PM mocked for reaction to claims Mone received £29,000,000 from PPE firm

Rishi Sunak said he was ‘absolutely shocked’ by claims Tory peer Baroness Mone secretly got £29million from a PPE firm she lobbied ministers for.

It is ‘absolutely right’ the bra tycoon 
is taking a leave of absence from the Lords as standards officials and police investigate, the prime minister added.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he should have known where taxpayers’ money was going when PPE Medpro was given a £200million contract.

‘He says he’s shocked,’ Sir Keir jibed at PMQs. ‘He was the chancellor. He was the one who signed the cheques.’

Mr Sunak hit back: ‘The one thing we know about him is he’s a lawyer. He should know there is a process in place. It is right that that process concludes. I hope it is resolved promptly.’

PPE Medpro was paid £122million for medical gowns that were never used as they failed NHS quality inspections.

It received £81million for masks allegedly sold for more than twice the price that others paid. Baroness Mone’s husband Douglas Barrowman was a director and was reportedly paid a £65million share of company profits. He then put £29million in a secret offshore trust for the peer and her children, The Guardian claims.

It says a second company she lobbied aggressively for – lateral flow tester LFI Diagnostics – was a ‘secret entity of her husband’s family office’.

Baroness Mone denies the allegations made against her and has stepped back to ‘clear her name’. PPE Medpro also denies wrongdoing.

Ministers have committed to release documents linked to the deals.

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