£1m carve-up: Tories rake in donations from fatcats hoping to cash in on NHS privatisation

Mirror wrote:

The Tory Party has raked in more than £1million in donations from City executives set to make a fortune from its plans to privatise large swathes of the NHS.

We can today reveal fatcat shareholders in the company Circle Health – the first private firm to take over an NHS hospital – have given the Conservatives over £1.4million.

Our research also shows that overall David Cameron’s party has been given more than £10million from those with links to private health.

Labour yesterday said the donations, made since 2001, lifted the lid on the cosy relationship.

And it accused the Tories of “carving up” the NHS for their wealthy chums in big business.

The revelations come days after new Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt shortlisted Circle Health’s spin chief Christina Linnet to be his new media boss.

She previously worked for former Conservative Health Secretary Andrew Lansley before the Tories came to power.

Official records also show Tory MP Mark Simmonds is paid £50,000 a year by Circle for 10 hours’ work a month.

The links between private health companies and the Conservative Party became a matter of public debate after Circle was last year handed a 10-year contract worth £1.2billion to take over the failing Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire.

Its directors think the contract is the first of many – and have set out business plans to clinch NHS bids worth more than £8billion.

The company’s controversial takeover of the hospital came despite admissions in a document released to the stock exchange that patient care could suffer.

Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham yesterday attacked the relationship between profit-making private health companies and the Government.

He said: “The Great NHS Carve-Up is well under way and it probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that friends of the Tory Party are doing very nicely out of it. But, even so, people will be taken aback by the sheer extent and intimacy of the links between Circle Health and the Conservative Party.

“It doesn’t look or smell at all good given Circle’s success and high profile under this Government.

“It leaves the Prime Minister with serious questions to answer. 

“He should publish a list of all contact between his Government and Circle so people can judge whether it is appropriate.”

The donations to the Tories – from those linked to the takeover of Hinchingbrooke hospital – came from four City execs in giant investment companies that have large stakes in Circle.

The firm’s leading shareholders are Lansdowne Partners, Invesco Perpetual, BlueCrest and Odey Asset Management.

Lansdowne Partners holds a 29% stake, Invesco Perpetual 21.9%, Odey Asset Management 21.1% and BlueCrest Capital 7.1%.

The boss of Lansdowne Partners, Sir Paul Ruddock, has donated £630,000. 

The CEO of Odey Asset Management Crispin Odey has given £242,000, Sir Martyn Arbib of Invesco Perpetual £413,000 and BlueCrest founder Michael Platt £125,000.

The companies said there was no link between the donations to the Tories – made privately by individuals and not by the firms – and each company’s business investments.

Lansdowne Partners said its chief executive Sir Paul did not decide which companies his firm invested in.

And BlueCrest insisted any donation from Mr Platt had no bearing on its business investments.

The Tories said the original decision to give a private firm the chance to run Hitchingbrooke hospital was made by Labour in March 2010.

A spokesman added: “All donations to the Conservative Party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with Electoral Commission rules.”