His links to the Tory party chair and its major donors raise disturbing questions and have to be scrutinised
Money talks. Or perhaps more to the point, money gets heard. We know this to be the case in British politics by now, which is why stories that arguably should shock – like the weekend’s allegations that Conservative party chair Ben Elliot runs a secretive club of big Tory donors who are given direct access to the prime minister and chancellor – increasingly elicit little more than shrugs. Well, what do you think people give the government money for, exactly?
But even for the politically jaded, the notion that access to the future king can allegedly be bought feels startling. The telecoms millionaire Mohamed Amersi says he was invited to a private dinner with Prince Charles – who is married to Elliot’s aunt, the Duchess of Cornwall – after several years of paying an annual £15,000 fee to belong to the most exclusive tier of Elliot’s private business venture, the concierge service Quintessentially.