A billionaire theatre producer donated enough to the Tories last year to qualify for Boris Johnson's 'secret advisory board', despite having lived in the Bahamas for at least ten years.
John Gore appeared on a leaked list of members of the secret group of ultra-wealthy donors, which emerged last month.
Members have reportedly been granted privileged access to senior ministers, including Mr Johnson - as well as attending “virtual meetings” with top advisors during the pandemic.
Mr Gore had already given almost £4.2 million to the Conservative Party, making him the Tories’ number one donor despite having spent “more than a decade away” from the UK.
And newly released Electoral Commission data reveals he gave a further quarter of a million pounds in December.
The Tories have been accused of “bending the rules to benefit themselves” with an Elections Bill which allows donors who live in tax havens to bankroll political parties indefinitely.
Currently donors can only fund parties from abroad for 15 years - but this will be abolished under the Elections Bill, which returns to the Commons on Monday.
Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds said: “At a time when the Conservatives are trying to talk tough on cracking down on the flow of foreign money pouring into the UK, Boris Johnson has created a cash for access culture at the heart of government.
“Superrich donors like John Gore are paying top whack to become members of the shadowy Advisory Board. Boris Johnson should explain what they’re getting in return and come clean about whether this secretive group of millionaires had any impact on government policy at the height of the pandemic."
She added: “The Conservative’s Elections Bill will allow superrich expats like Gore to funnel money into the Tory Party for life – a loophole Labour is fighting to close.”
The most recent Companies House records for Mr Gore, published this year, list him as resident in the Bahamas.
The theatre impresario, whose firm produced Tony Award-winning broadway musicals such as Dear Evan Hansen and Angels in America, has become one of the Conservative Party’s biggest donors, giving almost £4.2 million over the last decade - including more than £1.5m in 2018 alone.
In a 2019 interview, he told the Sunday Times he moved to the Caribbean paradise for “a decade ago” - and was a neighbour of the late Sir Sean Connery.
“I have chosen to stick my head into the mad world of politics when it is at its maddest," he told The Sunday Times - admitting that he sought to use his cash to change British politics from the outside.
He said: “I am a British citizen with an outside eye. It's not unlike being a director.
“I can see this show is really going wrong — that it's going to crash. I hope I can do something to get it back into shape and help it flourish."
Last month, the Sunday Times revealed those appointed to the board and invited to its meetings during the pandemic also included Lubov Chernukhin, a Russian-born banker whose husband was Vladimir Putin ’s former deputy finance minister.
The newly released figures show four wealthy individuals gave enough cash in the last three months of last year to qualify for membership of the board who did not appear on the list published by the Sunday Times last month.
They include Rosemary Said, the wife of Wafic Said who helped broker Britain's biggest arms sale – the Al-Yamamah deal.
There is no suggestion that Mrs Said was involved in brokering the Saudi arms deal, or that Mr or Mrs Said have broken any rules in donating to the Conservative Party.
Dunelm boss Bill Adderley, hedge fund manager Alan Howard and entrepreneur Malcolm Healey also gave £250,000 each in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The Elections Bill, which would scrap the 15-year time limit on British expats being allowed to vote and donate to political parties while living overseas is currently being debated in the House of Lords, after MPs approved its third reading in the Commons in January.
A Government spokesman said: "Now we have left the EU, it is more important than ever to strengthen our ties with the British expat community. We want all British citizens abroad to remain part of our democracy."
The spokesman noted the Conservatives' 2019 manifesto pledged to allow expats to vote for life, though it did not mention the right to make political donations for life.
And they noted Labour's international branch also supported lifetime voting rights for expats - though the UK party does not. Neither the UK or international Labour party supports political donations for life.
There is no suggestion that any of the above broke any rules in donating to the Conservative Party.
