British Prime Minister David Cameron faced demands yesterday for an independent inquiry into explosive claims that access to the Prime Minister could be secured by making large donations to the Conservative Party.
Premier league donors could lobby Mr Cameron direct
The Prime Minister was plunged into a damaging row over party funding after Tory treasurer Peter Cruddas urged reporters posing as wealth fund executives to give more than £250,000 in return for direct face time with senior ministers.
Mr Cruddas resigned within hours of his claims being exposed by The Sunday Times and denied that party donors could in fact improperly influence ministers.
Mr Cameron insisted that was “not the way” the Conservative Party raised money and promised an internal inquiry to ensure it would not happen again. But Labour called for a full independent inquiry into the “incredibly serious” allegations of cash for access.
Danny Alexander, the Prime Minister’s Liberal Democrat Cabinet colleague, described the claims as “utterly disgraceful”.
The row led to renewed calls for reform of party funding. Sleaze watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly warned that the incident could not be seen as “an isolated event” and urged the parties to come through on their commitments to the “big donor culture”.
Mr Cruddas, who became the Tories’ principal treasurer only at the beginning of March, was secretly filmed claiming that “things will open up” for anybody willing to donate £250,000 a year. Speaking to undercover reporters who were posing as wealth fund executives, he claimed: “It will be awesome for your business.”He said that “premier league” donors – those giving £250,000 a year – could lobby Mr Cameron directly and their views were “fed in” to the Downing Street policy unit. He added there was no point in “scratching around” with donations of £10,000.
According to The Sunday Times, Mr Cruddas believed that any prospective donations from the reporters would come from Liechtenstein and would be ineligible under election law.
They are said to have discussed the creation of a British subsidiary and the possibility of using UK employees to make the donation.
Major donors are invited to private dinners and other events with Mr Cameron, Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague, he said.