Lord Ashcroft gives up 'non-dom' status to keep House of Lords seat | Daily Mail Online comments Still a Lord: Michael Ashcroft attends the Tory Party Summer Ball in London this week The Tory party's biggest donor Lord Ashcroft has given up his 'non-dom' tax status to stay in the House of Lords, it was confirmed today. His decision follows new rules forcing wealthy peers who are non-domiciled for tax purposes to surrender their Lords privileges. Before the election, the former Conservative Party deputy chairman finally came clean - admitting he avoided paying tax on his vast offshore fortune. He promised to end his non dom status. Similarly, Labour's Lord Paul agreed at around the same time to end his non dom status and start paying UK taxes. But five other peers, including Architect Norman Foster, have resigned to protect their 'non-dom' tax status. Lord Foster of Thames Bank was elevated to the peerage in 1999 and now lives much of the time in Switzerland. The architect, whose famous creations include the Gherkin in the City of London, sits as a crossbencher, meaning he is not affiliated to any party. Of the other four who have decided to stand down, three are Conservatives.

Lord Laidlaw - a Monaco-based peer who sought treatment for sex addiction two years ago after hosting parties with prostitutes - will stand down. He has donated £4million to the Tories. Joining him are former Conservative treasurer Lord McAlpine, and Lord Bagri, ex-chairman of the London Metal Exchange. Crossbencher Baroness Dunn, former deputy chair of the HSBC bank, has also informed the Lords authorities that she is leaving the House. They decided to resign ahead of a deadline later today, which forced them to choose between their life in the Lords and retaining their non-dom status - which allows them to avoid paying tax on all their worldwide income. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The issue of non-doms has dogged the Tories for years, following concern that wealthy peers were influencing British laws even though they did not pay full tax here. A non-domiciled resident - a non dom - is someone who lives in the UK but does not pay tax on his earnings made outside this country. A British citizen can register for non dom status by showing strong affiliation with another country where they were either born or where their parents were born.

Standing down: Lord Bagri and Lord Laidlaw both gave up their seats in the House of Lords to protect their 'non-dom' tax status They must also show an intention to leave the UK at some point - effectively giving them 'temporary' tax status. Non-doms must spend no more than 183 days in a tax year in the UK, or visit the country less than 91 days on average per year over a four year period. There are an estimated 120,000 non-doms in the UK. They include Indian steel tycoons, Greek shipping magnates, Russian oligarchs and many workers at City banks, hedge funds and private equity firms. Non-doms are taxed in the normal way for money earned in the UK and for any outside earnings they have brought into this country. Lord Ashcroft to quit as Tory deputy chairman - Mirror Online Lord Ashcroft to quit as Tory deputy chairman Tax exile Tory donor blasts poll errors Share Get politics updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Tory billionaire Lord Ashcroft is quitting as party deputy chairman and has slammed David Cameron for blowing the general election.

The Conservative leader should have won a "thumping" victory instead of blundering into a coalition, he said. Lord Aschroft also whinged Mr Cameron did not stick up for him enough when he was under attack over his non-dom tax status. The man dubbed Lord Cashcroft after giving the Conservatives £15million suggested they are now so rich they no longer need his money. He delivered his damning assessment on Mr Cameron in his book Minority Verdict, published today. The tycoon also predicted Foreign Secretary William Hague, a friend and ally, will leave politics in the wake of allegations over his personal life. He said: "I think he will make a future outside politics. It will be a poorer place without him." Lord Ashcroft laid into Mr Cameron for letting slip a 20-point poll lead over Labour and asked: "Why did it not translate into a thumping majority?" He blamed the Tory's leader's failure to explain what he stood for and his decision to take part in TV debates. The TV showdowns allowed Nick Clegg to present the Liberal Democrats as the "real change" party, according to the book.

Lord Ashcroft, whose non-dom tax status caused a huge row in the run-up to polling day, said: "Many voters had little clear idea of what we stood for or what we intended to do in government. "Too much of our message was focused on unnecessary and counterproductive attacks on Gordon Brown and Labour, which meant that voters were not clear about our plans. "This gave Labour's scare campaigns on Conservative plans more resonance than they would have had." The businessman made it clear he felt let down by Mr Cameron after it emerged he was a non-dom who eased the nation's tax take on his vast fortune by stashing it mostly abroad. Labour said he had reneged on assurances given in 2000 that he would pay UK taxes when made a life peer. Lord Ashcroft wrote: "It did prove to me that the Labour attack team was more effective than the Conservative defence team. They could have mounted a more spirited defence." Like us on Facebook Ayes To The Left: Tory "Donorgate" - A Comprehensive List! Tory "Donorgate" - A Comprehensive List!

What influence will all the health care companies, the accountancy firms David Cameron & Tories Bankrolled By Companies Set To Make Millions Out Of NHS Contracts Awarded By Government After Radical NHS Reforms , insurance companies and the big banks and hedge funders etc, who all donate millions to the Tory Party have on Tory policy? On our lives, these are unelected big business, banks and newspaper barons, that are dictating the way we live our lives. Below is a list, a must read, any you see I have left off please post and I will research them and add them on, this is important, this is an outright threat to our democracy, our NHS, our jobs etc. You cannot trust this government, they have blatantly lied, connived, deliberate mislead the us, stole our votes fraudulently, let's kick them out BEFORE they do much more damage and BEFORE they privatise our NHS. It is naive to think that all these people donate millions of pounds to the Conservative party and want nothing back in return, of course they do. Stuart Wheeler who has donated millions of pounds to the Tories even admits this.

(See below) NHS Health Secretary Andrew Lansley 's restructuring of the NHS will be as music to the ears of private healthcare companies – many owned by private equity firms who have made generous donations to the Tory party in the recent past. How much influence do big money donors hope to buy with their money? As former multi-millionaire Tory donor who has donated millions to the Conservatives Stuart Wheeler says, "absolutely natural and unobjectionable" for big donors to gain influence over policy". So we can presume from his statement that Mr Wheeler has in fact gained influence from the Conservative party/government, in return for his donations? In just eight short months many of the private healthcare companies have donated over three quarters of a million pounds (£750.000) to the Conservative party, these are companies that are set to cash in on the Tory led government's plans to totally gut the NHS. Under the Tories’ total dismantling and destruction of the health service, despite protests, GPs will be forced to take charge of the purse strings of the £80 billion budget. It could mean private firms land multi-million-pound contracts as hard-pressed family doctors hire them to deal with other parts of the service and handle the accounts.

