The UK government has issued civil legal proceedings against the firm PPE Medpro, which has been at the heart of a controversy over the supply of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed issuing breach of contract proceedings over the 2020 deal on the supply of the protective gowns for medics.

A DHSC spokesperson said, "We can confirm we have commenced legal proceedings in the high court against PPE Medpro Limited for breach of contract regarding gowns delivered under a contract dated June 26, 2020. We do not comment on matters that are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings."

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Medpro said the case over the supply of sterile gowns would be "rigorously defended" and said the DHSC made a "cynical attempt to recover money from suppliers" who acted in good faith.

"PPE Medpro will demonstrate to the courts that we supplied our gowns to the correct specification, on time and at a highly competitive price," said Medpro in a statement.

"The case will also show the utter incompetence of DHSC to correctly procure and specify PPE during the emergency procurement period. This will be the real legacy of the court case and it will be played out in the public arena for all to see."

The company has been at the center of a UK political row, with the Conservative peer Michelle Mone taking a leave of absence from the Lords after allegations linking her to it.

The government disclosed last year that Baroness Mone was the "source of referral" for PPE Medpro getting the contract.

According to reports first published in The Guardian, the peer may have profited from the firm winning contracts worth more than £200 million ($243 million) to supply equipment after she recommended it to ministers in the early days of the pandemic.

Government 'vastly over-ordered'

The dispute relates to the contract price of the gowns – reported to be £122 million ($148 million) – plus the cost of storing and disposing of them, according to news agency reports.

PPE Medpro says the department had "vastly over-ordered" protective equipment and was fighting over "contract technicalities" such as whether gowns were single- or double-bagged.

The firm also said it had made "numerous attempts at mediation with DHSC" but "they didn't want to settle."

"Over a two-month period, July through to [the] end of August 2020, PPE Medpro supplied DHSC with 25 million sterile gowns. The gowns were manufactured to the correct quality, standards and specification set out in the contract, delivered on time and at a price that was 50 percent of what DHSC had been paying at the time," the PPE Medpro statement said.

"By the end of 2020 it was clear that DHSC has vastly over ordered and held five years supply of PPE across the seven major categories including gowns," it said, and because of limited lifespans for products "it was clear that the DHSC would never be able to use all the PPE they procured."