Election campaign of ex Northampton MP funded by concealed donations from a friend, say prosecution
Election campaign of ex Northampton MP funded by concealed donations from a friend, say prosecution
On day two of the trial of former Conservative MP David Mackintosh, the prosecution opened its case and portrayed the defendant as an experienced politician who ‘knew the rules’
By Sarah Ward
A number of concealed donations were made by a businessman involved with the stadium redevelopment of Northampton Town Football Club to the election fighting fund for an aspiring MP, a crown court was told today.
David Mackintosh was an experienced politician with ‘considerable campaigning experience’ who ‘knew the rules’ said prosecutor William Boyce KC this morning as he opened the case against Mackintosh, who is co-accused with businessman Howard Grossman, 61, of breaking the law regarding declarations of political donations.
The case against the pair centres around nine donations totalling £39,000 made to Mackintosh’s election fund in 2014 when he was an aspiring MP.
Warwick Crown Court heard that Mackintosh and Grossman, of Greenacres, Bushey, Middlesex had struck up a friendship through former Northampton Borough Council’s involvement in loaning up to £12m to Northampton Town Football Club for a new stadium development which Grossman’s firm First Land was involved with.
Mackintosh was council leader at the time the loan was signed off.
The following year a series of donations were made to a bank account run by Northampton South Conservative Association (NSCA) by people known to Grossman, or his associates.
The money had been provided to them by Grossman, who the prosecution says does not dispute the money came from him. Mr Boyce KC told the court Grossman’s reasoning for the concealment of where the money came from, will be that he did so on the advice of NSCA chairman Suresh Patel, who had said donations declared from Grossman would ‘raise eyebrows’. However the prosecution’s case is that “Mr Patel told him to do no such thing. This is something Mr Grossman decided to do for himself.”
Mr Boyce KC said the case against Mackintosh, 44, of Station Court, Northampton, is that he received the donations ‘knowing that Mr Grossman was doing it in an underhand way’.
The prosecutor said:
“The issue of Mr Mackintosh’s case is whether or not when the donations were made he appreciated where they were from? If he did know they were from Mr Grossman he would have had to do something about it. He knew the rules.”
He later told the jury:
“Nothing is ever straightforward as far as David Mackintosh is concerned.”
The pair, who both deny the charges, are co-accused of two counts of failing to ensure political donations were correctly declared as required by the political parties, elections and referendum act 2000.
The donations
The court heard that while council leader, Mackintosh had received through email compliance guidelines about political donations by a staff member of the NSCA in late March 2014 and days later he emailed the guidance to Northampton Town Football Club’s then chairman David Cardoza. Mr Cardoza then forwarded it to his business partner Howard Grossman.
The jury was told by the prosecution how a series of nine concealed donations from Grossman were then made during the spring and summer of 2014 to what the prosecution called ‘Mackintosh’s election fighting fund’.
Three payments of £10k were made to the bank account by people known to Grossman during April and May 2014, using money that Grossman’s company First Land Ltd had transferred to a bank account they had access to.
Gary Platt, through own company Apple Consultants Ltd made the first donation to NSCA in early April, telling his own accountant to mark the money paid by Grossman to him as a loan.
At the end of that same month another man known to Grossman, Leonard Western made a donation of £10k to the NCSA after he had the same amount of cash transferred to his account by Grossman. The third donation of £10,000 was made by Alan Mayfield, who had had a £11k payment made to his own bank account from Grossman.
The court heard Mackintosh was aware of these large donations, at times providing details to his local association.
Then in June Grossman transferred £16,500 to the bank account of his own bookkeeper Sharad Bhimjiyani, who made two donations of £1,500 to NCSA from his own business and a business owned by his wife.
A further four payments for the same amount of £1,500 were made by associates recruited by Mr Bhimjiyani during June and July.
The court heard how one man asked by Mr Bhimijyani to make a donation to NCSA refused saying he did not think it was right to make a donation to someone he did not know and that ‘he had never even been to Northampton’.
William Boyce KC described the former MP as ‘hands on’ with the donations and said he would regularly chase up payments.
He told the court none of the donations were made by people living in the Northampton constituency.
The prosecution said the sum’s raised during 2014 were more than then previous chairman of NSCA Michael Clarke had raised in 23 years.
Mr Boyce KC said Grossman had lied to one proxy donor when asked if what he was being requested to do was legal.
“Mr Platt asked him: “You are 100 per cent this is all above board and there are no implications?”
“To which Mr Grossman said: ‘This is all kosher.’”
The court also heard that concerns were raised about the first large donation from Platt’s company in early May by a staff member of Tory HQ who queried ‘such a large donation from such a small company’.
A letter of compliance was drafted by Grossman’s firm and sent on to Gary Platt, but the prosecutor said there was ‘no direct evidence of how the letter was ever put to use.’
Friendship
William Boyce KC outlined to the jury the close friendship between the two defendants, who stood side-by-side in the dock without looking at each other. He said they appeared to have first met in September 2012 at the Guildhall in Northampton and then again a month later. Just days before the council approved a loan of up to £12m to the football club on July 17 2013 (which Grossman’s firm was involved in) he told the court that Macintosh and Grossman had met once again.
In November 2013 Mackintosh went to an event with Grossman where Grossman acquired tickets for a visit to the Eastenders set. In May 2014 he attended the popular soap set along with Alan Mayfield, who days later went on to make one of the 10k donations to his campaign fund.
The court was also told that Grossman was the buyer of 21 tickets priced at £295 for a fundraising dinner held in aid of Mackintosh’s election campaign held at the Carlton Club in London.
The jury only heard the prosecution's case today, with the defence due to make its legal arguments towards the end of next week. Before that the prosecution will call a number of witnesses to give evidence. Both men deny the charges alleged against them. The trial continues.
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