There are fears those companies will end up buying services like operations and hospital care from the private sector under "any willing provider" instead of buying care from the NHS under the present preferred provider scheme. The NHS will become just another part of the "any willing provider" system. Under Lansley's plans, hospitals will be allowed to provide unlimited private care, where any "willing provider" will be able to deliver services. With competition law now set to be enforced, NHS hospitals will have no more right to carry out NHS operations than private healthcare firms. This is already happening under NHS Direct pilot schemes where the service has been renamed NHS 111 and already these pilot schemes are reporting and sharp increase in the number of people being sent to Accident & Emergency Services, as untrained staff feel unable to make a judgement call on patients ringing the service. (Medically trained operators are being replaced with people who have undergone just 72 hours training) GPs are, generally speaking, neither managers nor accountants. As a result, other "winners" will be private management consultants such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey, who also anticipate huge income from Lansley's restructuring.

Tory Donors and the NHS Lord Blyth - Boots Chemists deputy chairman. Tory Donor. Stands to gain from the break up and privatisation of the NHS wants to buy the Walk in Centres. UK Pharmaceutical Industry Courting the Conservative party - The UK pharmaceutical industry has also begun gearing up for a change in government, as drug companies have been reshuffling their public affairs teams and courting the Conservative party. The American Pharmaceutical Group handed public affairs briefs to Hanover Communications, who also represents National Health Service (NHS) cancer screening departments, and in December 2009 hosted a meeting on the Conservatives’ approach to regulating business. John Nash - Hedge fund boss is one of the major Conservative donors with close ties to the healthcare industry. John Nash and wife Caroline gave £203,500 to the party over the past five years. Andrew Lansley also accepted a £21,000 donation for his private office from John Nash, chairman of Care UK. Mr Nash STILL continues to work as a consultant to the firm, which provides walk-in centres, GP surgeries and other specialist services, after selling his majority stake to a private equity firm last year.

Lansley has been accused of a direct conflict of interest because Care UK makes 96 per cent of its money from the NHS. At the time the Lib Dems slammed the payments as a “staggering conflict of interest”. Now the Liberal Democrats are totally ignoring this and helping the Tories vote the decimation of our NHS through parliament. MORE than a year after a company chairman’s wife donated £21,000 to the office of Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, the same company has been awarded a £53m NHS prison health contract. The contract, awarded by the North-East Offender Health Commissioning Unit, has been awarded to Care UK rather than current NHS providers. Private Health Care - companies had donated £750,000 to the Tory party, asking: Doesn't the Prime Minister see the conflict of interest in this? Sir Peter Gershon - Chair of Healthcare UK and whose company stands to benefit millions from NHS cuts, which Sir Peter himself helped the Tories to draw up! If ever there was a clear cut case of conflict of interests this is it.

Ryan Robson - Major Tory donor who has given the party £252,429.45 his company invests in numerous private healthcare firms including Choice and Christchurch Court, which provide specialist and residential care. His donations included £50,000 to be a member of the party’s “Leader’s Group”, a secretive cash-for-access club. The would-be MP, who tried but failed to get selected as the election candidate in Bracknell, is managing partner at Sovereign Capital. Dolar Popat - Nursing and care home tycoon has given the Conservatives £209,000. Has amassed an estimated £42million fortune as founder and chief of TLC Group, which provides services for the elderly. Mr Cameron made the businessman a peer shortly after entering No10 last May, and Lord Popat’s donations include a £25,000 gift registered a week after the Tories’ health reforms were unveiled last July. Sir Christopher Gent - non-executive chairman of GlaxoSmithKline, (drug company) has given £113,400 to the Conservative Party.

IC Technology- which provides computer services to the NHS, has handed the Tories £70,000 over the past two years. Philip Scott - chief of the Priory Group, has donated £20,000. The famous Priory Clinic is private but Mr Scott has revealed in the past most of its income comes from NHS or local council referrals. The Trichological Clinic Limited - which operates out of Harrods has handed balding David Cameron and the Tories £10,000 last year. Senior Tories - who helped formulate the party’s health policy in Opposition have had links to private health care and health insurance firms. Julian Schild - When in opposition Shadow minister Stephen O’Brien’s office received three payments totalling £40,000 from Julian Schild. Mr Schild’s family made £184million in 2006 by selling hospital bed-makers Huntleigh Technology. BUPA - Mark Simmonds MP - A second shadow health minister Mark Simmonds accepted a US trip to Boston worth £4,512 from private health provider BUPA. Lord McColl of Dulwich - Tory health spokesman in the Lords, is a consultant of Endeavour Healthcare.

David cameron has previously defended Lord McColl of Dulwich, after it emerged that the peer is a paid consultant to a new private healthcare company that provides a paid-for rival to the NHS's GP service. Dr Mark Lloyd-Davies - Defeated Prospective Tory MP for Bristol South. Would have made a valuable addition to the Conservatives’ pharma-friendly team. According to the Conservative website: “Mark is the UK head of the pharmaceutical government affairs and communications team in the world's largest healthcare company [Sanofi-Aventis], so he’s already familiar with the workings of Westminster.” Mr Heathcoat-Amory- FORMER Tory MP for Wells and a former Treasury minister, registered a payment of "£1,671.08 and health benefit to the value of £86.17" in July from Western Provident Association, which provides private medical insurance policies. The former MP also worked as a non-executive director for the firm, which pays him around £20,000 a year, as well as his former duties as a constituency MP.

Helen Whately - Former Conservative parliamentary candidate has shrugged off any suggestion of a conflict of interest, after it emerged she works for the same consultants helping draw up plans which could see the A+E or maternity unit at Kingston Hospital removed. Her website states she works as a management consultant specialising in healthcare, mainly in the NHS but does not mention her employer McKinsey. Aventis Pharma - Andrew Lansley and Simon Burns attended an oncology conference in the US paid for by Aventis Pharma. Norbrook Pharmaceuticals - Millions of pounds donated to the Tories by Norbrook Pharmaceuticals, which boasts its mission is to "aggressively expand" its healthcare business. Johnson & Johnson - Tory register reveals donations from a lobbying group that works for Johnson & Johnson, the US multi-national health and hygiene corporation. London Secure Services - Mr Lansley has also registered a donation from London Secure Services, a care firm that sparked outrage after it ran up £1.24million in debts and made its staff redundant with two hours notice. Banker and Hedge Fund Tory Donors Michael-Alen Buckley - Chairman, RAB Capital Founded the hedge fund with Phillip Richards on 1 April 1999. The company was floated in 2004.

