Labour has written to two standards watchdogs after it was revealed that Rishi Sunak has been making short-haul flights courtesy of private funding from a small company linked to a multimillionaire businessman.
According to Guardian reports, the prime minister has declared that air travel worth £38,500 used to make short hops to Conservative events in Scotland and Wales in April were funded by Balderton Medical Consultants.
The address on the donations register was given as a west London property near Margaret Thatcher’s former home, although the precise origins of the money has been hard to qualify.
Land Registry records show that the property in Belgravia is owned by a firm based in the British Virgin Islands and Jersey.
Labour has asked the parliamentary commissioner for standards and the Electoral Commission to examine whether there has been a rule breach over the way the donations were declared. Recipients of donations over £500 are required to take reasonable steps to ensure they know who the actual donor is.
Labour is also calling for scrutiny of a £50,000 donation from Balderton, which was declared by CCHQ to the Electoral Commission in November 2022. It used an address in the Leicestershire market town of Lutterworth, which is the firm’s Companies House address.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party said: “This donation in kind was processed by the Conservative party, and the information then provided to the prime minister’s office. CCHQ [Conservative Campaign Headquarters] will now review the information provided. If necessary, any administrative errors will be corrected.”
They added: “UK-registered companies which are incorporated in the UK and carry out business in the UK are allowed to donate to political parties and candidates under electoral rules.”
“These rules exist so that, whenever a donation is made to a political party or MP, the public can see exactly who it is coming from,” said Emily Thornberry, the shadow attorney general. “And where mistakes are made in those declarations, it’s essential that they’re corrected and, if necessary, investigated.”
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