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Ooooh, Naughty!

Within the law but not within the spirit of it perhaps?

Labour officials helped lawyers acting for David Abrahams to draw up complex covenants that allowed the millionaire businessman to pay up to £650,000 indirectly to the party, the Guardian has learned.

The arrangement, which was set up four years ago, was regarded as a "loophole" that allowed Abrahams to lawfully pay the money and remain unidentified.

Under the arrangement, Abrahams is said to have covenanted the money to his close associates and fellow company directors Janet Kidd, Ray Ruddick and McCarthy, the solicitor.

They then used the cash to donate to the Labour party in their own names. It is understood that Labour officials were well aware that the arrangement exploited what they believed was a loophole in Labour\’s recently passed legislation, the 2000 Political Parties Act, so as not to reveal Abrahams\’ identity.

In the words of a Labour insider, the two officials were then "given the job of shepherding the cash", aware that the arrangement was technically legal, even though it went against the spirit of the legislation which is to ensure transparency for all donations to political parties.

And the argument is that these people need to have more of our money, extorted from us through the tax system, so that they won\’t do such things ever again?

2 thoughts on “Ooooh, Naughty!”

  1. The newspaper article reports the existence of a contract (covenant) on this matter, that sounds like written evidence of jointly agreed action and possibly of purpose or intention.

    In the event that one or more crimes have been committed, might such evidence be supportive of criminal conspiracy to commit that/those crime(s)?

    Best regards

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