The Labour Party has called for an investigation into Robert Jenrick’s Conservative leadership campaign.
In a letter to the Electoral Commission, Ellie Reeves, chair of the Labour Party, has raised questions over the “legality” of donations made to the Conservative leadership frontrunner.
As first reported by Tortoise Media, Jenrick received a £75,000 donation from The Spott Fitness, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), in July.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, the Tory leadership contender said that The Spott Fitness “as I understand it… is a fitness company that operates in the UK”, and the donation was “perfectly legal and valid”.
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“Details of the owners are set out on the Companies House website. It is all online. I have met people involved with the company. The names can be seen online”, he added.
Pressed on who owns the company, Jenrick said: “The owners of the company are set out on Companies’ House in the normal way — and they obviously support as many do my vision for the future of the Conservative Party.”
But Labour has pointed to records that show the company has no employees, has never made a profit and is indebted.
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In the letter to Electoral Commission, Reeves said: “I wish to raise serious concerns about the funding of the Conservative Party leadership contest and request a formal investigation into the funds supplied to Robert Jenrick MP.
“It has been reported that The Spott Fitness has zero employees, has never made a profit and is heavily indebted.”
In her letter, Reeves calls on the Electoral Commission to investigate the funds to “preserve the integrity of our politics”.
Jenrick is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the Conservative leadership, having surpassed his rivals in the first two rounds of MP voting to finish first on consecutive occasions.
The former immigration minister is vying for his party’s leadership alongside Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat at the Conservatives’ annual conference, which got underway on Sunday afternoon.
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Reeves’ letter to the Electoral Commission in full is as follows:
Dear Sir,
I wish to raise serious concerns about the funding of the Conservative Party leadership contest and request a formal investigation into the funds supplied to Robert Jenrick MP.
Robert Jenrick has so far received £75,000 for his campaign from a company called The Spott Fitness. According to the Register of Interests, these donations came in three equal amounts during July.
It has been reported that Spott Fitness has zero employees, has never made a profit and is heavily indebted.
Most concerningly, Companies House records show that in January, Spott entered into a loan arrangement with a company based in the tax haven British Virgin Islands. The amount of this loan from Centrovalli Ltd or any details on who actually directs this offshore entity are entirely unknown.
Donations to MPs must come from sources registered in the UK. It is clear that Mr Jenrick has serious questions to answer about the origin of these funds and their legality.
I am therefore writing to request an investigation into the funds supplied by The Spott Fitness, Centrovalli Ltd and those associated with this donation. It is vital that we all work to preserve the integrity of our politics and I welcome your cooperation in this matter.
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on X/Twitter here.
Politics.co.uk is the UK’s leading digital-only political website. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for all the latest news and analysis.
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