Has donated to the Tory party Henry Angest - Flowidea Ltd Arbuthnot Banking Group Plc £1,347, 600 Zac and Ben Goldsmith - The world's most famous banking dynasty. The Conservative party hid donations of £40,000 from from Zac Goldsmith, his brother Ben and two billionaire brothers in an apparent breach of the law. The donations were recorded on official records as coming from Unicorn Administration, an intermediary company that helps run the finances of the super-rich. Stanly Fink... Co-treasurer, Conservative Party, is apparently "the Godfather" of the hedge fund industry and runs hedge fund International Standard Asset Management . Wants to raise £40m to “blow Labour out of the water” by the end of 2009. (he didn't succeed) Recently left Man Group and started ISAM, another hedge fund. A keen philanthropist who backs three academy schools, he is a multimillionaire and a big Tory party donor Fink also a key donor to the Boris Johnson mayoral campaign he donated more than £1 million to the Tories in the run up to the 2010 general election.

David Cameron - has taken millions of pounds in donations from hedge-fund managers whose firms made fortunes taking bets that the share price in British banks would fall. Donors are entitled to attend intimate suppers with Cameron. These intimate suppers were held at Cameron's House of Commons offices but after being criticised by the standards watchdog they now take place outside parliament. Jeremy Isaacs - Heads his own investment firm Stepped down from running Lehman Brothers’ European operations just before the crash. Now runs his own investment firm with ex-colleague Roger Nagioff, who was head of Lehmans’ fixed income division. Has been a big Conservative party donor. Michael Hintze ...Head of CQS, who has given £662,500 and whose organisation shorted shares in Bradford and Bingley. This multi-millionaire philanthropist manages a hedge fund worth £4.5bn. He has given about £20m to charity and is worth £250m. Caught up in the cash for honours scandal when he revealed he had given the Tory party about £1m and loaned them £2.5m more. Paul Ruddock...

Chief Executive Landsdowne Hedge Fund said to have made £100m short-selling Northern Rock, has given the Conservatives almost £210,000. David Craigen...who has donated £50,000. Paul Ruddock and David Craigen own investment firm, Lansdowne, and short sold shares in HBOS. Howard Shore - A multi-millionaire banker and Tory donor Raising £2 million for the Tory party is sponsoring David Cameron’s lavish £1,000-a-head Tory ball next week (Feb 2011) Mr Shore will be one of dozens of super-rich bankers toasting the Government’s failure to make a major dent in their ­£7billion ­bonuses. The star guests will be Prime Minister David Cameron and ­Chancellor George Osborne. Premier tickets for the event cost £1,000 each, or £10,000 for a table. The cheapest seats for less well-heeled Tories are £400 a head or £4,000 a table.

Up to 1,200 ­people, including regulars Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha, will attend next Monday’s bash in South London, which aims to raise £2million for the Party. RF Trustee Co - Several donors, but five of these belonged to the Fleming Banking Family. £1, 689, 500 Simon Dingemans - Goldman Sachs A mergers and acquisitions banker, Mr Dingemans has handled deals worth £250bn and is one of the most highly paid in the City. Called in by BAA to plot a defence against Ferrovial’s takeover bid but was beaten by Citigroup, adviser to the Spanish conglomerate. Pierre Rolin - Credit Suisse Mr Rolin gave £12,000 to the Tory Party in February last year, taking his total donations to £88,000. He also moved in the same circles as Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, giving his office the initial £80,000 capital for a study into the Olympic Park's new visitor attraction . Mr Rolin is currently being pursued through the courts by creditors for £43 million.

Prominent figures from the financial services industry - gave £500,000 (€574,838) to the UK's Conservative Party in the second week of the General Election campaign, amounting to nearly a quarter of all of donations to the opposition party. Accountancy Giants Accountancy giants KMPG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Grant Thornton have donated to the Conservative party the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash and non-cash donations such as staff secondments and consultancy services. KPMG - Donated over £400.000 to Tories Pricewaterhouse Coopers - Donated over £500.000 This company anticipates huge income from Andrew Lansley's radical restructuring of the NHS. Deloitte - £400,000 worth of non-cash services from Deloitte since 2005 Grant Thornton - made a non-cash donation of £15,000 over the same period It is no surprise that these companies gave around £1 million in staff time to the Tory party, pre-election, to help get them into power!

Question that *MUST* be asked, if this is so, then these companies MUST have known what the Cameron, Lansley and the Tories were intending to do with the NHS. Which PROVES that Cameron, Osborne and Lansley were LYING and gaining votes under false pretenses! Remember Cameron said; "there will be no more top down reorganisation of the NHS" All these companies benefited from the government's decision to close down the Audit Commission, the public spending quango. The Tories went on accepting almost £100,000 worth of donations from the disgraced tax exile more than a year after they said he had stopped supporting them financially. Seeming to be seen as a guardian of public health, Lansley wants the makers of fattening foods to pay for adverts highlighting the dangers of obesity, whilst at the same ensuring that the regulation of their unhealthy foods will become even lighter thanks to his abolition of the Food Standards Agency . Law Firms DLA Piper/Nick Clegg/Francis Maude - Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, today defended the government after it emerged that the law firm where the deputy prime minster's wife works has a long-standing contract with his department.

Maude said it would be "ridiculous" to debar companies whose employees are related to ministers after criticism over the Cabinet Office paying the legal firm that employs Miriam González Durántez £88,000 this year. Spread Betting Michael Spencer - Chief Executive IPG Ltd Intercaptial Private Group £3,832,400 Billionaire Oxford alumnus and founder of ICAP, one of the world’s biggest brokers. He is also the party’s co-treasurer, owns the spreadbetting firm City Index and has other business interests. He has raised millions for the Conservative party. Stuart Wheeler - in the past has given £3.933. 300 said it is "absolutely natural and unobjectionable" for big donors to gain influence over policy. "Fairness isn't the be all and end all." (So we can assume that Stuart Wheeler is gaining influence in the Tory party for his mega bucks?) Dodgy Arms Deals Tory Donors May Makhzoumi - gave £50.000 to Tories on the eve of the election, the Tories received large donations from the wives of two controversial Middle Eastern businessmen linked to arms deals.

