News
Cameron Refuses to Reveal No10 Guests
March 26, 2012 Nicola  |
The Sunday Times has revealed footage of Peter Cruddas boasting that Tory party donors could influence No 10′s policy committee.
Mr Cruddas quit after footage showed him discussing final donations which could secure access to the PM.
Mr Cruddas was secretly filmed by undercover reporters posing from a fake wealth fund based in Liechtenstein who were interested in doing business in the UK.
He told them that a donation of £200,000 or £250,000 gave “premier league” access to party leaders, including private dinners with Mr Cameron and chancellor George Osborne. He also suggested that any such donor could have their feedback on political plans fed back to the party’s policy committee.
David Cameron has promised a “proper inquiry” into donations after Mr Cruddas’s resignation but has declined to reveal whom he has invited to dinner at his home, telling BBC reporters that such details are “private”.
Number 10 ministerial aides said the guest list will not be revealed because Mr Cameron’s Downing Street flat is used as his private family home and he pays for the hospitality bill, not the tax payer.
However, known guests have included long-standing party donors such as former Tory treasurer Michael Spencer and the party’s current chief executive, Andrew Feldman, who is an old university friend of Mr Cameron.
Labour, meanwhile, is demanding an independent inquiry after Mr Cruddas’s claims. Mark Adams, a Labour supporter who prompted the Sunday Times investigation and later contacted the police, told the BBC why the issue was so serious.
He said: “Of course we would all expect that in return for the money there is at least an invitation to a reception.
“It seems the prime minister is reluctant to even reveal who these people are who dine with him privately - I find it truly astonishing that that level of access, secret access … can be achieved in return for a substantial donation.”
By Kate Wilson
[Image courtesy of The Prime Minister's Office]
