RISHI Sunak has inisted he was “absolutely shocked” by allegations that Tory peer Michelle Mone profited from “flogging dodgy PPE” during the Covid pandemic.

The Prime Minister said it was “absolutely right” that the Glasgow-born former lingerie tycoon was no longer attending the House of Lords.  

Lady Mone, who was ennobled by David Cameron in 2015, yesterday announced she would be taking a leave of absence from the Lords to “clear her name”.

It followed weeks of reporting by The Guardian about her links - previously denied - to the firm PPE Medpro, which was given £200million in orders during the pandemic.

The paper said £29m of the profits from the deal, which Lady Mone recommended to ministers, went to an offshore trust for the benefit of Lady Mone and her children. 

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The Guardian also reported last night that Lady Mone lobbied ministers on behalf of a second firm, LFI Diagnostics, about supplying lateral flow kits.

The firm was said to be an “entity” of the family office of Lady Mone’s husband, Douglas Barrowman.

At PMQs, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked Mr Sunak: “How did his colleague Baroness Mone end up with nearly £30m of taxpayers money in her bank account?”

To opposition jeers, Mr Sunak replied: “Like everyone else, I was absolutely shocked to read about the allegations.

“It's absolutely right… it's absolutely right that she is no longer attending the House of Lords and therefore no longer has the Conservative whip.”

Apparently referring to a Lords ethics probe into the PPE Medpro case, the PM said Sir Keir, as a lawyer, should know there was “a process in place”.

He went on: “It’s right that that process concludes. I hope that it’s resolved properly.” 

He then tried to change the subject completely by saying SIr Keir was “weak” for not standing up for working people affected by strikes.

However that backfired. As the PM said “I’ll tell him what is weak” opposition MPs shouted “You!”.

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The Labour leader then asked how much Lady Mone would repay.

He said: “Mr Speaker, it might not seem like they supposed to be the Prime Minister. 

“Everyone can see what's happening here. A Tory politician got their hands on hundreds of millions in taxpayers’ money and then provided duff PPE, and he says he’s shocked.

“He was the Chancellor. He signed the cheques. He can how much is he going to get back?” 

Mr Sunak then continued to speak about strikes and avoided mentioning Lady Mone again.

Sir Keir said of the Tories: “It’s obvious why they’re so opposed to Labour’s plans to clean up Westminster. They all voted for tax rises for working people, while one of their unelected peers pocketed millions flogging dodgy PPE.”

Lady Mone and Mr Barrowman have denied wrongdoing.

Mr Sunak had been under pressure to remove the whip from Lady Mone in keeping with his promise to restore "integrity, professionalism and accountability" as PM.

However Downing Street said today that she had lost the whip "by default" by taking a voluntary leave of absence.

The Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “She’s taken a leave of absence therefore, by default, she has not got the Conservative whip any more.”

Asked why Mr Sunak waited for Lady Mone to act first if he was “shocked” by allegations about her, his spokeswoman said that would be a matter for the Whips’ Office.

Pressed on whether Mr Sunak has cut Lady Mone adrift, his press secretary said: “I wouldn’t characterise it as that. She’s taken a leave of absence from the House of Lords.”

She said she was not aware of “any conversations” between Mr Sunak and Lady Mone about her taking a leave of absence, adding: “As I understand it, it was her voluntary decision.”