Labor appealed on Thursday to the cabinet secretary to launch an investigation into the Tory frontbencher over the funding of a so-called ‘Fizz with Liz’ champagne dinner. The Lib Dems have also written to the parliamentary standards commissioner asking her to launch her own inquiry. The Independent reported this morning that Ms Truss was facing questions about why she did not declare the thousands of pounds worth of hospitality spent on the swag of Tory MPs. Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner said Mrs Truss was clearly “out of the same crop as Boris Johnson” – who resigned after a series of scandals damaged the patience of MPs and his lead in the polls. In her letter to senior civil servant Simon Case, Ms Rayner called for an “urgent inquiry”, adding that “there were serious questions for the Secretary of State to answer about why she failed to declare this large amount of hospitality funding”. The event, hosted in Mayfair, was funded by multi-millionaire private members’ club owner and aristocrat Robin Birley and was attended by around a dozen Conservative MPs. Asked why the dinner – said to have been used to woo Tory MPs ahead of her leadership bid – did not appear on MPs’ register of interests, Ms Truss’s campaign said it had “nothing to do with her” and the actually organized by Mr. Birley. . But that account was disputed by other MPs present, who told the Independent they had been invited by Ms Truss and that she was the hostess, not Mr Birley, who “popped in briefly to say hello”. An invitation to the dinner sent from Mrs Truss’s Commons email address and seen by The Independent says: “Liz Truss MP is delighted to invite you to a dinner at 5 Hertford Street on 26 October at 7.30 p.m. I would be very grateful if you could confirm your participation by October 10th. Best wishes, Office of Liz Truss.” In her letter calling for an investigation, the Labor deputy leader noted that “by using a parliamentary document and expressly inviting colleagues in her capacity as an MP through her parliamentary email address, Ms Truss’s event clearly falls within the requirements transparency of the Members’ Code of Conduct”. He added: “That £3,000 was a donation from a very wealthy individual about which Ms Truss failed to be honest and transparent.” Ms Rayner told the Independent: “Liz Truss has cork from the same vintage as Boris Johnson. She believes that the rules don’t apply to her and may think of the British public as stupid. “There must be an urgent inquiry into the shady donations this millionaire aristocrat made and why she failed as Secretary of State to come clean about them. “With Boris Johnson forced out of office because of his failure to be honest with the British public, we are faced with a potential Prime Minister who is already openly breaking the rules before even taking the job. Britain deserves better than this.” In her separate letter to Catherine Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said there appeared to be “a compelling case that, by failing to declare the value of this dinner, Liz Truss did not the rules governing the Register of Interests”. Commenting, he added: “The last thing this country needs is another Boris Johnson. Yet here we are again, this time hearing allegations of rule-breaking directed at the Conservative prime ministerial front-runner. You’d be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu. “It is clear that the Conservative Party has simply abandoned the norm and has no shame in being stupid. Whether it’s awkward non-domes or unannounced donor dinners, both Prime Ministerial candidates look set to continue Boris Johnson’s record of destroying public trust. “Liz Truss needs to come clean and explain who paid for what at her events. I hope the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards will get his act together before further damaging public trust.” A spokesman for Ms Truss’s campaign said: ‘It was not organized for her, on her behalf or by her. She was invited by Robin Birley with several MPs. Made by Mr Birley to discuss low taxation and deregulation.’ BRITISH POLITICS Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved British politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved British politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved British politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved Asked to explain the email from her Commons office inviting MPs to the event, the spokeswoman later said: “I’m aware of the email but it wasn’t her event. We stick to the line. We had very clear advice. “A declaration would only have to be made if there was a benefit to Liz or it was above the threshold for individual declarations on the register of MPs’ interests. Liz was one of the many MPs in attendance.” Birley, who donated £20,000 to Boris Johnson in 2019 and is the half-brother of Environment Secretary Jack Goldsmith, said last September that he had lost faith in the government. Mr Birley told The Times: “I don’t see this government as particularly pro-business. I am terribly sad about the situation.” Despite recent gaffes, Ms Truss remains the strong favorite to beat Mr Sunak in the Tory leadership contest. The latest YouGov poll put her 34 points ahead of Conservative members.
