Thread by @LizWebsterLD

Times reveals that another unreported event was taking place on the same day in No 10 as cheese & wine party.

Leaked docs reveal Tory donors given access to Boris Johnson’s top team during pandemic as part of secret ‘advisory board’

#JohnsonOut26

thetimes.co.uk/article/295ea6…

At 3pm, Johnson’s longest-standing adviser and confidant Lord Udny-Lister sat down to open the latest virtual meeting of the “advisory board”: a secret group of ultra-wealthy Conservative Party donors.

After their large donations, members of the advisory board had been granted privileged access to the prime minister, ministers and advisers at the top of government.

According to a source, board members — whose investments spanned property, construction and big tobacco — were alarmed by the effect of Covid-19 on their businesses.

A number of those present requested swift action, incl the relaxation of measures designed to stop transmission.

Lister — whose salary was publicly funded, albeit secretly topped up by a Tory donor — was all ears, according to a witness. “It was implied that what we said would go straight up to the PM. It was a 2way street. They gave us information on what was going on. We gave our advice.”

He was joined by Ben Elliot, 46, Prince Charles’s nephew and a prolific fundraiser who serves as Tory party chairman.

Tonight, Lister, 72, became the first senior Tory to acknowledge the existence of the board, saying he attended it “when asked” and as the “PM[’s] adviser.”

As the board is a Conservative, rather than govt, body means its activities fall outside remit of transparency laws. Members are allegedly told not to record mtgs, or discuss group publicly. The party had refused to say who members were, what its purpose was, or how often it met.

Now, a leak of several thousand docs answers those questions.

They reveal that before, during and after the pandemic, more than a dozen people were routinely invited to advisory board meetings. Of these, at least 4 are billionaires and 6 have appeared on Sun Times Rich List.

In total, the combined wealth of the board members, their companies and their families exceeds £30 billion. They have donated £22 million to the Conservatives, including £9.9 million under Johnson.

Many have enjoyed rolling access to the PM, ministers, and advisers within No 10.

New evidence suggests these individuals have been offered more than just access.

They have been granted the contact details of ministers and advisers and some have used them to lobby the government directly on Covid-19 strategy and procurement.

In some cases they have also received help and advice applying for public appointments. Some have received lucrative public contracts approved by ministers and honours signed off by Johnson, 57, while they were members of the board.

Those appointed to the advisory board and invited to its meetings during the pandemic were 👇👇👇

And

The story of how these individuals came to be appointed begins months before Covid-19, during the early days of Johnson’s premiership can be found here 👇

archive.is/2022.02.19-194…