A senior Tory knighted in Boris Johnson’s honours list has been accused of a fresh conflict of interest, after it emerged that he helped arrange a Tory fundraiser at the V&A while he was both a trustee of the museum and the party’s chair.
Internal emails seen by the Observer reveal that Ben Elliot, who has previously faced accusations of blurring his business and political activities, had an early role in setting up the party’s glitzy 2021 Winter Ball, introducing party officials to V&A staff.
The event saw the auctioning of prizes that included an hour playing cricket with Rishi Sunak, said to have sold for £35,000, a karaoke session with Liz Truss, which raised £22,000, and a “Get Brexit Done” sign used by Johnson during the 2019 election campaign, which sold for £30,000.
It comes amid longstanding concerns about political appointments to public and cultural bodies, as well as anger over the allies that Johnson has recognised in his resignation honours list. Elliot, a nephew of the Queen, has also faced criticism over a concierge company he founded, Quintessentially, and its work with Russian clients.
The V&A has stated that Elliot had no role in arranging last year’s Conservative summer party at the venue. However, emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show he was involved in arranging the party’s winter ball a few months earlier in 2021.
In internal emails from May 2022, staff state that there was “early involvement from Ben Elliot” in a fundraising dinner in November 2021 at the “initial inquiry stage”. Another states: “Ben Elliott [sic] introduced the Conservative party contact to us back for their event last year but for this year they have been in contact directly.”
The code of conduct for board members of public bodies states: “In your public role, you should be, and be seen to be, politically impartial. You should not occupy a paid party political post or hold a particularly sensitive or high-profile role in a political party. You should abstain from all controversial political activity … You must not use, or attempt to use, the opportunity of public service to promote your personal interests or those of any connected person, firm, business or other organisation.” Quintessentially has also held events at the venue.
Dr Alex May, the blogger and transparency campaigner who uncovered the details, said: “We already know Sir Ben blurred the separation between his role as a trustee and as a founding director of Quintessentially, the luxury lifestyle group and global concierge service. Now we discover he also blurred the separation between his role as a trustee and as Tory co-chair. This overlap risks undermining the political neutrality of the V&A.”
Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, said: “The Conservatives simply don’t care how their sleaze taints great British institutions and undermines public trust in public appointments. Despite denials it is clear that Ben Elliot has tarnished the reputation of the V&A by association. Ministers should investigate this matter and rule on whether he has breached the code of conduct for board members of public bodies.”
Insiders at the museum said that while it was partially publicly funded, it relied on corporate events and other forms of generating income to sustain its wider work. A spokesperson for the V&A said: “The Conservative party events held at the V&A were both standard corporate venue hires of V&A spaces and were contracted and managed by our corporate events team. The V&A did not host the events – we were the venue.
“Ben Elliot made the initial introduction to the V&A corporate events team but had no further involvement in the process of contracting either event. All rates charged for the events were in line with those advertised publicly online, with no special discounts or dispensations.”
The Observer attempted to contact Elliot and Quintessentially, but neither responded. Quintessentially has previously said Elliot no longer has day-to-day control over the business with a role similar to a non-executive director.
Elliot stood down as Tory co-chair in September. A spokesperson for the Conservative party said: “When the party has used the V&A to host events, we have paid full commercial rates.”
• This article was amended on 25 June 2023 to correct the surname of Dr Alex May.
