Dundee actor Brian Cox has branded Baroness Michelle Mone “obscene” after her bombshell BBC interview over the escalating PPE scandal.
The Scottish Tory peer admitted she stands to benefit from a contract between the UK Government and firm Medpro, which is under criminal investigation.
The business tycoon said she made an “error” when previously denying her links to the company, but said lying to the media was “not a crime”.
Lady Mone made the startling admissions in her first major interview since the row first broke with BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg.
Speaking along with her husband Doug Barrowman, she insisted the pair have “no case to answer”, even though she benefits from his financial trusts.
The couple claim they have been made “scapegoats” for the government’s wider failings on PPE during the Covid pandemic.
Hours later Succession star Mr Cox, appearing as a guest on Ms Kuenssberg’s BBC Sunday show, aired his thoughts on the scandal.
He said: “In times of a major crisis like we had with Covid, to take advantage of a situation like that, there’s something obscene about it as far as I’m concerned.
“You have to behave with utmost scrutiny. And there wasn’t enough scrutiny in this case, I don’t think, at all, which has led to her being in this situation.
‘Lack of scrutiny’
He added: “I find the lack of scrutiny in the government in dealing with this is what’s questionable. That should have been looked at.
“When there’s a major crisis, naturally people are looking to the advantage of making money out of it, that’s a kind of instinctive thing, but it’s wrong, and it should be curbed.”
Mr Cox was again critical of Rishi Sunak’s controversial Rwanda scheme to send illegal migrants abroad, which has been blocked by British courts.
On Monday we revealed the veteran actor, a vocal pro-independence supporter, joined calls for a new plan to help refugees.
The film star said the UK’s asylum system needs a “total rethink” and branded it a “shambles”.
During his appearance on Ms Kuenssberg’s show, Mr Cox also revealed he had declined the opportunity to star on Strictly Come Dancing.
On Thursday, the Dundee actor dropped the F-bomb on BBC’s Newsnight in the show’s final broadcast of the year.
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