MILLIONAIRE Tory donor and Scotland Office minister Malcolm Offord should have his peerage revoked as the party is engulfed by the latest cronyism row, the SNP have said.
Offord, who has given nearly £150,000 to the Conservatives, was given a life peerage from Boris Johnson earlier this year – a few months after he failed to get elected to Holyrood.
He was then given a role as a minister in the Scotland Office in what was considered a snub to Tory MPs Andrew Bowie and John Lamont.
Meanwhile this week the Met Police are considering calls for an investigation into the current cash-for-honours scandal, which emerged after an investigation by the Sunday Times and Open Democracy found 16 of the main Tory treasures over the past two decades have been appointed to the House of Lords.
Since 2010, 22 of the Tories’ main financial donors have also been given peerages after giving them a combined £54 million.
Mhairi Black, the SNP’s shadow Scottish secretary, said the scandal shows an “appalling abuse of the system”.
“The grubby practice of Tory politicians handing peerages to their millionaire party donors is utterly corrupt,” the MP said. “It must be fully investigated for criminality – and action must be taken to put an end to it, once and for all.
"At minimum, Baron Offord's peerage and appointment as a UK Government minister is a shameful display of Tory cronyism and sleaze. In light of the growing controversy, it must now be revoked - or the UK Scotland Office will see its credibility sink even further into oblivion.”
READ MORE: Malcolm Offord: Douglas Ross backs appointment of Tory donor
She added that Westminster is a “hive of corruption” which is “broken beyond repair”.
Police are now considering calls for an investigation into peerage appointments after SNP MP Pete Wishart raised the complaint.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) has received correspondence relating to recent media reports concerning the awarding of peerages.
“At this time, we are considering the contents of the correspondence.”
Wishart said he was “not accusing anyone of anything” in asking the Met to investigate allegations that Tory donors had been given seats in the upper chamber.
He told Sky News: “What we’ve done in the course of the past few days is the Pandora’s box marked Tory sleaze has been opened for full examination, and what a rotten septic cesspit we found that to be.”
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