A former director of island-based Knox Financial Group is taking a claim for unfair dismissal to tribunal.

Fudiciary services specialist Anthony Page, of Glen Vine, lodged his complaint to the employment tribunal on August 3.

He is claiming unfair dismissal/unfair redundancy including constructive dismissal.

His claim is against Knox Financial Group Ltd, Knox Private Office Ltd and Knox House Trust Ltd, all based at Samuel Harris House, St George’s Street, Douglas. No date has yet been set for the hearing.

Mr Page was appointed diretor of Knox Financial on August 31, 2019. He was director of Knox Private Office from December 19, 2017 to June 28 this year and director of Knox House Trust from April 27, 2011 to May 31 this year.

He was also director and secretary of UK-based PPE Medpro, the company at the centre of a PPE contract inquiry, until his resignation on May 11 this year. The investigation into the procurement of contracts worth £200m to PPE Medpro has made numerous headlines in the UK media.

On his LinkedIn page, Mr Page said: ‘I am looking for a new role and would appreciate your support. Thank you in advance for any connections, advice or opportunities you can offer.

‘I am very concerned to see disputed matters that are pending judicial determination being aired in the media. I emphatically and totally deny the various allegations. I consider it inappropriate to comment further pending the outcome of my legal action.’

Mr Page was appointed director of PPE Medpro when the company was first set up on May 12, 2020.

The following month PPE Medpro was awarded two contracts by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care during the Covid pandemic – the first an £81m one to supply masks and the second, worth £122m to supply surgical gowns – having been referred by Baroness Michelle Mone.

Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman, who own the Ballakew estate in St Mark’s, both strenuously deny any involvement with PPE Medpro.

A National Crime Agency investigation into PPE Medpro was launched in May 2021.

Meanwhile, a House of Lords Commissioners for Standards inquiry into Baroness Mone’s alleged involvement in the procurement of contracts for the company has been put on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal investigation.

The DHSC has also launched a civil case against the company seeking to recover taxpayers’ money in relation to the £122m surgical gowns contract.

A report by the the UK’s public accounts committee has concluded there were ‘serious defects’ in the Westminster government’s stewardship of public money during a time when the DHSC was ‘panic-buying’ PPE during the initial stages of the Covid crisis.

But it adds: ‘However, from the evidence in the materials made available to us we cannot comprehensively conclude whether emails from Baroness Mone and the route through the High Priority Lane led to the PPE Medpro offer being treated differently by government than other offers made in the same way during those abnormal times.’

In 2018 a whistleblower was awarded recorded damages of more than £685,000 after winning a tribunal case against a company that was formerly part of the Knox group.

Robert Sutton was employed as a portfolio manager by Creechurch Capital Ltd from 2013 until February 2016 when he lost his £42,000-a-year job.

CCL, part of the Knox Group of Companies founded by multi-millionaire Doug Barrowman, claimed Mr Sutton was dismissed for gross misconduct for using the social media platform WhatsApp to talk to clients.

But the employment tribunal found he was sacked for discussing concerns about the company with the regulator, the Financial Services Authority.

CCL is no longer part of the Knox group and has no connection to Knox Private Office, Knox House Trust and Knox Financial Group.