Behind the Terrace curtain
Con Air
While Iain Dale is otherwise engaged in polishing the halo of St Michael of Ashcroft, may I direct readers to this interesting story...
Earlier in the week Tom Watson asked what was known about a company called Flying Lion, which appears to be registered in Bermuda, and which seems to have a more than healthy interest in flying members of the shadow Cabinet around various foreign locations.
The full list of those beneficiaries of this, er, eco-friendly munificence is available on the Electoral Commission website and includes names such as Michael Ancram, William Hague, Caroline Spelman and Andrew Mitchell. David Cameron has also received assistance from the company, but presumably this totalled less than £1,000 because he hasn't registered (as far as we can see) with the Electoral Commission as the rules require for donations that exceed that amount.
So far, so bloody typical, right? Well, not exactly because, c'mere, there's more.
All this doesn't answer the question: who are Flying Lion? Political Penguin takes a look and finds out that they are an aviation company registered in the tax haven of Bermuda, who have links with (surprise!) Lord Ashcroft (he resigned from the board in 2002), and run one aircraft - a Falcon 900EX.
In this correspondence between Andrew Mitchell MP and the Electoral Commission, following a trip he took in Uganda, he calculates the cost of the service provided to him by Flying Lion on the basis of a first class return, which comes out at £2,667.
You know, that would be the right amount if he was actually going on a first class return, but if he had availed himself of the Falcon jet then it might be something of an - let's be charitable - underestimate. Westmonster did some phoning around this afternoon and got a ballpark quote for a trip broadly corresponding to the one Andrew Mitchell took in terms of time-frame and destination and was quoted £80,000 to £100,000. So:
- Did Flying Lion merely write a cheque for first class travel on a BA flight or similar, or were the flights provided by that nice luxury private jet?
- If they flew by private jet, how much was the true cost of all the MPs who used it, based on the estimate that Westmonster got for the Mitchell trip (equivalent thereof)?
- The Electoral Commission have produced guidance to MPs on calculating the cost of the foreign travel based on the equivalent commercial cost which can be viewed here (relevant bit on page 12). Has the true equivalent commercial cost been provided?
- In the same document (page 9) there is a list of "permissible donors and lenders." Given that Flying Lion doesn't appear to be registered in the UK, are the donations kosher?
- On 20-21st November 2006, David Cameron flew to Darfur on a flight funded by Flying Lion, the cost of which must have come under £1,000 since it hasn't been registered with the Electoral Commission. We assume he flew EasyJet rather than private jet then?
- Who are Flying Lion, that they are so keen to ferry Conservative politicians around the world?
Just asking, like.
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4 Comments
Super stuff Westmonster. I particularily enjoyed Page 9 of the Electoral Commission's rules on donations.
It's my favourite Saturday read - sigh.
I have no life.
You call that research? read a little further:
"Overseas visits
3.13 The legislation takes into account that as part of their responsibilities MPs may
undertake overseas visits, the costs of which are met by an individual or
organisation that is not a permissible donor as defined by PPERA. PPERA therefore
provides that MPs can accept donations from individuals and organisations that are
not permissible donors, providing that the purpose of the donation is to meet the
costs of an overseas visit (Schedule 7, Paragraph 7(3)). Chapter 4, ‘Funding and
reporting of overseas visits’ provides detailed guidance on overseas visits
undertaken by MPs."
Flying Lion is a company controilled by Michael Ashcroft, who is a permissible donor and a well known Conservative party supporter. Howver, this is irrelevant because as stated, donations in kind for foreign travel are permissible from non-permissible donors.
Furthermore the value of the gift that is required to be reported is not the cost of providing (which the recipient is not likely to know) but the value of the commercial ticket.
"4.2 In cases where MPs do not receive a cash donation to meet the cost of a visit
because the costs are met by the host organisation or individual, MPs should
calculate the notional value of the trip, based on the equivalent commercial travel
and accommodation costs."
Yep, as Alex points out the devil is in the detail. The commercial rate for luxury jets is not cheap. See:
http://www.premieraviation.com/prices.asp
One-way to Paris starts at £13,500, and with a max of 14 seats on a Falcon 900, it's hard to see how all these flights could have been made at under £1,000. I think someon hasn't been declaring their expenses correctly.