Data from the Electoral Commission showed May Makhzoumi gave the Tories £50,000 a week before the election. Her billionaire Lebanese husband, Fouad, was involved in a weapons deal scandal that brought down the former Tory defence minister, Jonathan Aitken. Rosemary Said - £50,000 donation was recorded a week earlier from Rosemary Said, the wife of Wafic Said. Mr Said was linked to a deal between BAE and Saudi Arabia, which was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office following allegations of bribery. Mr Said, born in Syria, is barred from making donations to British political parties as he is not deemed to be a British resident. He has denied distributing commissions to members of the Saudi royal family. Big Business Tory Donors Andrew Cook - Mr Cook donated £500,000 to the Conservative party, along with the £54,000 worth of plane flights to David Cameron largest donor in Yorkshire and caused uproar when it emerged that Cook had successfully lobbied to prevent Sheffield Forgemasters from getting a government loan, which remains a highly controversial issue - Nick Clegg deliberately mislead the House over this issue.

The man who donated almost £750,000 in cash and flights to Cameron's campaign started an email "I am the largest donor to the conservative party" and then went on to call for the loan to Forgemasters to be axed. Downing Street are unable to confirm if Cameron was personally lobbied. Question; Why? It is in the public interest, possible corruption of our government always is! Six more questions spring to mind 1. Why was Forgemasters loan cancelled when other loans to business weren't? 2. Was Cameron lobbied by Andrew Cook, the owner of a rival company to Sheffield Forgemasters and who has made several unsuccessful bids to buy the company in the past? 3. And was Mr Cook, the Tory donor, present on any one of the 23 flights David Cameron accepted from him? 4. Why was the loan refused, when it so obviously more than met the criteria Cameron, Osborne, Clegg and Vince Cable (remember him?) set to try and grow British manufacturing jobs? 5. And what an earth was Nick Clegg doing allowing this to happen in his own back yard? 6. And has Nick Clegg been reprimanded for deliberately misleading the House of Commons?

David Ross - Founder, Carphone Warehouse Quit as London Mayor Boris Johnson’s aide after he used £120m of his company’s shares to back personal loans. The ex-public schoolboy, who has donated more than £150,000 to the Tories, is a friend of Lord Marland the ex-party treasurer Former Carphone Warehouse Tory donor and a friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, has endured a tumultuous recession and was forced to stand down from the boards of Carphone and a number of other firms after it emerged he used shares to back investments in commercial property. Aidan Heavey - chief executive of Tullow Oil, has donated £5,500. Simon Wolfson - Next boss given the party £293,000 and is understood to be pivotal in encouraging business figures to sign a letter opposing Labour's plan to increase National Insurance. The letter, released during the election campaign, provided a major boost for the Tories. AWARDED A PEERAGE BY DAVID CAMERON! (The NI rise was held back for bosses but employees had to pay increased contributions - another lie from Cameron.) Hunter Boots - which is owned by Tory minister and long-term donor to the Conservative Party Lord Marland.

Prime Minister David Cameron gave two pairs of Hunter wellies to President Barack Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha. (Bet Cameron did NOT pay for them!) Reuben Brothers - £14,390 came from the Reuben brothers, property developers and aluminium tycoons who made a fortune in Russia David Rowland.... David Cameron asked David Rowland to become party Treasurer, despite Rowlands past shady deals, Cameron was later forced to rescind the offer but not before he took £137.000 off of David Rowland, just weeks before Rowland was forced to step down as Tory party treasurer. Further, Rowland 65, gave the Tories a cash injection of £2.7 million in the run up to the 2010 general election. The Bamford Family - JCB Researchers/World Brands £3, 898,900 Robert Edmiston - IM Properties International Motors Ltd £3, 274, 200 He was questioned by detectives about the secret loan deal that he struck with the Conservative Party which had the effect of circumventing the law that requires all donations of £5,000 or more to be made public.

Midlands Industrial Council - (plus individual members) have donated £3, 135,500. Has also in three years given £950,000 to 50 constituency parties including Mr Cameron’s, which received £5,500. Most of the members of the MIC, which is registered to a terraced house in a Lincolnshire village, are anonymous. The MIC gives £1 million a year to Constituency Campaigning Services, a support centre for Tory candidates, at Coleshill Manor, a Midlands country house. Mr Edmiston, a key member of MIC, owns Coleshill Manor. He was not available for comment. Mr Cameron, challenged on the BBC One Sunday AM programme (Oct 1 2006)about the confidential backers of the MIC, said that he knew the identity of them because he had met them. But the party said later that it would continue to withhold their identities. It is taking advantage of a loophole in election law which means that the membership list can remain confidential because MIC is an unincorporated association.

The Coleshill Manor centre was described by Conservative Central Office as independent of the party and registered with the Electoral Commission as a “regulated donee”. Mr Cameron contradicted that yesterday when he said Coleshill Manor was “effectively a part of the Conservative Party”. The commission states that membership associations registered as regulated donees cannot be part of a political party. Lord Laidlaw... Monaco-based Tory tax exile who has given the Conservative party more than £4m. ABC- Abbey Business Centres - (Lord Laidlaw's company) had also donated £60,000 in the form of free rent and services last year(2009) The donations are controversial because of Laidlaw's tax status. Records show ABC donated £5,000 in rent and services to the Tories in January, £10,000 in March, and £8,387 in May . The donations were in lieu of rent on a building in Edinburgh's Princes Street that the Scottish Tory party used as its headquarters until May. ABC has donated almost £85,000 in free rent and business services to the Conservatives, according to the Electoral Commission.

Over the past five years, ABC has given £807,000 in cash and £540,887 in "non-cash" donations to the Tories. Overall, Laidlaw, who made his money organising international business conferences, is estimated to have given the Tories more than £4m. This is despite the Conservatives announcing they were not accepting further donations for Lord Laidlaw until his tax issues were sorted out. Lord Ashcroft - Belize tax exile donated millions of pounds to Tory coffers and ploughed millions into the marginal Tory constituencies, to help them wing the 2010 election - this is despite telling the Tories he was registered for tax purposes in the UK, when clearly he was not. Bearwood Corporate Services - (Ashcroft’s company) donated £4,131,995 to the Conservatives over the four-year period, in 27 separate chunks of cash or services in kind, such as focus groups or printing costs. Ashcroft's company was found to be the biggest single donor since David Cameron became leader, Without "Ashcroft's millions" in the marginal seats, David Cameron may never have become prime minister.

