Kwasi Kwarteng’s champagne reception may have broken ministerial code

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has conceded that ‘with hindsight it probably wasn’t the best day to go’ to a gathering of hedge fund managers. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

The head of the civil service is facing calls to order an investigation into whether Kwasi Kwarteng breached the ministerial code when he attended a champagne reception with hedge fund managers after his mini-budget.

The chancellor has conceded that “with hindsight it probably wasn’t the best day to go” to the gathering following his statement, which included scrapping the bankers’ bonus cap and the abolition of the 45p top rate of tax. He was later forced to U-turn on his 45p plan.