House of Lords in Crisis: PPE Scandal, Israel Connection, and Growing Public Outrage

The House of Lords — nestled in the heart of Westminster — is often seen as one of Britain's most prestigious political institutions. Yet unlike the Commons, its 800-plus members are not elected but appointed, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister and formally by the King. This system has long been criticized for entrenching privilege and insulating peers from democratic accountability. In recent years, however, the criticism has sharpened — fuelled by a string of scandals that have exposed corruption, conflicts of interest, and questionable allegiances within the Lords.

Several members of the House of Lords are facing public scrutiny, and while that may not be surprising given the chamber's sheer size, some of the scandals are particularly damning. Few peers attract as much near-universal condemnation as Michelle Mone, whose conduct has been branded deplorable across the political spectrum.

A Conservative peer from Scotland, Mone left school at just 15 to pursue modelling before moving into business, where she made her name by founding lingerie and beauty brands. In 2015, she was elevated to the Lords as Baroness Mone — a decision that sparked controversy from the outset, with critics questioning both her credentials and the wisdom of her appointment.

Now, she faces controversy again, but for a far greater scandal. On 1 October 2025, the High Court ruled in favour of the UK government in its lawsuit against PPE Medpro, a company linked to Mone. The court found the firm had breached its contract to supply 25 million surgical gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, because the gowns failed to meet validated sterilization and certification standards.

One of the key controversies is how PPE Medpro obtained the contracts so soon after its creation — via a 'VIP fast-track lane' for procurement during the pandemic. The government claims that Mone personally recommended the company to ministers and promoted it through official channels.

Members of the UK public are currently up in arms about Mone's continued place in the House of Lords, as many feel her corruption ties raise major red flags about the institution as a whole. For critics, her presence symbolizes the worst of cronyism and privilege — a peerage that cannot be stripped even in the face of scandal. However, public outcries over indecency in the institution do not stop with her. Lord David Wolfson has also faced mounting criticism, with his recent actions sparking a wave of criticism and calls for accountability.

Lord David Wolfson, a Conservative peer with a background in law and ministry, has also come under intense scrutiny. In the aftermath of the October 7th attacks in Israel, Wolfson became involved in overseeing a "pop-up café" near the Gaza border that provided Israeli soldiers with food and other supplies. The initiative quickly drew criticism from multiple directions: some pro-Israel supporters felt the project was amateurish and poorly organized, while others condemned it as a breach of parliamentary impartiality, arguing that members of the House of Lords should remain neutral in matters of war. With global criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza mounting, Wolfson's involvement has further provoked outrage among those who see his efforts as tacitly supporting what they describe as a genocidal army.

The scandals surrounding Michelle Mone and David Wolfson are not isolated incidents, but symptoms of a deeper problem: an unelected chamber where privilege, lack of transparency, and weak accountability mechanisms allow misconduct to flourish. Each new controversy chips away at public trust in one of Britain's oldest political institutions. If the Lords is to retain legitimacy in the 21st century, it must prove that its members are subject to real standards of integrity, or else face renewed calls for radical reform.