Fake donor fooled Clegg and went to Tories’ lavish ball
SENIOR figures from all three major parties have been caught out in a sting that reveals the seedy side of party funding.
Tory cabinet ministers, a Labour frontbencher and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg were covertly recorded as they discussed donations offered by a hedge fund manager posing as a potential donor.
Multi-millionaire Paul Wilmott became a member of all three parties to participate in the sting organised by Channel 4’s Dispatches programme in order to test how rigorously the rules were followed. He tells the politicians that he wishes to keep his identity a secret.
Mr Clegg was recorded telling Mr Wilmott that he could exploit a ‘very useful’ stipulation that donors can remain anonymous if they give less than £7,500 a year, under Electoral Commission rules. The suggestion was that he could therefore donate some of the money at the end of 2014 and the rest in 2015 and not reveal his name.
The Lib Dem party fund-raiser Lord Strasburger is then filmed explaining that they could ‘involve the family’ of Mr Wilmott, by getting them to send cheques, a move that is potentially illegal. Mr Wilmott hands the party a cheque for £10,000 in the name of a man he claims is his stepfather, which has since been cashed.
In the programme to be aired tonight Tory Cabinet ministers are understood to have been filmed meeting the same donor at the secretive Black and White Ball, an exclusive fund-raising dinner for which guests pay between £500 and £1,500.
The latest was held last month at a central London hotel and saw hedge- fund kings, City tycoons and captains of industry mingle with David and Samantha Cameron, Cabinet ministers, senior MPs and peers, who were hoping to raise £3million.
And a Labour MP in the shadow cabinet is filmed speaking to the same donor at a private meeting, in which it is understood the donor attempts to influence the direction of party policy.
Both Labour and the Conservatives deny any impropriety.
However, the footage will reignite questions about cash for access to politicians of all parties, just weeks before the General Election. Mr Clegg in particular has spoken about the need to make funding more transparent.
The programme features undercover footage of meetings between a potential donor and four Cabinet ministers in the Coalition, one shadow cabinet minister and two party leaders.
Lord Strasburger, who denies any wrongdoing, has resigned the party whip while an Electoral Commission investigation is held. The most serious claims are against the Lib Dems, who are under huge pressure to raise funds as they are braced for a collapse in support.
The peer is seen telling Mr Clegg: ‘Paul is trying to find a way to support us without sticking his head too far above the parapet and we’re working out how to involve his family in making donations.’
According to electoral law a party must identify donors if they give a party more than £7,500 in a calendar year. It is illegal to attempt to deceive the commission about the source of a donation.
The party denies Mr Clegg did anything wrong in explaining the rules, or Business Secretary Vince Cable, who Mr Wilmott was allowed to meet and lobby at a fund-raising event.
A Conservative spokesman said last night: ‘The fact that donors to the party are invited to attend events with senior figures is openly stated on our website. All donations are properly declared to the Electoral Commission and comply fully with the rules.’
Channel 4 Dispatches will be shown at 8pm tonight.
Peter McKay – Page 17
‘Head above the parapet’