Downing Street was last night facing the threat of a police investigation over claims that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff hid more than £700,000 of donations to boost Keir Starmer‘s political career.
The Tories say they have obtained private legal advice to Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s most powerful aide, which points to a deliberate attempt to mislead the Electoral Commission over money given to Labour Together – the think-tank which played a key role in bringing down Jeremy Corbyn and putting Starmer into power.
The Electoral Commission found more than 20 breaches by the group, and levied a fine of £14,250 in September 2021, after explicitly telling Mr McSweeney in 2017 it must declare donations within a 30-day limit.
However, dozens of donations made to Labour Together between 2018 and July 2020 were not declared until after Mr McSweeney left the organisation that year.
Now the Conservatives say private legal advice given to Mr McSweeney contradicts Labour Together’s public claim the mistakes were due to ‘human error and administrative oversight’ and it had been as ‘open and transparent’ as possible.
Mr McSweeney initially did declare donations to the group when he took over as director of Labour Together in 2017.
However, early in 2018 he stopped reporting donations – apart from one disclosure of £12,500 from Trevor Chinn, a Jewish businessman and friend of Tony Blair.
It was only after Mr McSweeney left to work for Sir Keir as new Labour leader that his replacement, Hannah O’Rourke, found almost three years of donations worth £739,000 had not been declared and filed a series of ‘late’ declarations to the Commission.
Downing Street was last night facing the threat of a police investigation over claims that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney (pictured) hid more than £700,000 of donations to boost Keir Starmer’s political career
The Tories say they have obtained private legal advice to Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s most powerful aide (pictured together), which points to a deliberate attempt to mislead the Electoral Commission over money given to Labour Together
Now, in a letter to the Electoral Commission, Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the party has new information to justify the commission ‘initiating a formal inquiry and then to refer the incident to the police’ relating to ‘the breach of political finance laws’.
Mr Hollinrake said advice from lawyer Gerald Shamash written in 2021, which appeared to have been ‘passed from within the Labour Party to outside sources’, revealed discussion about how to handle the Commission – and admitted it would not be easy to explain Labour Together’s position.
Mr Hollinrake said Mr McSweeney was advised that Labour Together should blame the non-reporting of donations on an administration error.
But the Tory chairman believed the donations weren’t declared to protect the donors’ identities.
The row comes ahead of the publication next month of The Fraud, by journalist Paul Holden, which will include a detailed account of Mr McSweeney’s role in Labour Together.
The think-tank was a key plank of the drive by Mr McSweeney and his allies – including Lord Mandelson, who was sacked as US ambassador this month over links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – to topple Mr Corbyn from the party leadership.
Advance details from The Fraud have already prompted the resignation of Paul Ovenden, the prime minister’s director of political strategy, over sexual remarks made about Mr Corbyn’s former girlfriend Diane Abbott.
Asked for Mr McSweeney’s comment on the claims last night, No 10 referred The Mail on Sunday to Labour Together.
The row comes ahead of the publication next month of The Fraud, by journalist Paul Holden, which will include a detailed account of Mr McSweeney’s role in Labour Together. Advance details from it have already prompted the resignation of Paul Ovenden (pictured), the prime minister’s director of political strategy
A spokesman for the organisation said: ‘Labour Together proactively raised concerns about its own reporting of donations to the Electoral Commission in 2020.
‘[Their] investigation, with which Labour Together fully cooperated, was completed in 2021. The outcome was made public.’
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said it had ‘thoroughly investigated’ the late reporting of donations by Labour Together in 2021.
He added: ‘We were satisfied that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that failures by the association occurred without reasonable excuse.
‘Offences were determined and they were sanctioned accordingly.’
How he lobbied to get Murdoch invited to banquet (despite $10bn Trump lawsuit!)
By Glen Owen, Political Editor
Morgan McSweeney lobbied organisers of the Donald Trump state banquet in order to secure an invitation for Rupert Murdoch, No 10 sources have said.
The move – which has been interpreted as an attempt by Sir Keir Starmer’s embattled Chief of Staff to curry favour with the media mogul’s British newspapers – led to a flurry of diplomatic activity to ensure it did not irritate the White House.
Mr Trump has launched a $10billion legal action against Mr Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal over its reports about the US President’s former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Murdoch, 94 – who recently reached a deal with his children to place the future of his media interests, including The Times and The Sun, in the hands of his son Lachlan – was seated next to Mr McSweeney at the banquet. His fifth wife Elena Zhukova, 68, was also invited.
The other 157 guests – who feasted on organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes with a thyme and savoury infused jus – included Sir Keir, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and global business titans such as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook.
Mr McSweeney has faced intense scrutiny of the Government’s political operation since Angela Rayner’s resignation as Deputy Prime Minister over her tax bill and the subsequent sacking of Peter Mandelson, his close political ally, as the UK’s ambassador to the US over his own links to Epstein.
A No 10 source said: ‘Morgan was very keen to secure a place for Murdoch, who normally disdains these British establishment events.
Morgan McSweeney lobbied organisers of the Donald Trump state banquet in order to secure an invitation for Rupert Murdoch (pictured at the event with his wife Elena Zhukova), No 10 sources have said
‘He [Morgan] needs as much support as he can get at the moment. But it had to be cleared by the White House given all the Epstein stuff.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘Invitations to the state banquet are a matter for the Royal Household.’
But a royal source said: ‘The list was drawn up by the Foreign Office and the Government on the UK side, the White House on the US side and then allocations from the Palace.’
A News UK source said: ‘Rupert Murdoch was delighted and honoured to be invited to the state banquet.’
