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| Peter Cruddas, the Tory party co-treasurer, who has resigned after footage emerged of him apparently offering accesss to the PM for cash. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe for the Observer |
The Tory
party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has resigned after it was revealed he was
offering access to the prime minister and chancellor for up to £250,000. He was
forced out after footage emerged of him apparently making the offer to
undercover reporters.
In his
resignation statement last night the senior Conservative official responsible
for collecting donations for the party said he deeply regretted the
repercussions of his "bluster" during the recorded conversations. He
added: "Clearly there is no question of donors being able to influence
policy or gain undue access to politicians. Specifically, it was categorically
not the case that I could offer, or that David Cameron would consider, any
access as a result of a donation. Similarly, I have never knowingly even met
anyone from the Number 10 policy unit.
"But
in order to make that clear beyond doubt, I have regrettably decided to resign
with immediate effect."
Cruddas,
the founder of online trading company Currency Management Consultants, is heard
discussing how much access different-sized donations would get, during an
undercover operation run by the Sunday Times.
In the
footage, he is heard to say: "Two hundred grand to 250 is premier league …
what you would get is, when we talk about your donations the first thing we
want to do is get you at the Cameron/Osborne dinners.
"You
do really pick up a lot of information and when you see the prime minister,
you're seeing David Cameron, not the prime minister. But within that room
everything is confidential – you can ask him practically any question you want.
"If
you're unhappy about something, we will listen to you and put it into the
policy committee at No 10 – we feed all feedback to the policy committee."
A Tory
party source said Cruddas's position had been made untenable by the
revelations. He added: "He has only been in position for three weeks but
has clearly gone over the top and well beyond anything that would be tolerable
to the party. It appears a case of him showing off."
The
newspaper claims the offer was made even though Cruddas knew the money would
come from a fund in Liechtenstein that was not eligible to make donations under
electoral law. Options said to have been discussed included creating a British
subsidiary or using UK employees as conduits. The overseas clients were, in
fact, reporters posing as wealth fund executives who had made clear they wished
to develop contacts with the prime minister and other senior ministers to
further their business.
The
revelations will be a considerable embarrassment for the government, especially
in the wake of claims in the budget of a crackdown on wealth in offshore
havens. Cameron has also made political mileage out of his intention to run a
sleaze-free government.
In the last
18 months there have been three major resignations: the chief secretary to the
treasury, David Laws, energy secretary Chris Huhne and defence secretary Liam
Fox.
During a
three-month investigation the Sunday Times claims to have hired Sarah Southern,
a former Cameron aide now working as a lobbyist, who advised that making a
"huge donation" was the best way to gain access to senior government
figures. Her connections are said to have led to a two-hour meeting with
Cruddas this month in which he laid bare the extent to which the party has been
prepared to sell access to Cameron.
Last night
Cruddas said he had acted without the knowledge of the leadership of the party.
A Tory spokesman added: "No donation was ever accepted or even formally
considered by the Conservative party. All donations to the party have to comply
with requirements of electoral law, and these are strictly enforced by our
compliance department."
The
disclosures appear to contradict previous claims by the Conservatives that
their high-value donor groups, such as the "leader's group", are for
genuine supporters who do not seek to influence policy in return for their
cash.
They also
raise questions about the role of the prime minister. Months before taking
office, Cameron warned that this type of "secret corporate lobbying"
was the "next big scandal waiting to happen".
Yet the
Sunday Times claims the meetings, at which Cruddas claimed "premier
league" donors could lobby the prime minister directly, have not been
declared to the public.
Cruddas,
who built a £750m fortune through financial spread-betting, is also a member of
the party's controlling board.
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