Ed Miliband turns on own party’s officials for selling £30,000 breakfasts with a Cabinet Minister
ENERGY Secretary Ed Miliband yesterday turned on his own party’s officials for selling £30,000 breakfasts with a Cabinet Minister.
He said flogging access to top Government figures is not what the Labour Party is about.
And he fired a stern warning to Labour’s commercial team, saying: “Don’t do it again.”
The Sun revealed Labour had offered company chiefs a chance to meet Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds over breakfast in exchange for £30,000.
After the story broke, allies of Mr Reynolds said he would no longer be taking part in the event, which was dubbed “cash for croissants”.
Former Labour leader Mr Miliband defended Mr Reynolds, saying he knew nothing about it.
He also said ministers were not interested in having businesses pay for access to them.
He added: “The answer is, whether it is me or Jonathan Reynolds, it is not about paying to have access. That is not what we are about, no.”
Although such deals are not unusual, it comes amid a growing scandal over donations.
Labour has faced weeks of cash for access allegations after PM Sir Keir Starmer received freebies worth tens of thousands of pounds from his multi-millionaire pal Lord Alli.
He has agreed to pay back more than £6,000 and is now tightening the rules on gifts for ministers.
Meanwhile, the SNP has written to both the Cabinet Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests demanding a full investigation into the scandal, which they say shows “a growing stench of sleaze”.