Tory donation controversy continues
Friday, 24 October 2008 1:00 PM
Conservative donations are still under the spotlight today, with the news that David Cameron accepted flights from Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch totalling around £34,000.
Mr Cameron flew on a Murdoch-supplied flight to meet the owner of News Corporation in the Greek island of Santorini after visiting Tbilisi to show solidarity with the Georgian government at the start of the summer.
He then accepted another private flight to Turkey for his family holiday.
But in the Common's register of interests Mr Cameron only mentions that a private plane was supplied by Matthew Freud, a public relations guru married to Mr Murdoch's daughter. No mention is made of Mr Murdoch himself.
This angered Labour MPs, who said Mr Cameron's interests register was inaccurate.
When Tony Blair met with Mr Murdoch as leader of the opposition he disclosed the fact he was his guest.
Denis MacShane, former Foreign Office minister, said: "First George Osborne, and now David Cameron, have made a mockery of the idea of transparency, disclosure and accountability for senior politicians as they seek to sell their party and discuss their financial affairs with rich foreigners."
A spokesman for Mr Cameron said it was Mr Freud, not Mr Murdoch, who paid for the flights.
A source in the private jet industry confirmed to the Independent, which broke the story, that the flights would total around £34,300 in total.
The new development threatens to scupper Tory attempts to move on from the fiasco over George Osborne's contacts with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
Yesterday, a call from Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne for the Electoral Commission to investigate the matter was rejected.
But officials at the parliamentary standards watchdog have not decided whether to investigate Mr Osborne following demands for an investigation from Lib Dem transport spokesman Norman Baker.
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