Camilla’s nephew Ben Elliot accused of being ‘at the heart’ of links between Tories and Russian money as party comes under pressure to remove businessman as co-chairman
- Sir Keir Starmer today called for Tory fundraiser Ben Elliot to be removed
- Elliot runs Quintessentially, concierge firm for ultra-high net-worth individuals
- One senior Tory MP said concerns were raised about the handling of donations
The Conservatives are facing demands to sack the Duchess of Cornwall’s nephew as party co-chairman over his business links to Russia.
Sir Keir Starmer today called for Tory fundraiser Ben Elliot to be removed over his ‘links’ to cash being given to the party by super-wealthy Russians.
Mr Elliot runs Quintessentially, a concierge firm for ultra-high net-worth individuals. In recent days it has deleted from its website reference to its Moscow office that employs 50 ‘lifestyle managers’ who pledge a ‘bespoke luxury lifestyle at our clients’ fingertips’.
The company has already become involved in controversy involving his step-uncle the Prince of Wales and a wealth Tory donor.
Mr Elliot’s position in the party is causing unrest among its own backbenchers as well as opposition MPs.
One senior Tory MP said concerns were raised about the handling of donations to the Tory party at 1922 committee meetings earlier this week, including Ben Elliot’s role in the process.
The MP said there was ‘no question everything is legal’ in terms of donations the party had accepted, but colleagues were very anxious that it might not be enough to satisfy public opinion if issues arose.
‘We must be clear all of the donations made to the party are above board,’ the MP said.
Speaking during a visit to Birmingham Erdington, Sir Keir said: ‘I think there is growing concern about the links between the Conservative Party and Russian money.
Mr Elliot runs Quintessentially, a concierge firm for ultra-high net-worth individuals. In recent days it has deleted from its website reference to its Moscow office that employs 50 ‘lifestyle managers’ who pledge a ‘bespoke luxury lifestyle at our clients’ fingertips’.
Sir Keir Starmer today called for Tory fundraiser Ben Elliot to be removed over his ‘links’ to cash being given to the party by super-wealthy Russians.
Last summer Charles was dragged into a ‘cash for access’ row after the Tory party’s co-chairman was accused of arranging a private meeting with a wealthy businessman.
‘Ben Elliot is at the heart of that. We need to strip Russian money away from our politics, not to allow it to influence our politics.
‘There will always be this danger if the Conservative government doesn’t go really hard on this that people will say it must be because you are reliant on Russian money that you are not going more quickly.
‘So, it’s in everybody’s best interests that Ben Elliot steps back from his role – and I think he should actually be sacked from it.’
Labour has seized on the Ukraine crisis to urge the Tories to hand back money from any donor who had made money from Russia or had alleged links to the Putin regime.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, have claimed that such donors had given the Tories £1.93 million since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019.
Last summer Charles was dragged into a ‘cash for access’ row after the Tory party’s co-chairman was accused of arranging a private meeting with a wealthy businessman.
The heir to the throne is said to have had an ‘intimate dinner’ with telecoms tycoon Mohamed Amersi at Dumfries House in Scotland – allegedly arranged by Mr Elliot.
The meeting was said to have been organised via Quintessentially, to which Mr Amersi had paid an annual £15,000 fee as an ‘elite’ member.
In the wake of the dinner, the 61-year-old businessman provided more than £1.2million to the prince’s charities and was given access to him.
But the Tory co-chairman insisted there was no conflict of interest and the meeting between Charles and Mr Amersi had been ‘entirely about helping to raise money for charity’.
Last September Mr Elliot was cleared of lobbying but urged to keep a ‘clear distinction’ between his role and business interests.
The watchdog started an investigation over reports that Quintessentially had arranged access to top politicians.
The Registrar concluded that the company ‘had not been engaging in consultant lobbying activity’.
However, the Registrar also advised Mr Elliott ‘to be cautious about the possibility of engaging in consultant lobbying activity (perhaps unintentionally) by not making a clear enough distinction between his role as a director of Quintessentially and his other activities connected to government’.
The Conservative Party has been approached to comment.
Source: Read Full Article
