AN SNP MP has accused the Tory Government of being a "sleekit, grubby cabal" that cannot be trusted with taxpayers' money following allegations of cronyism and concerns around funding of the Prime Minister's flat upgrade.
Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central, raised an Urgent Question today in the House of Commons, calling for the UK Government to hold an independent inquiry into claims of cronyism between business leaders and government ministers, and into the refurbishment of Boris Johnson's home in Downing Street.
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It comes after Mr Johnson's former senior aide Dominic Cummings made a series of revelations on Friday including that he thought "secret" plans for the renovation of the flat, said to have cost around £58,000, were "unethical, foolish and possibly illegal".
It is reported that Mr Johnson was considering setting up a trust to fund the work, with Tory donors paying in to it. It has also been reported that the work was paid for by the Conservative party, following a donation to the party of a similar amount by a wealthy donor.
Mr Johnson is thought to have repaid the money spent on the revamp.
Addressing Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove today, Ms Thewliss said: "From the contracts to the Health Secretary’s pub landlord to the cosy chumocracy of the Greensill Capital affair to the casual text messages between the Prime Minister and Sir James Dyson promising to fix tax issues apparently in exchange for ventilators we never even got, and now questions over the Prime Minister’s funding for feathering his Downing Street nest.
“I wonder if the minister will agree with me that this is a clear pattern of behaviour and it absolutely stinks. This UK Tory Government is about to prorogue this House to duck further scrutiny.
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“In the absence of an independent adviser to investigate ministers, we can no longer trust them to investigate themselves and that much is clear so will the minister for the Cabinet Office instead instruct a full independent public inquiry to get to the bottom of this sleekit, grubby cabal in charge of the UK?”
Mr Gove replied: It is the case that the government, operating at a time when the pandemic was raging, did everything possible and we make no apology for it, to make sure that those at the frontline got the equipment that they deserved.
"The techniques that we used and the processes that we followed not only stand up to scrutiny, they were the same techniques and the same process used by the Welsh Government, by the Scottish Government, and by the Northern Ireland, executive."
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