Richard Lynton-Jones sued Lady Mone for defamation over comments she made to the media in January after the Guardian first reported the racist and abusive messages she allegedly sent him in June 2019. Mone’s lawyers confirmed that she and Lynton-Jones had reached a settlement, although they declined to confirm that she had paid him or how much the settlement was. In a statement they said was made jointly with Lynton-Jones, Mone’s lawyers said: “Both parties have settled their disputes without fault or compensation in relation to the alleged racism claim and the matter is now closed.” Mone, a Conservative member of the House of Lords since 2015, allegedly sent the WhatsApp messages during an argument following a fatal yacht crash off the coast of Monaco in which one crew member was killed. He appeared to accuse Lynton-Jones and his then-partner of showing a lack of respect after the crash, a charge they denied. Screenshots of the messages, seen by the Guardian, appeared to show the Tory peer replying after Lynton-Jones told her to back off, writing: “Your [sic] a low life, a waste of a man [sic] white skin so don’t tell us your lies. Yours [sic] absolute shame.” Monet also appeared to make disparaging comments about her partner Lynton-Jones’ mental health, describing her as a “mental wreck” and a “bird with a nut”. The Metropolitan Police confirmed in January that they were investigating Monet, but have now closed the investigation. In a statement, the Met said: “In June 2021, police received an allegation of racially aggravated malicious communications in relation to the use of a messaging app. A 50-year-old woman was interviewed under condition in January 2022. After consideration of the evidence, as well as consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, it was decided that no further action would be taken. Should more information come to light it will be investigated further. The complainant has been informed.” When the Guardian first asked Mone about the messages, a spokesman for Tory peers initially said: “Baroness Mone is not 100% racist. Baroness Monet and her husband [the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman] they have built over 15 schools in Africa in the last three years.” Her lawyers later issued another statement challenging the authenticity of the messages, saying Mone had “no access” to them and no “detailed memory of them.” “Baroness Monet, in any case, strongly denies being racist, sexist or disrespectful of people who actually suffer with mental health problems.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am The statement added that it was “both absurd and inconceivable that he could or would have made such a comment or made it with the slightest racist intent” as, at the time, he was unaware that Lynton-Jones “was something else. rather than the white Brit, as his appearance is 100% white, with a clipped English accent.” Separately, Mone is still facing scrutiny over a company linked to it, PPE Medpro, which was awarded £203m in government PPE contracts through the ‘VIP lane’. In April, the National Crime Agency launched an investigation into possible fraud linked to the company and searched several addresses. At the time, attorneys for Mone and PPE Medpro declined to comment. Mone has consistently denied any involvement in the company.
