TORY’S £200,000 FOR BREXIT PARTY
Football and airline tycoon says May’s ‘diluted Brexit’ drove him to back Farage
THE businessman who handed a six-figure sum to the Brexit Party is a former Tory party donor worth £375million, it emerged yesterday.
Financier Jeremy Hosking, 60, who owns a major share of Crystal Palace Football Club, said he has given £200,000 over the past two to three weeks.
Nigel Farage had repeatedly refused to reveal the identity of the businessman who made the vast donation to his new party – originally thought to be £100,000. But Mr Hosking broke cover yesterday, telling The Telegraph: ‘On a Sunday chat show last weekend it was [implied] that I have given £100,000 to the recently formed Brexit Party.
‘This is not the case. I have given £200,000, and urge all who wish to see a proper Conservative Party in Britain to support the BP as much as they can. If the Conservatives insist on diluting Brexit, what hope is there on other issues where a robust Conservative position needs to be advocated?
‘I apologise to the stormtroopers of the politically correct “Brexit reversal conspiracy” that, inconveniently for them, I am a British citizen and resident taxpayer, not a Russian oligarch.’
Mr Hosking described Mr Farage as ‘the only person in a leadership position who has been telling us the truth for 25 years’.
The move, ahead of the European elections, will be seen in Westminster as a signal of growing discontent among Tory donors with Theresa May’s handling of Brexit.
Mr Hosking, who is also an investor in the Flybe airline, has donated to a number of pro-Brexit causes. At the 2017 general election, he gave the Brexit Party’s campaign. The party has spent the past month hosting packed- out rallies on a money-making tour of the UK.
Those attending are being asked to pay £2.50 for tickets to the hour-and-a-half-long events, meaning the party has so far generated at least £20,000 in attendance fees alone.
The events are held in large conference halls and evoke the style of American political rallies, with speakers accompanied by rock anthems as they walk to the stage.
Mr Farage has said the party had already raised ‘well over’ £2million to fight the European contests, with 90 per cent of it from some 88,000 people paying a £25 fee to become registered supporters.
In a press conference on Tuesday, he said ‘much bigger donors, traditionally donors to the Conservative Party’ are now in conversations with the Brexit Party. He added: ‘They understand and realise that to fight a general election seriously we are going to need big bucks.’
Commenting on Mr Hosking’s donation last night, a Brexit Party spokesman said: ‘We are very happy that he is backing us.’