Donations to the Conservative Party from a wealthy group known as the advisory board should not be “painted as some sort of immoral act”, a government minister has said.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the wealthy group of Tory donors “have views about the things that will make the country prosper” – but denied that they could influence government policy.
The Financial Times has reported the donor club – which includes members who have given at least £250,000 – was developed in a bid to connect Tory supporters with senior figures, claiming meetings have been held with Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Mr Shapps was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether advisory board members are able to influence policy. The minister replied: “Supporting a political party should not, in my view, be painted as some sort of immoral act.”
The cabinet minister added: “I think that when people stand up for their beliefs and support a party, whether that is by joining a political party … or indeed donating to a political party, there is nothing inherently bad or wrong about that.”
Mr Shapps claimed the British public would not welcome strict limits on the amount donors could give to political parties, since it could mean “taxing people to fund your political parties”.
The senior MP added: “When you fundraise you have to understand it doesn’t give you a say over anything that goes on in government, but of course you are very welcome to hear about our policies and what we plan to do.”
The Tory party has refused to publish a list of the donors who have paid to be members of the advisory board, after Labour called for more transparency about the group – along with a list of ministers who have attended any meetings or engagements with members.
Conservative Party co-chair Amanda Milling claimed earlier this week that government policy “is in no way influenced by the donations the party receives, they are entirely separate”.
The FT report had quoted Mohamed Amersi, a top Tory donor, as saying the club is “like the very elite Quintessentially clients membership: one needs to cough up £250,000 per annum or be a friend of Ben”.
The name was a reference to Conservative co-chairman Ben Elliot, who also founded the luxury concierge service Quintessentially.
According to a new report in The Times, Mr Elliot has used his business partner Jakob Widecki, co-director in a separate company, to conduct “political activities” on behalf of the Conservatives.
The Tory co-chairman has also used his Quintessentially email address, rather than a Conservative account, for party business, the newspaper reported.
Anneliese Dodds, chairwoman of the Labour Party, said: “Every passing day brings new allegations about Ben Elliot. Boris Johnson appointed him as co-chairman of the Conservative Party. The prime minister should break his silence and explain what action he’s going to take.”
A spokesman for Mr Elliot said: “Ben Elliot primarily uses his Quintessentially email address and has done so for more than 20 years as opposed to using multiple inboxes.
“Neither Quintessentially nor Hod Hill have a commercial contract in place with or provide services to the Conservative Party, nor does any other business that Ben has an interest or shareholding in.”
