Tory MP David Morris ordered to apologise after lobbying for Russian’s company after £10k donation
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Tory MP David Morris is ordered to apologise after lobbying for Russian’s company after £10k donation
- Tory MP David Morris accepted £10k donation from energy firm Aquind last year
- Shortly after, he asked a question in the Commons that ‘sought to benefit’ the company
- Inquiry ruled the MP had inadvertently breached the code of conduct
A Tory MP has been ordered to apologise for breaking parliamentary rules by asking a question in the Commons that ‘sought to benefit’ a company that had given him £10,000.
David Morris asked the question and sent a follow-up email to the Business Secretary relating to energy firm Aquind – owned by a Russian-born oil and gas tycoon.
It came shortly after the company had donated the five-figure sum to Mr Morris.
MPs are prohibited from lobbying for financial or material benefit for a person or organisation from whom they have received a donation in the previous six months.
Mr Morris had accepted the £10,000 from the firm in September last year.
Tory MP David Morris (pictured) accepted £10,000 from energy firm Aquind – owned by a Russian-born oil and gas tycoon, in September last year. Shortly after, he asked a question in the Commons that ‘sought to benefit’ the company
But then in the Commons in October he asked for energy watchdog Ofgem to make regulations to ‘protect’ companies such as Aquind through a regulatory regime.
An inquiry ruled the MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale had inadvertently breached the code of conduct.
The report by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, concluded that Mr Morris’s question ‘sought to confer a financial or material benefit on the company’.
The standards committee recommended that Mr Morris apologise to the Commons by means of a personal statement.
Viktor Fedotov, a former executive at the Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil, has owned Aquind since February last year.
The firm’s donation to a Tory MP is entirely legal and Mr Fedotov is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Ms Stone said: ‘I consider Mr Morris’s conduct during my inquiry to be regrettable and disrespectful of the House’s system of standards.
‘Mr Morris has now acknowledged and apologised for his breach of the rules and for his conduct during my inquiry.
‘I have also accepted that his breach of the rules was inadvertent.’
Ms Stone concluded that Mr Morris’s question ‘sought to confer a financial or material benefit on the company’.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner (pictured) said: ‘This is an open and shut case of cash for questions. The Tory Party should immediately cease taking any donations from Aquind, as Labour has already called for. Our democracy shouldn’t be up for sale to Tory donors.’
The next day, Mr Morris emailed the business secretary with additional questions.
The commissioner found this also breached the paid advocacy rule.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner last night said: ‘The public will rightly be disgusted by Russian tycoons who bankroll the Tory Party being able to buy influence over our politics in this way.
‘This is an open and shut case of cash for questions.
‘The Tory Party should immediately cease taking any donations from Aquind, as Labour has already called for.
‘Our democracy shouldn’t be up for sale to Tory donors.’
Both Mr Fedotov and Mr Temerko are British citizens and Aquind is a UK-registered company so their donations to the Conservatives are entirely legal and are not accused of any wrongdoing.
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