Controversial Tory peer Baroness Mone is to take a leave of absence from the House of Lords in a bid to clear her name.
The lingerie entrepreneur has faced accusations in recent days over her alleged links to a firm awarded a PPE contract.
A spokesman for the peer said: “With immediate effect, Baroness Mone will be taking a leave of absence from the House of Lords in order to clear her name of the allegations that have been unjustly levelled against her."
The leave of absence means Lady Mone will not attend sittings of the House, vote on any proceedings and will not be able to claim any allowance.
The Tory peer has been accused of lobbying ministers on behalf of PPE Medpro, which supplies face masks and medical gowns.
She has categorically denied benefiting financially and has said she was "not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity".
She is currently under investigation by the Lords Commissioners for Standards after allegedly failing to declare an interest in the company, which won a £200million contract mid-pandemic.
This afternoon the Labour Party will try to force the government to release records of the contract awarded to the firm.
Lady Mone has previously denied having any relation to PPE Medpro.
Tory MPs have been told not to vote against the Labour motion, but it is not known whether the government will release the emails and texts.
Rayner accuses Tories of using pandemic to 'get rich'
This morning Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, accused members of the Tory party of using the pandemic as an "opportunity" to "get rich".
She said on Radio 4’s Today Programme that companies like PPE Medpro were recommended during the pandemic by Tory ministers, MPs and peers, and given "fast track" and "preferential treatment".
She described the so-called VIP lane as "a scandal of epic proportions".
Ms Rayner said that the company was awarded a £122million contract for gowns that "could not be used" and that £700,000 of "taxpayers' money" a day is now being wasted on storing the unusable PPE. The company has denied that the kit was faulty.
In his Covid diaries, published today, former health secretary Matt Hancock, claims he felt pressured by "extraordinarily aggressive" attempts by Lady Mone to try to help a firm win a Covid lateral flow test contract.
Mr Hancock wrote of his correspondence with the Baroness: "By the end of the message, she seemed to have worked herself into a complete frenzy and was throwing around wild accusations ... I read [her] message again, stunned. Was she threatening me? It certainly looked that way."
It also emerged that the peer was urged by Lord Bethell to show "propriety" in her dealings with government staff.