FLIGHTY TORIES IN DONATIONS MYSTERY

29-10-2007

Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell and Tory leader David Cameron are both facing awkward questions about their connections with Flying Lion - an aviation company based in Bermuda who have links with Conservative party benefactor Michael Ashcroft.

There's been some excellent detective work into this intriguing story carried out over the past few days by a trio of bloggers - Walsall-based Political Penguin (link here), the West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson (link here) and Sadie Smith's Westmonster (link here)

It emerges that Mitchell - Shadow Secretary for Overseas Development - has accepted three flights from Flying Lion which were, quite properly, declared as donations to the Electoral Commission.

One of the flights, to Uganda, was estimated by Mitchell to be worth £2,667, based on the equivalent fare on Emirates - but Westmonster wants to know if Flying Lion actually wrote out a cheque for the MP's ticket, or if the company provided its private jet (a Falcon 900EX) for the trip.

If it's the latter, they estimate the true value of the journey to be closer to £80,000-£100,000.

Parliamentary rules also state that donations must come from UK-based companies and organisations, which would appear to conflict with the fact that Flying Lion is Bermuda based.

And why would a private company want to ferry Conservative politicians around the world anyway?

No one is accusing Mitchell of any wrongdoing - as Westmonster says, we're "just asking, like".

Likewise the curious case of David Cameron's trip to Darfur with Flying Lion in November 2006, which apparently hasn't been declared to the Electoral Commission.

As all gifts in excess of £1,000 have to be made public, "we assume he flew EasyJet rather than private jet then?" comments Westmonster drily.

Precious little is known about Flying Lion, but controversial Conservative donor Michael Ashcroft was a director until 2002.