Cladding firms’ £2.5m Tory donations
Donations of £2.5 million have been made to the Conservative Party by property developers who built blocks of flats covered in cladding since the catastrophic Grenfell Tower fire, it has been revealed.
Several developers have made significant donations to the Tories since the blaze claimed the lives of 72 people in 2017.
The fire spread devastatingly fast because of the aluminium composite material cladding used on the exterior of the tower in London.
Now analysis has shown that companies and individuals linked to the use of cladding in other developments are also Tory party donors.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson received £50,000 from a
developer donor who had also advised on his campaign to be re-elected as London Mayor in 2012.
Many homeowners living in flats where cladding has been used have seen their value plummet and have also faced higher insurance premiums.
UK Housing Minister Robert Jenrick has agreed to pay
£3.5 billion to remove cladding from flats in England.
The Scottish Government has been given £100m for similar work here, but last week Mr Jenrick claimed Scottish ministers had done “absolutely nothing” with that fund to help flat-owners.
He claimed: “The funding they received from the buildings safety fund is sat in a bank account in Edinburgh and they’ve done nothing with it.”
A Conservative party spokesman said: “Policy is in no way influenced by the donations the party receives – they are separate.”