Officials lobbied for Tory donor Mohamed Amersi to be considered for the chairmanship of the National Lottery Community Fund
–
The appointments watchdog is investigating how a lucrative public role was filled after claims the Conservative Party interfered to secure it for a donor.
William Shawcross is reviewing the appointment process for the chairman of the National Lottery Community Fund, a government body that distributes billions to charitable causes.
Leaked emails suggest Conservative Party headquarters (CCHQ) has sought to “rebalance” the leadership of public institutions by encouraging donors to apply for roles. Officials lobbied for Mohamed Amersi, a telecommunications millionaire, to be considered for the £40,000-a-year chairmanship while soliciting donations from him.
One official wrote: “Amersi is very interested in the chairmanship and certainly has the skills for it . . . [I] know you work with the public appointments team. Can we see that he is at least considered for the role. He would be terrific.” A colleague responded: “I agree with you entirely and endeavour to get the progress Mohamed deserves and suits as you rightly say.”
Amersi, 61, who has donated more than £500,000 to the party, reached the final round. Oliver Dowden, the Tory party co-chairman, who was then the culture secretary, ultimately appointed Blondel Cluff, a prominent solicitor and member of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Cluff, 61, praised the prime minister’s “inspirational and unifying” leadership during the pandemic. She is married to Algy Cluff, 82, an oil tycoon who was chairman of The Spectator magazine during Boris Johnson’s time as editor.
Shawcross, 75, the commissioner on public appointments, will investigate whether the process was “open and fair” and complied with the government rules. He has written to the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, which oversees the lottery fund, demanding relevant documents within 10 days.
Last month, Shawcross wrote to Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, saying: “The government’s governance code states that political activity, including donations to a party, must be declared by candidates.
“While political activity is not a bar to appointment, it cannot be a reason for an appointment. The public appointments process must be transparent and based on merit. The role of the commissioner is to oversee the public appointments process and ensure fairness to all candidates. I intend to review this competition to assure myself and the public that the process was run in compliance with the [code].”
Under the current system, ministers can suggest candidates at the outset of an appointments process. Applications are then opened up to the wider public. A so-called advisory panel — typically including a departmental official and an independent member — refers a list of approved applicants to the relevant minister, who makes the final decision.
Shawcross, a writer and former chairman of the Charity Commission for England and Wales, was appointed to his role by Johnson last year. His investigation represents a test of the government’s strategy of appointing allies to top jobs in arts, culture and media.
Ministers have sought to brush off scrutiny of such an approach, saying the same happened under New Labour. They have also defended appointments within the context of the wider “cultural wars”. Last March, Dowden declared the government wanted “proper governance of organisations to ensure . . . they don’t get pushed around by some noisy campaign group”, and warned that the “new nihilist left is an emerging danger”.
However, Peter Riddell, the former commissioner for public appointments, who stepped down in September, warned of a “more intensive effort” to appoint political figures to public institutions.
It also emerged last month that a No 10 appointments unit was adding donors to an invitation-only newsletter circulating details of vacant public roles.
Ben Elliot, the co-chairman of the Conservative Party, is the person responsible for managing relations with donors. He is also the nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall and the co-founder of Quintessentially, a luxury “lifestyle management” company providing concierge services to oligarchs and other billionaires.
Elliot, 46, has boosted the party’s finances since his appointment in 2019, and raised almost £40 million — roughly two thirds of all political donations — in the three months before the last general election.
He has been accused of failing to manage conflicts of interest between his business, political and royal worlds. Leaked emails reveal he and staff members at Quintessentially explicitly offered and facilitated access for paying clients to Prince Charles. A number of those invited to join an advisory board — an elite and previously secret circle of donors granted access to No 10 officials — are clients of his business.
At the same time as the party was lobbying for Amersi to be considered for the National Lottery Community Fund role, CCHQ officials were seeking the renewal of his subscription to the leader’s group: a circle of donors who, in exchange for a donation of £50,000, receive invitations to cocktail parties, and dinners attended by the prime minister.
Amersi did not renew his subscription. He previously said that he never gave money in the hope of receiving a public role, and characterised the party’s conduct as an example of “[access capitalism](https://archive.ph/o07bP)”.
A government spokesperson said: “This appointment was made in line with the process and principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.”
*Gabriel Pogrund*
Sunday March 06 2022
Just knew when there’s “appointment process” that Tories would be involved.
