Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Corruption? UK PM’s party collected £500k from disgraced Lord granted peerage

Corruption? UK PM’s party collected £500k from disgraced Lord granted peerage

A Conservative member of the House of Lords, whose peerage was forced through last year by the embattled United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson aka ‘Boris’ despite his role in a cash-for-access scandal, has handed the prime minister's party half a million pounds.

According to Business Insider on June 3, 2021, Lord Peter A. Cruddas donated £500,000 to the Conservative Party's central office on February 5, 2021, only three days after he was introduced into the House of Lords where he now sits as a Conservative peer, the latest Electoral Commission records show.

Johnson undermines vetting process


Businessman and philanthropist Cruddas was nominated to become a member of the House of Lords by Mr Johnson in December 2020, despite objections from the House of Lords Appointments Commission, an independent group that vets nominations.

The Appointments Commission was unable to support the nomination owing to concerns over allegations made following an investigation by undercover reporters from the Sunday Times after he offered them access to the then Prime Minister David W.D. Cameron in exchange for £250,000 in donations.

Johnson's decision to overrule the Appointments Commission was the first time their advice had been overruled.

The UK PM, already facing allegations of corruption and cronyism, including over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and awarding of PPE contracts, has been heavily criticised for collecting monies from Cruddas.

A separate rule for Johnson’s party?


The opposition Labour Party said the donation raised serious questions.

"The Conservative Party that brought us allegations of cash for access when Peter Cruddas was Treasurer seems to have turned its attention to peerages," Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour Party Chair, said in a statement.

"Whether it's handing out taxpayers' money to their mates or giving peerages to disgraced donors, there is always one rule for the Conservatives and their chums and another for the rest of us."

Professor Liz David-Barrett at the University of Sussex's Centre for the Study of Corruption said: "This is yet another example of the Prime Minister disregarding advice from the public bodies that are there to uphold standards in public life, in this case ignoring the fact that Peter Cruddas is understood to have failed the vetting process. That completely undermines these public bodies and puts the UK on a very slippery slope of declining standards.

"We will never know whether there is a link between political donations and elevations to the Lords, because those conversations happen in secret. But in this case, the timing will lead people to draw the conclusion that there is a link," David-Barret said.

Boris scandals


The Johnson’s United Kingdom (UK) government has maliciously frowned upon the [British] Virgin Islands as corrupt and has sponsored a Commission of Inquiry called by controversial ex-governor of the VI and buddy of PM Johnson, Augustus J. U. Jaspert, in the height of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson; however, has been dodging a CoI into alleged corruption and negligence in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scandals; however, continue to mount against Johnson.

QZ.com listed some of them in April 2021.

The furniture at 11 Downing Street


Britain’s Electoral Commission, a powerful independent body that regulates political finances and decides how elections should be run, announced on April 28, 2021, that it is investigating Johnson over who paid for the furniture in his apartment at 11 Downing Street, next door to the UK’s seat of power. It’s not exactly Watergate, but it could be damaging.

On his blog, Cummings alleged that Johnson had a “possibly illegal” plan for political donors to pay for renovations, over and above the £30,000 ($42,000) all prime ministers get for home improvements. All donations must be accounted for, and comply with strict rules. Today, the prime minister claimed he’d “personally…covered the costs.”

But his worst crime, for some voters at least, may be that he and his partner reportedly disparaged the decor left by his predecessor, Theresa M. May. The furniture was from John Lewis, the British middle class’s favorite department store, and neither cheap nor poor quality.

The “pile of bodies” in the wake of Covid-19


The UK was slow, and the government reluctant, to impose a second national lockdown in October 2020. Multiple sources reported this week that Johnson said he’d rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than restrict the country again. He denied saying it.

The official UK Covid-19 death toll stands at more than 152,000.

The European Super League


Johnson led the UK out of Europe, building up a huge amount of political capital with Brexit voters. He also stridently opposed plans for a European Super League, the universally criticised soccer tournament that was over before it began.

But it later emerged that he had met Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman of one of the rebel teams, Manchester United, in a corridor at 10 Downing Street, days before the league was announced. This raised questions about how much the prime minister knew before the explosive plans were revealed, and whether he’d actually supported it before the backlash became apparent.

The vacuum cleaner magnate


At the start of the pandemic, the prime minister needed to secure ventilators for the UK. It’s no surprise that he went to James Dyson, of vacuum cleaner fame, a Brexit ally and one of Britain’s best-known innovators.

The problem was that Dyson wanted to make sure his workers were not liable for additional taxes for coming to the UK, and texted Johnson directly to ask him what could be done “in support of this national emergency.” The response from Johnson? “I will fix it.”

To avoid possible corruption, there are rules that govern lobbying, and also the way that such requests ought to be communicated. Most people can’t just text the prime minister, even if there’s no material gain, as in this case. It never looks good when leaders make secret promises to billionaires. And in the end, the UK didn’t even need Dyson ventilators.

Conservative Party donor Peter A. Cruddas is sworn in to the House of Lords at a ceremony of introduction at the House of Lords, London. Picture date: Tuesday February 2, 2021.

The Johnson’s United Kingdom (UK) government has maliciously frowned upon the [British] Virgin Islands as corrupt and has sponsored a Commission of Inquiry called by controversial ex-governor of the VI and buddy of PM Boris Johnson, Augustus J. U. Jaspert, right, in the height of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Scandals continue to mount against United Kingdom Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson aka ‘Boris’.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×