Rishi Sunak has insisted he is taking the Michelle Mone Covid scandal “incredibly seriously.”

However, the Prime Minister refused to be drawn on the ex-Tory peer’s admission that she had lied over her involvement with the controversial firm PPE Medpro, saying he could not comment because of the ongoing criminal investigation

The Prime Minister was in Moray on Monday morning to “have a cup of tea” with military personnel working over Christmas.

However, the visit was overshadowed by the bombshell interview given by Baroness Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Michelle Mone's BBC interview was a spectacular own goal

The firm won a £122m contract for 25m surgical gowns and an £80.8m contract for 210m facemasks during the Covid pandemic after she recommended it through the so-called High Priority, or “VIP Lane” to Michael Gove, a few days after it was set up in May 2020.

They made a 30% profit from the contract, bringing in around £60m for Mr Barrowman - who is a resident of the Isle of Man, a tax haven.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) claims the gowns were not fit for purpose as they were single-wrapped, not double-wrapped to ensure they were sterile.

PPE Medpro, which denies the gowns were unusable, is now being sued by the UK Government for £122m plus costs for "breach of contract and unjust enrichment".

The National Crime Agency is investigating alleged criminal offences in the procurement of the contracts.

Lady Mone initially denied having links to PPE Medpro and threatened to sue newspapers that claimed otherwise.

In her interview with the BBC, she expressed regret for lying but said misleading the public was not a crime.

Speaking to journalists in Moray, the Prime Minister said: “The Government takes these things incredibly seriously, which is why we’re pursuing legal action against the company concerned in these matters.

“That’s how seriously I take it and the Government takes it. But it is also subject to an ongoing criminal investigation. And because of that, there’s not much further that I can add.”

Lady Mone responded to the Prime Minister's comments on X/Twitter, writing: "What is @RishiSunak talking about? I was honest with the Cabinet Office, the Government and the NHS in my dealings with them.

"They all knew about my involvement from the very beginning."

Lady Mone, who was made a Conservative peer by David Cameron in 2015, has been on a leave of absence from the Lords and without the Tory whip since December 2022.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Hampden in Glasgow, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said there were questions for the UK Government. 

"They set up a VIP fast lane in order to, it seems, put millions of pounds into the pockets of their friends, and in many cases, their donors.

"And what's happened here is that in the middle of the biggest crisis in living memory, in the biggest tragedy and crisis outwith wartime, the Conservative Party and their friends thought it was the opportunity to make millions on the back of that crisis.

"And I think it's absolutely disgusting that Michelle Mone seems to think that she's the victim, when in actual fact the victims here are those healthcare professionals, or those patients that required quality PPE but weren't able to get that quality PPE." 

Meanwhile, during the visit north of the border, Mr Sunak was also asked about the Scottish Government’s reported plan to create a new tax bracket for higher earners in a bid to bring in more revenue to plug the £1.5bn black hole.

The Prime Minister said: “The first thing I’d say is the UK Government has provided a record amount of funding to the Scottish Government through the Barnett formula, so they’re ultimately responsible for the finances here in Scotland."

The Herald:

“But I can tell you what we’re doing in the UK is controlling spending and cutting people’s taxes and that’s going to kick in for everyone in Scotland and across the UK, a reduction in the rate of national insurance from 12% to 10% from January.

“That will save a typical person in work around £450 – it’s a significant tax cut.

“So that’s what the UK Government is doing to help Scottish families with the cost of living, which we know is a priority for them.

“But ultimately, it’s the Scottish Government that are responsible for their own finances – it’s already the highest taxed part of the UK and obviously it would be very disappointing to see that tax burden continue to rise in Scotland.”

Shona Robison, the Finance Secretary, said Mr Sunak had a “bit of a cheek.”

Speaking during a visit to a community cafe in Broxburn, West Lothian, said the cut in national insurance payments for workers from that statement was “pre-election positioning by the Tories, entirely at the expense of public services”.

Insisting that “these are not our values or our priorities”, the Deputy First Minister added: “What I would say to Rishi Sunak is he has got a bit of a cheek, pitching up in Scotland to say anything given his autumn statement is deprioritising public spending.

“To have a real terms cut to the NHS in England is an astonishing position at a time when services are still recovering from Covid.

“Clearly that’s not something we can follow and wouldn’t want to follow.”