Rishi Sunak says he is taking the Michelle Mone PPE scandal 'incredibly seriously'

Baroness Michelle Mone has now admitted she stands to benefit from tens of millions of pounds of profit from personal protective equipment (PPE) sold to the UK Government during the pandemic

Rishi Sunak says he is taking the scandal around Baroness Michelle Mone “incredibly seriously”.

Lady Mone admitted during an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that she stands to benefit from tens of millions of pounds in profit from personal protective equipment (PPE) sold to the UK Government during the coronavirus pandemic.

PPE Medpro was awarded government contracts worth more than £200 million to supply personal protective equipment to the NHS during the pandemic.

Michelle Mone during her interview on BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Picture: BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

In November 2021 the government revealed Lady Mone was the source of referral for PPE Medpro getting into the VIP lane, which was introduced to help the Government choose between the huge number of contracts on offer.

Millions of gowns the company supplied were never used. The UK Government is now suing PPE Medpro for £122m plus costs for breaching its contract.

Lady Mone denied having any involvement for more than three years, but has now admitted both she and her children are beneficiaries of financial trusts where the money is held.

She apologised for denying her role, saying: “I can’t see what we have done wrong.”

During a visit to RAF Lossiemouth on Monday, the Prime Minister said his Government was taking the matter seriously.

He told The Scotsman: “All I can say is it’s subject to a criminal investigation, as you are aware, so there’s a limit to what I can say or comment on publicly. But to give you a sense of the seriousness with which the Government takes it, the Government is also pursuing legal action against the company concerned.

“Because we do view it as an incredibly serious matter, and beyond that there’s not much more I can say given the legal proceeding that is going on.”

Mr Sunak refused to comment on whether or not he thinks Lady Mone should return to the House of Lords.

Lady Mone was made a Conservative peer by former prime minister David Cameron in 2015, but has been on a leave of absence from the House of Lords and without the Tory whip since December last year.