‘Dinner from hell’ has Tory donors salivating

Donor pays £120k to win a meal with the unlikely trio of the Prime Minister and his two predecessors

A dinner with Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron was the top lot at the Conservative Party’s annual summer party in London on Monday night. The prospect of sitting down for what promises to be an awkward supper with Mr Johnson, who as a backbencher helped scuttle the careers of Mrs May and Mr Cameron, might have put off many people. But one unnamed donor bid £120,000 for the honour of attending the apparent “dinner from hell”.

IT may feel like an awkward occasion, but a dinner with Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron was the top lot at the Conservative Party’s annual summer party in London on Monday night.

The prospect of sitting down for supper with Mr Johnson and his predecessors, whose No 10 careers he may have cut short with his behaviour as a troublesome backbencher, might have deterred many people.

But not, it seems, the Tory Party’s funders, with one unnamed donor bidding £120,000 for the honour of attending the apparent “dinner from hell”. Perhaps they plan to bring a box of popcorn to see how the three get on.

The lot was titled the “Dinner of the Century” to avoid having to invite the only other surviving Tory prime minister, Sir John Major, who was leader between 1990 and 1997.

“We assumed he wouldn’t want to have dinner with Boris,” one Tory source said of Sir John, who has been a strident critic of Mr Johnson over Brexit and other issues.

A spokesman for Sir John confirmed he was not invited, but told The Daily Telegraph: “If he had he would have declined – as he has for all such requests in the past.

“There is no control over who might bid for ‘access’ and, for that reason, we believe it is best to steer clear. There are other ways to lend support.”

Other auction lots included a safari in South Africa, a wine-tasting trip, a shooting weekend on an estate in Scotland and a box at a Premier League football match. The party raised over £500,000 from the evening.

Lord Leigh, the long-serving treasurer, raised £40,000 by asking the guests to stand up if they could donate another £500 each.

The peer – who has been party treasurer since Mr Cameron was Leader of the Opposition – dropped his usual jokes to make a direct pitch for cash.

“If you give money to the Conservative Party, and you go to any bar in Kyiv and tell them you are supporting Boris, you are guaranteed a free drink,” he said.

Most of the Cabinet ministers were among the 30 tables, each seating 12. The only obvious absentee was Alok Sharma, who is overseas on Government business.

Mr Johnson was there for 30 minutes, shaking hands and giving a short speech, despite having an operation on his sinuses earlier in the day.

The Prime Minister’s speech – delivered to the distant sound of protesters supporting the striking rail workers outside the Kensington venue – was described as a “tour d’horizon” that name-checked virtually all of his Cabinet ministers, as well as his campaign strategist Lynton Crosby.

Mr Johnson joked that he was only there against doctors’ orders because he had had a “nose job”, adding: “But Lynton Crosby has told me to ask for my money back.”

He then made way for Michael Gove, the Levelling Up secretary, who observed the party was made for the V&A, with its galleries of fashionable clothing.

In contrast, he said, Labour was more suited to the National History Museum, and the Liberal Democrats to the Parthenon “because they have lost their marbles”.

Party officials were delighted with the evening, which was aimed at establishing a group of up to 50 campaign managers across the country.

One witness said the chanting from the entrance outside “focused minds on what is at stake at the next general election”. The source said: “We are well on our way with that with dozens already working. It is an important part of the ground war strategy that party chairman Oliver Dowden and his team set out at the away day for MPS.”