness Mone, in any event, very strongly denies that she is a racist, a sexist or that she has a lack of respect for those persons genuinely suffering with mental health difficulties."

And in a statement released on her public Instagram profile, Mone herself said: "Since when did calling out a man on his actions after a manslaughter and his entitled white privilege constitute racism?

"Quite the opposite- the accusations I have read today against me are full of contradictions.

"I will set the record straight on this defamation before deciding on any legal action."

A Met Police spokesperson said: "In June 2021 police received an allegation of a racially aggravated malicious communication in relation to information posted on a messaging app.

"Police spoke to the complainant and advised that for the investigation to progress a statement would need to be taken; for this to be admissible in any future court proceedings, this would need to be done in person.

"In October, the complainant gave a statement to police and the investigation continues.

"A 50-year-old woman has been invited to attend for an interview under caution at a future date."

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