So we had a Conservative Lord, NOT registered to pay tax on money earned in this country, using his untaxed loot to decide the result of the general election and who should govern the country! Chris Rea - (Rock star) gave the Conservatives £25,000. Hans Rausing - Packaging Billionaire and his wife, Marit, who are worth more than £5 billion, have donated almost £100,000. Dave Whelan - the owner of Wigan Football Club, has given the party £250,000. Christopher Moran - Owner, Glenfiddich sports estate Aserial Tory donor, Mr Moran refuses to answer questions about money lent to the party. Said to be a supporter of David Davis and to be worth £200m, he owns the 48,000-acre Glenfiddich sports estate in Scotland. He was expelled from Lloyd’s of London in 1982. Baroness Hogg - Tory peer Sarah Hogg was previously Governor of the BBC and economics editor of The Independent and a member of John Major’s policy unit.

She is married to Douglas Hogg, who controversially claimed money from parliamentary expenses to have his moat cleared. Siv Jensen - Leader, Norwegian Progress Party Ms Jensen’s populist, right-wing party narrowly failed to grasp power from the ruling left coalition earlier this month. She is intent on shrinking Norway’s welfare system. Disingenuous Tories On National Insurance Contributions Seventeen of the 35 chairmen or chief executives who signed Osborne's letter endorsing spending cuts, were among the businessmen who endorsed a similar round-robin letter before the May election backing Tory plans to reverse Labour's proposal to raise national insurance contributions by 1 per cent. Mr Osborne later cancelled it for employers but retained it for employees. George Osborne MP - Conservative Chancellor Is avoiding paying over a £1 million inheritance tax to the treasury he is in charge of. Fund Raising Dinners for Financial Backers David Cameron £50.000 per year buys you access to the prime minister, who is personally raising cash for the Conservative Party by offering to attend dinners with businessmen/people. The Prime Minister and senior Cabinet ministers are willing to parade themselves to wealthy donors at functions ranging from drinks after the weekly Prime Minister's Question Time in the Commons, to campaign launches.

Treasurer's Group - For £25,000 per year financial backers can join the Treasurer's Group, which describes itself as “aimed at substantial financial supporters with a keen interest in politics!" Renaissance Forum - £10,000 a year will buy membership of the Renaissance Forum and a chance to debate policy with senior figures. It is, says the website, “for our closest supporters to enjoy dinners and political debate with eminent speakers from the world of business and politics”. Conservative Party Conference - £1000 one off payment buys Financial backers access to ministers at £1,000-a-plate dinners which were held at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2010.

(One wonders if they spoke abut the 10.000 strong demonstration against their cuts which took place and who David Cameron had re routed away from directly outside the conference hall, probably not wanting the great unwashed to bother his wealth backers.) Angie Bray - Conservative MP Ealing Central and Acton - is a PR professional from Cameron's "A-list was unabashed about using political links formed while working for the Tory communications machine to help her private PR clients quote: "I have introduced private clients for my lobbying company to political contacts. But I have always felt I was on the side of the angels'' Oh OK Angie it's OK to be corrupt in that case! I ask this question again, what does David Cameron actually do to earn the salary the taxpayer is paying him? He is gaffe prone, appears to know absolutely nothing, if he is asked something unexpectedly he is blown way of course and cannot answer. Now we see he appears to spend all of his time raising millions of pounds for the Tory party coffers!

Posted by Gracie Samuels at Lord Ashcroft 'not settling scores' with David Cameron book - BBC News BBC News Lord Ashcroft 'not settling scores' with David Cameron book 21 September 2015 Close share panel Image copyright Reuters/PA Ex-Conservative Party treasurer Lord Ashcroft says his new book about David Cameron is "not about settling scores". The unauthorised biography, serialised in the Daily Mail, includes allegations about the PM's student days. The former Tory donor admitted to having personal "beef" with the prime minister after not being offered a major job in the coalition government. The prime minister's spokeswoman said she did "not see the need to dignify the book by offering any comment". "The author has set out his reasons for writing it," she added. 'Raw revenge' In the book, Lord Ashcroft, who donated millions of pounds to help the Conservatives fight marginal seats, says Mr Cameron was aware of his non-domiciled tax status, which was heavily criticised by Labour, in 2009. The following year Lord Ashcroft released a statement confirming he was a "non-dom" , a status he gave up in order to remain in the Lords.

The book also includes allegations of drug-taking and an initiation ceremony Mr Cameron is said, by an unnamed source, to have taken part in, involving a dead pig. Media captionCan you guess the weirdest initiations, just from the objects used? But sources said Mr Cameron was never a member of the club in question, the Piers Gaveston Society, during his time at Oxford University, BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said. He added that the as yet unpublished book, Call Me Dave, was "less a story about stupid student pranks, and more a story about raw political revenge". This was denied by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who has co-written the book. She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One : "If this was just a revenge job, Lord Ashcroft and I could have published it before the election." Ms Oakeshott also said the Piers Gaveston Society did not have a formal membership list, saying "people go along" to society gatherings. Analysis by Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor Two powerful men need each other, and then one of them becomes more powerful, and doesn't need the other anymore.

The understanding which they had comes to break down, recriminations follow, and sometimes, full throttle revenge. But the roots of the embarrassment that has sent social media into overdrive in the last day were laid before Twitter was invented. In fact, the origins of the spectacular parting of ways are 15 years ago. Read Laura's blog in full In the preface to his book , Lord Ashcroft says that after David Cameron became PM in 2010, he was offered the job of junior Foreign Office whip. "After putting my neck on the line for nearly 10 years - both as party treasurer under William Hague and as deputy chairman - and after ploughing some £8m into the party, I regarded this as a declinable offer," he wrote. "It would have been better had Cameron offered me nothing at all." But he added: "Despite my disappointment, my new book about Cameron is not about settling scores." Who is Lord Ashcroft?

Ennobled by William Hague in 2000 Has been deputy chairman and treasurer of the Conservative Party Donated millions of pounds to the party Gave up his non-domiciled tax status, which had been attacked by rival parties, in 2010 Stood down from the House of Lords earlier this year Ranked 74 in the 2015 Sunday Times Rich List According to Lord Ashcroft's account, Mr Cameron told him Lib Dem leader and former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg had vetoed his appointment to a government role. 'Awkward decisions' Speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World at One, Mr Clegg said he did not recall being asked. "I'm now used to Conservatives - they certainly did it for five years - using me as an alibi for awkward decisions that they had to face within their own party and I'm certain they fell into that category," he said. Lord Ashcroft was deputy chairman during Mr Cameron's period as leader in opposition. In July 2010, he gave up his non-domiciled tax status to remain in the Lords after a law was passed requiring peers and MPs to be tax resident and domiciled in order to remain in Parliament.

