🇬🇧NEW: Reporters have discovered the Conservative Party accepted a £50,000-pound donation from a firm called Pulse Accounting linked to scandal-hit businessman Doug Barrowman, husband of Conservative member of the House of Lords Baroness Michelle Mone. The party donation in 2020 was made months after a company secretly owned by Barrowman, PPE Medpro, signed large government contracts to supply personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Both Barrowman and Mone are already under scrutiny over the PPE deals, which came after an introduction from Mone to government ministers helped fast-track the company’s bids, according to a parliamentary report. As an Isle of Man resident, Barrowman would not have been permitted to donate to British political parties unless he had registered as an overseas voter. Reporters found that at the time of the donation, Pulse Accounting was owned by one of Barrowman’s business associates, and was previously owned by an offshore trust company directed by two of Barrowman’s employees. “There are grounds to investigate whether this was really the money of Mr Barrowman … not least of all the fact that a lucrative government contract had just been handed to his PPE Medpro company,” said Gavin Millar, a barrister and expert in elections law. He called for the Electoral Commission to investigate whether the contribution was lawful. #uk #covid #covid19UK #donations
It did not help them. It is like throwing money in a wishing well.
AML & Due Diligence Analyst
6dThe obvious wording here is "Unless he had registered to vote as an overseas voter" Which if he has, removes the illegality. Though it doesn't remove the overwhelming stench of corruption that the donation was made after said contract (I say this as an Isle of Man resident registered as an overseas voter, which is a relatively simple process).