The Independent Group leader Chuka Umunna has accepted £10,000 in funding from one of the Conservative Party’s top donors, according to a story in the political news publication Inews.
A donation from City banker Jeremy Isaacs was listed in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, published earlier this week and reported by Buzzfeed News. The sum of money, accepted on 25 February, shortly after the formation of the group, will go towards “funding the salaries and expenses of staff” in the former Labour MP’s office.
Who is Jeremy Isaacs?
Mr Isaacs is a founding partner of private equity investment firm JRJ Group. He has also been a member of Conservative donor club The Leader’s Group.
Members of The Leader’s Group pay £50,000 each year to get exclusive access to Conservative events and top Conservative politicians. Fee-payers are invited to “join Theresa May and other senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-PMQ lunches, drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign launches,” according to the Conservative Party website. Mr Isaacs also donated £25,000 towards the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. His last donation to a member of the Conservative party was in December 2018, paying backbench MP Tom Tugendhat £12,500.
The Independent Group said after its launch that it will name any donors in excess of £7,500 and will publish accounts regularly declaring donations in excess of £500. MP Chris Leslie welcomed the donations saying the group needed to “tool up” quickly. “We have had thousands of people giving small sums and some wanting to give larger sums” he said. “While we are not a political party yet, we have set out to say we will map over the rules on parties as though we were a political party and comply with the full disclosures of that.
“Obviously there are certain requirements to check the permissibility and above certain thresholds there will be publication in due course.”
In February, Labour MP Ruth George was forced to apologise after appearing to back an initial claim on Facebook that Israel could be secretly funding the group. She said: “On my earlier response to a Facebook comment, I unreservedly and wholeheartedly apologise for my comment. “I had no intention of invoking a conspiracy theory and I am deeply sorry that my ill-thought out and poorly worded comment did this. I withdraw it completely.”