Conservatives bracing for blue on blue court battle
ON THE face of it, the th High Court action that begins next week w over the dry – and frankly baffling – issue of data protection would barely barel raise an eyebrow even among privacy lawyers.
But the case, to be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice, threatens th to expose a huge row at the heart hea of the Conservative Party. In one corner c is one of the party’s biggest dono donors and in the other a former Conservative Conservativ MP who has the backing of a few Tory Tor grandees.
Ben Elliot, the pa party chairman and nephew of the Duchess Duch of Cornwall, has also been dragged into in the mess.
Mohamed Amersi, Amers 61, a tycoon who has given the party more m than half a million pounds in the past p three years, is suing Charlotte Leslie, Le an ex-MP for Bristol North West, under u the data protection act. Mr Amersi Ame is also planning to sue Ms Leslie for l libel over claims she compiled and circulated circula a series of damaging memos and documents do that – it is alleged – was sent to politicians, ambassadors and the heads of MI5 and MI6.
Mr Amersi, a 61-ye year-old venture capitalist from Kenya, was w very open about the donations that opened o doors to the highest echelons of the t establishment. Mr Ellliot helped get him an invita
tion to a dinner with wit his uncle, Prince Charles, that resulted resulte in the philanthro
pist donating £1.2 m million to some of the Prince’s favourite charities. c However, when Mr Amersi decided to try to reshape the party’s relationships with the Middle East, Tory To grandees began asking questions about abo his past.
Legal papers seen by The Sunday Telegraph reveal just how ho acrimonious this “blue on blue” battle has become.
He claims Ms Leslie L had tried to “undermine” his attempts att to set up the Conservative Friends Friend of the Middle East and North Africa (C Comena) by sharing “inaccurate and misleading mi information about him”.
His legal papers say sa Sir Nicholas Soames, the honorary president pr of the Conservative Middle Ea East Council (CMEC UK), which was set up u by Ms Leslie, was “concerned at what might be a serious reputational risk to the t Party”.
Skeleton arguments argumen filed for the twoday hearing explain that t Mr Amersi now wants full disclosure disclosur of those memos obtained from “pu public sources” and “shadowy unnamed contacts”.
Her skeleton arg argument insists her CMEC UK has “comp complied fully” with its requirement to hand over to Mr Amersi documents under data da protection rules and his application should sh be dismissed.