A leading hedge fund manager and Brexit donor has been making huge bets against the iconic British fashion brand Burberry – even though the firm has been tasked with making personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.

As the spread of COVID-19 jolts markets, hedge funds including portfolios run by Brexit donors Paul Marshall and Crispin Odey have ignored pleas from the Bank of England to desist from short-selling the stock of British companies, and are making huge gains betting against a number of leading high street brands.

Burberry is one of the retailers health secretary Matt Hancock has singled out for praise for producing gowns for NHS staff.

Just days after the UK went into lockdown in late March, Marshall Wace – a hedge fund co-founded by Vote Leave donor Marshall – increased its short position on Burberry stock, which means that the fund stands to gain if the luxury fashion company’s share value falls.

Burberry has been at the forefront of the UK’s COVID response. The company recently announced that its Castleford factory – which normally manufactures trench coats – is being repurposed to provide 100,000 surgical masks for the NHS. Burberry is also funding research into a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine at the University of Oxford.

Marshall’s bet against Burberry – described by SNP’s shadow treasury spokeswoman Alison Thewliss as “predatory behaviour” – has prompted calls for the UK to introduce a windfall tax on the profits of short-selling at a time when many other countries have banned the practice.