Liz Truss faces the possibility of her first major probe into sloppiness amid claims she failed to declare “murky donations” linked to her leadership campaign.
Labor on Thursday called on the Cabinet Secretary to launch an investigation into the Tory front-runner over the funding of the so-called “Fizz with Liz” champagne dinner.
The Lib Dems have also written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards asking him to launch his own investigation.
The Independent reported this morning that Mrs Truss has faced questions about why she did not declare the thousands of pounds in hospitality spent on rogue Tory MPs.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mrs Truss was clearly “clogged by the same crop as Boris Johnson” – who stepped down after a series of cleaning scandals dented MPs’ patience and his poll lead.
In her letter to senior civil servant Simon Case, Ms Rayner called for an “urgent inquiry”, adding that there were “serious questions for the Foreign Secretary to answer as to why she did not declare this large amount of hospitality funding”.
The event, held in Mayfair, was paid for by multi-millionaire private members’ club owner and aristocrat Robin Burleigh and was attended by around a dozen Conservative MPs.
Asked why the dinner – which was allegedly used to mislead Tory MPs ahead of her leadership bid – did not appear on the MPs’ register of interests, Ms Truss’s campaign said it had “nothing to do with her’ and was actually hosted by Mr. Burley.
But that account was disputed by other MPs in attendance, who told The Independent they had been invited by Mrs Truss and that she was the host, not Mr Burleigh, who “popped in briefly to say hello “.
An invitation to the dinner, sent from Mrs Truss’s Commons email address and seen by The Independent, said: “Liz Truss MP is pleased to invite you to attend a dinner at 5 Hertford Street on 26 October at 7.30pm We would greatly appreciate it if you could confirm attendance by October 10. Best Regards, Liz Truss Office.
In his letter calling for an investigation, the deputy leader of the Labor Party noted that “by using a parliamentary document and expressly inviting colleagues in her capacity as an MP via her parliamentary email address, Ms Truss’s event clearly falls under the requirements of transparency of the Code of Conduct members, management”.
She added: “This sum of £3,000 was a donation from a very wealthy person about which Mrs Truss failed to be 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 failed to come clean about them.
“With Boris Johnson forced out of office because of his failure to be honest with the British public, we are faced with a potential Prime Minister who is already openly breaking the rules before he even got the job. Britain deserves better than this.”
In her separate letter to Catherine Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said there appeared to be a “compelling case that by not declaring the value of this dinner, Liz Truss failed to adhere to the rules which manages the register of interests’.
Commenting, she added: “The last thing this country needs is another Boris Johnson. Yet here we are again, this time hearing allegations of rule-breaking leveled at the Conservative front-runner for prime minister. You’d be forgiven for feeling deja vu.
“It is clear that the Conservative Party has simply given up on standards and is not ashamed of its sloppiness. Whether it’s homeless scams or undeclared charity dinners, both prime ministerial candidates look set to continue Boris Johnson’s record of undermining public trust.
“Liz Truss needs to come clean and explain who paid for what at her nonsensical events. I hope the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards will get to the bottom of it before public trust is further damaged.’
A spokesman for Ms Truss’s campaign said: ‘It was not organized for her, on her behalf or by her. She was invited by Robin Burley with many MPs. He was installed by Mr Burley to discuss low taxes and deregulation.
BRITISH POLICY
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
British politics
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
British politics
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
British politics
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Asked to explain the email from her Commons office inviting MPs to the event, the spokesman later said: “I am aware of the email but it was not her event. We toe the line. We received very clear advice.
“A declaration should only be made if it benefits Liz or is above the threshold for individual declarations on the register of MPs’ interests. Liz was one of many MPs in attendance.
Mr Burley, who donated £20,000 to Boris Johnson in 2019 and who is the half-brother of Environment Secretary Zac Goldsmith, said last September that he had lost confidence in the government. Mr Burley told The Times: “I don’t see this government as being particularly pro-business. I am terribly depressed about the situation.”
Despite recent gaffes, Ms Truss remains the strong favorite to beat Mr Sunak in the Tory leadership race. The latest YouGov poll put her 34 points ahead among Conservative members.
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