2 comments
Officials lobbied for Tory donor Mohamed Amersi to be considered for the chairmanship of the National Lottery Community Fund
–
The appointments watchdog is investigating how a lucrative public role was filled after claims the Conservative Party interfered to secure it for a donor.
William Shawcross is reviewing the appointment process for the chairman of the National Lottery Community Fund, a government body that distributes billions to charitable causes.
Leaked emails suggest Conservative Party headquarters (CCHQ) has sought to “rebalance” the leadership of public institutions by encouraging donors to apply for roles. Officials lobbied for Mohamed Amersi, a telecommunications millionaire, to be considered for the £40,000-a-year chairmanship while soliciting donations from him.
One official wrote: “Amersi is very interested in the chairmanship and certainly has the skills for it . . . [I] know you work with the public appointments team. Can we see that he is at least considered for the role. He would be terrific.” A colleague responded: “I agree with you entirely and endeavour to get the progress Mohamed deserves and suits as you rightly say.”
Amersi, 61, who has donated more than £500,000 to the party, reached the final round. Oliver Dowden, the Tory party co-chairman, who was then the culture secretary, ultimately appointed Blondel Cluff, a prominent solicitor and member of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Cluff, 61, praised the prime minister’s “inspirational and unifying” leadership during the pandemic. She is married to Algy Cluff, 82, an oil tycoon who was chairman of The Spectator magazine during Boris Johnson’s time as editor.
Shawcross, 75, the commissioner on public appointments, will investigate whether the process was “open and fair” and complied with the government rules. He has written to the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, which oversees the lottery fund, demanding relevant documents within 10 days.
Last month, Shawcross wrote to Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, saying: “The government’s governance code states that political activity, including donations to a party, must be declared by candidates.
“While political activity is not a bar to appointment, it cannot be a reason for an appointment. The public appointments process must be transparent and based on merit. The role of the commissioner is to oversee the public appointments process and ensure fairness to all candidates. I intend to review this competition to assure myself and the public that the process was run in compliance with the [code].”
Under the current system, ministers can suggest candidates at the outset of an appointments process. Applications are then opened up to the wider public. A so-called advisory panel — typically including a departmental official and an independent member — refers a list of approved applicants to the relevant minister, who makes the final decision.
Shawcross, a writer and former chairman of the Charity Commission for England and Wales, was appointed to his role by Johnson last year. His investigation represents a test of the government’s strategy of appointing allies to top jobs in arts, culture and media.
Ministers have sought to brush off scrutiny of such an approach, saying the same happened under New Labour. They have also defended appointments within the context of the wider “cultural wars”. Last March, Dowden declared the government wanted “proper governance of organisations to ensure . . . they don’t get pushed around by some noisy campaign group”, and warned that the “new nihilist left is an emerging danger”.
However, Peter Riddell, the former commissioner for public appointments, who stepped down in September, warned of a “more intensive effort” to appoint political figures to public institutions.
It also emerged last month that a No 10 appointments unit was adding donors to an invitation-only newsletter circulating details of vacant public roles.
Ben Elliot, the co-chairman of the Conservative Party, is the person responsible for managing relations with donors. He is also the nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall and the co-founder of Quintessentially, a luxury “lifestyle management” company providing concierge services to oligarchs and other billionaires.
Elliot, 46, has boosted the party’s finances since his appointment in 2019, and raised almost £40 million — roughly two thirds of all political donations — in the three months before the last general election.
He has been accused of failing to manage conflicts of interest between his business, political and royal worlds. Leaked emails reveal he and staff members at Quintessentially explicitly offered and facilitated access for paying clients to Prince Charles. A number of those invited to join an advisory board — an elite and previously secret circle of donors granted access to No 10 officials — are clients of his business.
At the same time as the party was lobbying for Amersi to be considered for the National Lottery Community Fund role, CCHQ officials were seeking the renewal of his subscription to the leader’s group: a circle of donors who, in exchange for a donation of £50,000, receive invitations to cocktail parties, and dinners attended by the prime minister.
Amersi did not renew his subscription. He previously said that he never gave money in the hope of receiving a public role, and characterised the party’s conduct as an example of “[access capitalism](https://archive.ph/o07bP)”.
A government spokesperson said: “This appointment was made in line with the process and principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.”
*Gabriel Pogrund*
Sunday March 06 2022
Just knew when there’s “appointment process” that Tories would be involved.