His tax status had long been criticised by his opponents. Labour's shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth has written to Downing Street asking whether Mr Cameron was, as Lord Ashcroft claims, aware of his tax arrangements in 2009. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Cameron should "address directly" the claim, describing it as a "serious allegation". In March Lord Ashcroft said he was stepping down from the House of Lords because he could not devote enough time to it. In recent years he has built a reputation as an independent pollster. David Cameron's debauchery laid bare in Lord Ashcroft's book Call Me Dave | Daily Mail Online comments Today we lift the lid on the extraordinary feud between David Cameron and a billionaire Tory donor that has triggered the most explosive political biography of the decade. In the dynamite book, former party treasurer Lord Ashcroft makes allegations of drug taking and debauchery by a young Mr Cameron. The book also claims the Conservative leader was aware as early as 2009 that Lord Ashcroft was a controversial ‘non dom’ who did not pay UK tax on his overseas earnings.

Scroll down for video Dynamite book: An extraordinary feud between David Cameron and billionaire Tory donor Lord Ashcroft has triggered the most explosive political biography of the decade Mr Cameron has previously said he did not know until 2010 about the tax status of a man who had given his party £8million – suggesting the public was deliberately misled in the run-up to that year’s general election. The pair fell out, the book reveals, when the Prime Minister failed to honour a pledge to give Lord Ashcroft a ‘significant’ job if he won power. RELATED ARTICLES Share 11k shares In the wake of this split, the peer has penned Call Me Dave. It is co-written by Isabel Oakeshott, an award-winning journalist and former Sunday Times political editor. Today the Mail starts serialising the biography, which is based on hundreds of interviews with friends and enemies, including Downing Street insiders.

Party time: David Cameron (centre) dances at the Pitt Club Ball at Cambridge University in 1987 On Day One, the book claims that: Mr Cameron was a member of a ‘dope smoking group’ called the Flam Club at Oxford University; Cocaine was later allowed to circulate at his and his wife’s London home; Mr Cameron was also in a debauched Oxford society that specialises in ‘bizarre rituals and sexual excess’; The book reports a source who claims that during Mr Cameron’s initiation ceremony he ‘put a private part of his anatomy’ into a dead pig’s mouth. Furthermore, the source claims to have seen photographic evidence; Lynton Crosby, the pollster who guided the PM to electoral victory, privately thinks he is a ‘tosser’ and ‘posh ****’. Published next month, the book sheds new light on Mr Cameron’s journey from privileged student at Eton and Oxford to Number 10, via a career in PR where he made significant enemies. Tories: For the first five years of Mr Cameron’s (right) leadership, Lord Ashcroft (left) was deputy chairman of the Tory party.

They are pictured together at a book launch in London in November 2006 James Delingpole, a friend of Mr Cameron’s at Oxford, gives the first ever on-the-record account of drug taking by the future prime minister. Friend: James Delingpole gives the an on-the-record account of drug taking by the future prime minister He says they smoked cannabis together in Delingpole’s room at Christ Church College, often while listening to the 1970s rock band Supertramp. Mr Delingpole says: ‘My drug of choice was weed – and I smoked weed with Dave…’ For the first time, the book tells of Mr Cameron’s membership of a decadent Oxford dining society, known as the Piers Gaveston. This was in addition to his time spent with the Bullingdon Club, a drinking society for the super-rich notorious for bad behaviour and trashing restaurants. The authors report an account of an ‘outrageous initiation ceremony’ at a Piers Gaveston event at which the future prime minister ‘inserted a private part of his anatomy’ into a dead pig’s mouth.

The story was recounted to them by a contemporary of Mr Cameron who went on to become an MP – and who claims that another member of the group has photographic evidence to prove it. The unnamed individual said to possess the picture failed to respond to the authors’ approaches. For years, there has been fevered speculation at Westminster about the split between the PM and Lord Ashcroft, a man who was once integral to the Tory party machine – helping to save it from financial disaster and having an office next to Mr Cameron in CCHQ. But today is the first time the self-made businessman, who has donated vast sums to charity, lays bare what happened. Discussions: Mr Cameron (left) invited Lord Ashcroft to Chequers where he said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg (right) was blocking his appointment to a Coalition role He writes in the book’s preface: ‘Long after he became prime minister, the impression persisted that he was more interested in holding the office than in using its power to achieve anything in particular. ‘His laissez-faire approach can create the impression that he is insufficiently concerned by results, and more than once he has appeared so relaxed that he has only stirred to avert disaster at the last minute.

But my own particular beef with him is more personal.’ The impression persisted that he was more interested in holding the office than in using its power to achieve anything in particular Lord Ashcroft For the first five years of Mr Cameron’s leadership, Lord Ashcroft was deputy chairman of the Tory party. Significantly, in the run-up to the 2010 election, he was based inside Conservative Central Office – spending millions on a campaign to target and win key marginal seats. Lord Ashcroft, who says he has contemporaneous notes of his conversations with the PM, says a discussion took place between them over what role he would play if Mr Cameron was elected, and a not ‘insignificant’ job was apparently promised. But, once victory was in the bag – in part helped by the peer’s millions – no job was forthcoming. Eventually, Mr Cameron invited Lord Ashcroft to Chequers where he said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was blocking his appointment to a Coalition role. Father: The book offers a deeply moving account of the PM’s love for his disabled son, and how caring for Ivan (pictured) turned him into a compassionate politician Mr Clegg has since said he has no recollection of blocking any Tory appointments.

A short while later, after Mr Cameron’s conscience was ‘pricked’, Lord Ashcroft was offered the post of junior whip in the Foreign Office. He writes: ‘After putting my neck on the line for nearly ten years – both as party treasurer under William Hague and as deputy chairman – and after ploughing some £8million into the party, I regarded this as a declinable offer. It would have been better had Cameron offered me nothing at all.’ Cameron’s word is as good as the paper it’s written on What Lord Ashcroft says he was once told by a colleague of David Cameron He adds, tartly, that he was once told by a colleague of the Tory leader that: ‘Cameron’s word is as good as the paper it’s written on’ – which, he says, is a comment he’s had much cause to reflect on. Lord Ashcroft also reveals how he had a conversation with Mr Cameron in 2009 about ‘how we could delay revealing my tax arrangements until after the election’. After Lord Ashcroft was given a peerage by then Tory leader William Hague in 2001, the party was dogged with questions over whether he had fulfilled a commitment to become resident in the UK for tax purposes.

