Louis Mian

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Catherine Neilan |Louis Mian

A billionaire allegedly behind a €2.4 million “strawman” donation to Germany’s far-right AfD party is linked to a company that has been making use of a UK loophole to give large sums of money to the Conservative Party. Alternative for Germany is currently under police investigation after Der Spiegel in Germany and Der Standard, an Austrian newspaper, reported that the party had incorrectly attributed the donation to a regional politician called Gerhard Dingler.

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Catherine Neilan |Louis Mian

Dozens of former public servants have joined private sector firms in fields that directly overlap with their past roles, opening up potential conflicts of interest. A joint investigation by Tortoise and BBC Radio 4’s The Naked Week found at least 36 people who worked for technology regulators or government departments are now at some of the world’s largest tech and social media firms.

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Catherine Neilan |Louis Mian

A former MP is promoting a consultancy that offers “direct access to key decision-makers” while using a parliamentary pass to meet senior shadow ministers, in an apparent breach of House of Commons rules. Laurence Robertson, MP for Tewkesbury for 27 years until losing his seat last July, set up the Theoc Consultancy within a month of the general election.

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Catherine Neilan |Louis Mian

Six firms which have signed a binding code agreeing not to employ legislators to conduct public affairs have members of the House of Lords on their books.

2 months ago | tortoisemedia.com | Catherine Neilan |Louis Mian

Labour has failed to declare a five-figure donation received by a Cabinet minister during the election campaign, an apparent breach of electoral law. Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary and Labour MP for Swindon South, accepted £15,000 from a firm called OPD Group Limited via her local constituency. She declared this on the members’ register of interest last July.