Liz Truss faces the possibility of her first major fraud investigation amid claims she failed to declare “murky donations” linked to her leadership campaign.
Labor called on the Cabinet Secretary on Thursday to open an inquiry into the Tory favorite over the funding of a champagne dinner called “Fizz with Liz”.
The Lib Dems have also written to the Parliamentary Commissioner to ask her to open her own inquiry.
The Independent reported this morning that Mrs Truss was facing questions about why she did not declare the thousands of pounds in hospitality spent on smearing Tory MPs.
Labor MP Angela Rayner said Mrs Truss was clearly “of the same vintage as Boris Johnson”, who resigned after a series of ill-tempered scandals wore down the patience of MPs and the leadership of the ‘poll.
In her letter to senior civil servant Simon Case, Ms Rayner called for an “urgent investigation”, adding that there were “serious questions for the Foreign Secretary to answer as to why he did not declare this large sum of financing for hospitality”.
The event, held in Mayfair, was paid for by billionaire private members’ club owner and aristocrat Robin Birley and was attended by a dozen Tory MPs.
Asked why the dinner, which is said to have been used to sweet-talk Tory MPs ahead of her leadership bid, was not listed on the MPs’ register of interests, Ms Truss’s campaign said that it had “nothing to do with her” and that she was, in fact, organized. by Mr. Birley.
But that account was disputed by other MPs present who told The Independent they had been invited by Ms Truss and that she was the host and not Mr Birley, who “popped in briefly to say hello”.
A dinner invitation sent from Ms Truss’s Commons email address, seen by The Independent, said: “Liz Truss MP is delighted to invite you to a dinner at 5 Hertford Street on 26th October at 7.30pm. We would greatly appreciate it if you could RSVP by 10th October. Best wishes, Liz Truss Office.”
In his letter calling for an investigation, the deputy Labor leader noted that “by using parliamentary paper and explicitly inviting her colleagues as an MP through her parliamentary email address, the event of Ms Truss clearly falls within the transparency requirements of the Members’ Code of Conduct”.
The invitation sent to MPs suggests the event was organized by Truss’ office
(Supplied)
He added: “This sum of £3,000 was a donation from a very wealthy person about which Ms Truss has not been honest and transparent.”
Ms Rayner told The Independent: “Liz Truss is of the same vintage as Boris Johnson. She thinks the rules don’t apply to her and can take the British public for fools.
“There must be an urgent inquiry into the murky donations made by this millionaire aristocrat and why, as Foreign Secretary, she has not cleared them up.
“With Boris Johnson forced out of office because of his failure to be honest with the British public, we have a potential Prime Minister who is already openly breaking the rules before they’ve even got the job. Britain deserves better than this”.
In a separate letter to Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said there appeared to be “a compelling case that, by failing to declare the value of this dinner, Liz Truss has not adhered to the rules governing the Register of Interests”.
“The last thing this country needs is another Boris Johnson. Yet here we are again, this time hearing allegations of rule-breaking aimed at the Tory front-runner for Prime Minister. You’d be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja saw
“It’s clear that the Conservative Party has simply given up on standards, and they have no shame in mockery. Whether it’s non-domestic dinners or undeclared donor dinners, the two prime ministerial candidates seem to be continuing their record of Boris Johnson to destroy public trust.
A spokesman for Mrs Truss’s campaign said: “It was not organized by her, on her behalf or for her. She was invited by Robin Birley with a bunch of MPs. Mr Birley put her forward to discuss low taxes and deregulation”.
BRITISH POLICY
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Politics of Great Britain
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Politics of Great Britain
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Politics of Great Britain
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Asked to explain the Commons office email inviting MPs to the event, the spokeswoman later said: “I’m aware of the email, but it wasn’t their event. We’re moving on with the line. We had very clear advice.
“A declaration should only be made if there was a benefit to Liz, or if it was above the individual declaration threshold for MPs’ register of interests. Liz was one of a number of MPs in attendance.”
Despite recent gaffes, Ms Truss remains the heavy favorite to defeat Mr Sunak in the Conservative leadership contest. The latest YouGov poll put her 34 points ahead of Tory members.