In March 2010, it was eventually revealed that he was a ‘non dom’ – sparking claims that, while he was keeping his assets offshore and out of the British tax system, he was ‘trying to buy a British election’. 'Non dom': After Lord Ashcroft (right) was given a peerage by William Hague (left), the party was dogged with questions over whether he had fulfilled a commitment to become resident in the UK for tax purposes At the time, a spokesman for Mr Cameron said he had known of Lord Ashcroft’s tax status for only one month - a claim now flatly contradicted by the book, and likely to trigger a new row at Westminster. Award-winning: The book is co-written by former Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott Lord Ashcroft later became resident in the UK for tax purposes after it was made a requirement for sitting in the House of Lords. Despite the criticism of Mr Cameron, the book praises him for the ‘remarkable achievement’ of increasing the number of Tory seats by 120 over the past two elections – more even than Margaret Thatcher.

Lord Ashcroft and his co-author employed a team of researchers and travelled the world to discover the full story behind Britain’s youngest PM for 200 years. The book offers a deeply moving account of the PM’s love for his disabled son, and how caring for Ivan turned him into a compassionate politician. Officials also praise Mr Cameron for his fearsome efficiency, having finished all of his prime ministerial red boxes by the time he holds his first daily meeting at 8.30am. Lord Ashcroft is a major philanthropist – founding and funding Crimestoppers and giving large sums to military causes. He has also pledged to give half of his £1.2billion fortune to charity when he dies. After the Labour landslide of 1997, when the party was in dire straits, he came to the rescue – pumping in cash to clear its £3million overdraft. Miss Oakeshott is a highly-acclaimed political journalist who exposed how ex-Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne had illegally swapped speeding points with his then wife Vicky Pryce.

Labour target William Hague over Lord Ashcroft tax row | The Independent Labour target William Hague over Lord Ashcroft tax row Wednesday 3 March 2010 14:38 BST Click to follow Indy Politics Labour went on the offensive against William Hague today in the row over Lord Ashcroft's "non-dom" tax status. The shadow foreign secretary faced questions over assurances he had given 10 years ago, as the then Conservative leader, that the major Tory donor was prepared to pay "tens of millions" more in tax. Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative Party's deputy chairman, revealed this week that he had in fact been non-domiciled for tax purposes for the past decade. Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, challenged Mr Hague in the Commons today about what had happened to the extra taxes that had been promised. "The shadow foreign secretary stands here without a shred of credibility," she said. Insisting Mr Hague and Lord Ashcroft could not "both be right", she added: "One of them must go." Mr Hague, deputy in all but name to Tory leader David Cameron, accused Labour of being in a "desperate panic".

He also attacked Labour's record on funding, telling her: "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Mr Hague became central to the row after The Guardian published details of letters between him and then prime minister Tony Blair from 1999 and 2000. In a letter following the political honours committee's 1999 refusal of Lord Ashcroft's nomination for a peerage, Mr Hague acknowledged that one reason for their decision was that "Mr Ashcroft was a tax exile". He confirmed that Mr Ashcroft was "non-resident for tax purposes" but told Mr Blair: "He is committed to becoming resident ... This decision will cost him (and benefit the Treasury) tens of millions a year in tax yet he considers it worthwhile." Justice Secretary Jack Straw insisted the Tories still had questions to answer about what Lord Ashcroft had promised during the wrangling over his peerage. "He talked about permanent residence, he talked about the fact that he was going to instruct his advisers accordingly - I assume he meant his tax advisers," Mr Straw said. "And then William Hague goes out and says this decision will cost Lord Ashcroft millions of pounds. "The questions are for William Hague.

What did he take from the undertakings that were made by Lord Ashcroft? Did he take those undertakings to mean what everybody else took them to mean, which was that Lord Ashcroft would become a permanent resident and therefore be domiciled and resident and paying tax on all his worldwide income in the UK? "Or were these specially constructed weasel words designed to dissemble and to confuse both Sir Hayden Phillips - who is not a tax expert - and the independent appointments commission for the House of Lords?" Mr Cameron insisted today that the issue about Lord Ashcroft's tax status had now been "sorted" and accused Labour of hypocrisy. Interviewed on talkSPORT radio, Mr Cameron said non-dom status was common in many walks of life, including banking, the legal profession and the health service. He also pointed out that the Tories had pledged to levy an annual charge on all non-doms. "Let's get it in perspective," Mr Cameron said. "We are talking about 1% of our donations over the last year. Labour have had large donations from people like Lord Paul, Ronald Cohen. "The Prime Minister made Lord Paul a privy councillor, one of the highest offices in the land. "There has been a lot of hypocrisy about this.

The key issue is what undertakings did this guy have, what tax status did he have? "They have been answered. So as far as I am concerned, this issue has now been sorted." According to The Guardian, the chairman of the Public Honours Scrutiny Committee, Lord Thomson of Monifieth, told Mr Blair in 1999 that the tax status of Mr Ashcroft, as he then was, "seems central" to the question of whether he should be ennobled. Lord Thomson's widow said last night that her husband, who died in 2008, later regretted eventually giving his approval, as he felt Lord Ashcroft was "not a suitable man to be a peer". The Liberal Democrats called on HM Revenue and Customs to conduct an inquiry into whether Lord Ashcroft's commitment to take up "permanent residence" in the UK was compatible with his status as "non-domiciled" for tax purposes. The party's home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, who estimates that the non-dom status has saved Lord Ashcroft around £127 million over 10 years, asked HMRC chief executive Lesley Strathie to investigate whether he should pay any back taxes.

The latest daily poll for The Sun showed the Tory lead over Labour dropping by two points to 5% since Lord Ashcroft's surprise announcement on Monday that he did not pay UK tax on his overseas income. The YouGov survey put the Conservatives on 38% (down one point), Labour on 33% (up one) and Liberal Democrats on 16% (down one) - a result which could make Labour the biggest party in a hung parliament if repeated in the election. The Cabinet Office yesterday said that former Clerk to the Crown in Chancery Sir Hayden Phillips had reached an agreement with Tory chief whip James Arbuthnot in 2000 about the interpretation of Mr Ashcroft's undertaking, concluding that his promise to take up "permanent residence" meant he would be a "long-term resident" in the UK. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "This was not about tax, this was about residency." But Sir Hayden told The Times today: "I was in no position to confirm whether or not he would or would not meet the commitments he had entered into.

