The Conservative Party has been fined £17,800 for failing to keep proper records over a donation to refurbish Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat.
An Electoral Commission investigation found that the party failed to fully report a donation of £67,801.72 from Huntswood Associates Limited in October 2020, including £52,801.72 connected to the costs of refurbishment to 11 Downing Street – where the Prime Minister lives.
As a large and well-resourced political party that employs compliance and finance experts, and that has substantial sums of money going through its accounts, the Conservative Party should have sufficiently robust systems in place to meet its legal reporting requirements
Louise Edwards, director of regulation at the Electoral Commission, said: “Our investigation into the Conservative Party found that the laws around the reporting and recording of donations were not followed.
“We know that voters have concerns about the transparency of funding of political parties.
“Reporting requirements are in place so that the public can see where money is coming from, inaccurate reporting risks undermining trust in the system.
“The party’s decisions and actions reflected serious failings in its compliance systems.
“As a large and well-resourced political party that employs compliance and finance experts, and that has substantial sums of money going through its accounts, the Conservative Party should have sufficiently robust systems in place to meet its legal reporting requirements.”
