The Depute Leader of the SNP Keith Brown MSP has written to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood regarding a £4 million donation to the Labour Party from Quadrature Capital in the week before the general election was called.
Due to a loophole in the rules around the declaration of political donations, this was not declared at the time, raising serious questions around the rules set by the UK parliament.
The company in question also has links to significant fossil fuel and private healthcare investments.
This follows broader reports of dodgy donations accepted by the Labour Party, including thousands worth of pounds of freebies given to Starmer by Lord Ali – who then received a pass to Downing Street – and over £800,000 of donations and more freebies accepted by Cabinet Ministers in the last year.
In his letter, SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown writes:
“Dear Secretary of State,
“I am writing to you regarding the news that a £4 million donation to the UK Labour Party by Quadrature Capital – made just weeks before the general election – is only now coming to light, more than two months after Labour won the general election.
“I understand that a £4 million donation was made by Quadrature Capital on the 28th of May – during the one-week window between the announcement of the general election (on the 22nd of May), and the start of the pre-poll reporting period.
“During the pre-poll reporting period, all political donations over £11,180 are required to be published weekly, rather than quarterly.
“By making this donation before this period began, Quadrature Capital and the Labour Party were able to skilfully avoid the public scrutiny of this donation before the election took place.
“While Quadrature Capital Ltd is registered in London, its parent company is QC Ventures – a company which is registered in the Cayman Islands, and has significant investments in fossil fuels, arms manufacturing, and private healthcare firms.
“Given the nature of those investments, it is my view that it would have been in the public interest to have had knowledge of this donation prior to the election taking place.
“The fact that there is a period of a week between an election being called, and the beginning of the pre-poll reporting period – which I understand is decided by the UK Parliament, allows instances like this to happen.
“This makes a mockery of the transparency of funding rules that are put in place to ensure free and fair elections.
“This loophole needs to close – and I would urge the UK Government to pursue closing it, to ensure instances like this do not happen again.
“I thank you for your assistance in this matter and look forward to your response.
“Yours sincerely,
Keith Brown MSP”