Nor was I in the business of interpreting what those commitments meant." More about: The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow Uni: Lord Ashcroft, Tory Millionaire declares he is non dom for UK tax purposes to kill any Labour Party attack during General Election The real Glaswegian working class voice in the independence debate read by thousands, the BBC and other related media, secured the first criminal conviction against one of the seven top cybernats outed by the Daily Mail Monday, March 1, 2010 Lord Ashcroft, Tory Millionaire declares he is non dom for UK tax purposes to kill any Labour Party attack during General Election Dear All The worst kept political secret in modern British political history is out. Conservative donor and deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft has admitted he does not pay UK tax on earnings outside Britain. Ashcroft has finally coughed out a statement that ends years of speculation regarding whether or not he was "non-domiciled" in the UK for tax. As one of the biggest Tory donors, Ashcroft has been funnelling money into marginal seats so that Tory Candidates increase their chances of overturning in most cases Labour majorities.

And the extent of his largesse is mindboggling; he donated more than £4m to the party in recent years. For years, the Tory Party has steadfastly refused to answer questions over his tax status saying that it was a private matter. The timing of the announcement is significant given that there is soon to be a General Election and the Tories are keen to kill stories that they are a party of the rich, by the rich for the rich. Ashcroft said; "while I value my privacy, I do not want my affairs to distract from the general election campaign". This is recognition that his money could be used as an election issue by the Labour Party. In trying to talk this up, Home Secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC the news was "incredible" and "a bit of a bombshell". Cameron recently said that that it was his "patriotic duty" to beat Gordon Brown at the next election, this is simply a joke, Tory betrayal destroyed Britain under Thatcher; New Labour simply carried on that work. The fake outrage by the Labour Party is nonsense give one of the Labour Party’s donors Lord Paul is a non domicile but he pays his cash through his British Company.

Labour and Tory are two sides of the same dirty coin, the English choice in the General Election isn’t about policies or political records but who do you hate the least. The Liberal Democrats said of the Conservative Party that they had been "bought like a banana republic". Funny how money has that effect on some people! Leader Nick Clegg said; "I think if you are seeking to influence the outcome of the next general election... then it is wholly wrong that you basically seek to pay taxes only partially in this country." In corrupt Britain, Clegg should learn to recognise the power of wealth. In a hung Parliament he might acquire friends with very large bank accounts that he never knew existed. Corrupt Britain can be bought and paid for. Yours sincerely UK News Tory peer makes claims of debauchery in David Cameron biography Lord Ashcroft, as differences between David Cameron and the major Conservative donor have burst into the open with the serialisation of a book containing allegations about the Prime Minister's time as a student. The allegations are in a book entitled Call Me Dave by the billionaire peer and journalist Isabel Oakeshott.

21 September, 2015 01:00 Prime Minister David Cameron Differences between David Cameron and a major Conservative donor have burst into the open with the serialisation of a book containing allegations about the Prime Minister's time as a student. The claims relating to his alleged youthful excesses are in a book entitled Call Me Dave by billionaire peer Lord Ashcroft and journalist Isabel Oakeshott, serialised in the Daily Mail. The book also alleges that Mr Cameron was aware Lord Ashcroft had not given up his controversial "non dom" tax status when he joined the House of Lords earlier than was previously admitted. Downing Street has declined to comment on its contents, which are likely to cast a shadow over the Conservatives' upcoming annual conference in Manchester. "I am not intending to dignify this book by offering any comment," the Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said. "He (Lord Ashcroft) has set out his reasons for writing it. The Prime Minister is focused on getting on with the job of running the country." Sources close to the Prime Minister said they "did not recognise" the accusations, which include claims Mr Cameron was present at events where drugs were taken and was part of a decadent Oxford University dining society.

It is claimed that as a member of the Piers Gaveston society - named after the lover of Edward II - Mr Cameron took part in a bizarre initiation ceremony which involved him inserting "a private part of his anatomy" in the mouth of a dead pig. Lord Ashcroft said that he was told about the incident by an Oxford contemporary of Mr Cameron who is now an MP and who claimed to have seen a photograph of the event. The authors said that they attempted to contact the owner of the alleged photograph but received no response. In the book, due to be published next month, Lord Ashcroft acknowledges he has a personal "beef" with the Prime Minister after his failure to offer him a significant job in his administration following the formation of the coalition government in 2010.

He claimed the PM initially blamed Liberal Democrat coalition partners for blocking his appointment, before offering him a junior role at the Foreign Office which he described as "declinable", adding: "It would have been better had Cameron offered me nothing at all." Made a life peer by William Hague in 2000 after saving the party financially as treasurer in the wake of its disastrous 1997 election defeat, Lord Ashcroft has given around £8 million to the Tories and was deputy chairman during Mr Cameron's period as leader in opposition. In his book, Lord Ashcroft claims that as early as 2009 he spoke with Mr Cameron about how to delay revealing his "non-dom" tax status - which allowed him to avoid tax on overseas earnings - until after the following year's general election. This contradicts a Conservative assertion at the time when the controversial status became known in 2010 that Mr Cameron had been told only a month before. Lord Ashcroft - who had given a commitment to become resident in the UK for tax purposes when he was made a peer - subsequently gave up his non-dom status in order to retain his place on the Conservative benches in the Lords.

The book also describes how the Tories' Australian spin doctor Lynton Crosby described Mr Cameron as a "posh c***" while he was working in the Conservative Campaign HQ during the 2005 general election. Asked about Lord Ashcroft's allegations at a press conference during his visit to China, Chancellor George Osborne said only: "I haven't seen that book." Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told Sky News the allegations were "extraordinary" but "a bit of a sideshow". He said: "The reality is we respect people's right to a private life and a past. The critical thing in all of this is that those of us who are in politics mustn't be hypocrites." Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg denied that he had blocked Lord Ashcroft's appointment. "No I don't recollect that at all ... it wouldn't have been my role, and nor by the way would it have been David Cameron's role to block my suggestions about Liberal Democrat ministerial appointments in Whitehall," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One.

The former Lib Dem leader added: "I am now used to Conservatives - they certainly did it for five years - using me as an alibi for awkward decisions that they have to face within their own party. "I have no doubt that this just fell into that same category." Asked what he thought of the lurid allegations about Mr Cameron's college days, Mr Clegg said: "I haven't read the book ... I haven't even read the papers. I'm just not going to get into that sort of thing." 21 September, 2015 01:00

Question: Name the UK Tory Party donor and deputy chairman pressurised about his 'non-dom' tax status during 2010?
Answer: Lord Ashcroft