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A Tory tycoon in a \u201ccash for access\u201d controversy accused a female ex-MP of attempted \u201csexual blackmail,\u201d according to a former Cabinet minister.<\/p>\n
Conservative MP Sir David Davis called for a police investigation into businessman and Tory donor Mohamed Amersi for the possible \u201ccriminal harassment\u201d of former Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie.<\/p>\n
Using parliamentary legal protection, Sir David also accused Mr Amersi of a \u201cmisogynistic hate campaign\u201d against Ms Leslie on social media.<\/p>\n
He also claimed Mr Amersi had tried to \u201cintimidate\u201d former Labour minister Dame Margaret Hodge.<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging attack, Sir David said multi-millionaire Mr Amersi was a \u201cshady fixer for corrupt politicians\u201d who had made his fortune by \u201cfacilitating corrupt deals for dictatorships and autocracies\u201d including Russia.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi, along with his Russian partner Nadejda Roditcheva, has given \u00a3750,000 to the Tories<\/p>\n
(Dave J Hogan\/Getty)<\/p>\n
And he claimed Mr Amersi\u2019s libel lawyers, Carter Ruck, had committed \u201cperjury\u201d by \u201clying\u201d about how much Mr Amersi had spent on his failed lawsuit against Ms Leslie.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi responded on Tuesday night by calling Sir David a \u201cbiased bully, coward and liar\u201d and denied the allegations in their entirety. He also challenged Sir David to repeat them outside the Commons debating chamber, where he would not have legal immunity.<\/p>\n
Nigel Tait, managing partner of Carter Ruck rejected Sir David\u2019s claim. Mr Tait told The Independent: \u201cThe judge found that Mr Amersi had misremembered his costs. There was no suggestion of any perjury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie <\/p>\n
(PA)<\/p>\n
Sir David\u2019s comments come after a High Court judge threw out a libel action by Mr Amersi against former Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie last year.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi, who along with his Russian partner Nadejda Roditcheva has given \u00a3750,000 to the Tories and backed Boris Johnson\u2019s leadership, claimed he had been defamed by Ms Leslie in a secret dossier.<\/p>\n
They fell out in 2020 after she claimed he tried to use his wealth to take over a Tory group run by her which aims to boost UK-Middle East relations.<\/p>\n
He also donated more than \u00a31m to King Charles\u2019 favourite charities, leading to him dining with the then-heir to the throne.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Amersi and King Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales <\/p>\n
(Amersi Foundation)<\/p>\n
Philanthropist Mr Amersi defended his conduct as \u201caccess capitalism\u201d and has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Sir David castigated Mr Amersi for the way he had fought his battle with Ms Leslie.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi\u2019s \u201ccampaign against her went far beyond the (legal) case itself – he set out to destroy her reputation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere were lies that she sexually blackmailed men, the collection of intimate details about her family, physical intimidation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd an obsessive, misogynistic and ultimately defamatory hate campaign on social media by Amersi himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir David said Mr Amersi \u201cis deeply immersed in a twilight world of backroom bribes\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why he was so desperate to suppress Ms Leslie\u2019s claims,\u201d he added. \u201cHe did not want to be exposed and have his carefully crafted public image \u2013 that of a savvy entrepreneur and generous philanthropist \u2013 shredded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmersi clearly hoped he could break Ms Leslie\u2019s resolve and force her to concede through bullying, intimidation, and the threat of financial ruin. He failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe put Charlotte Leslie through years of torture in what may have amounted to criminal harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir David said Mr Amersi, 63, had earned \u00a37 million a year for a Swedish-based telecoms firm and had \u201caided and enriched regimes that resembled a shopping list of dictatorships and autocracies\u201d.<\/p>\n
They included Russia and post Soviet states like Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmersi facilitated corrupt deals. The repeat nature of the murky practices involved is striking,\u201d said Sir David.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi had \u201cattempted to buy his way into the British establishment – and worryingly he has had some success. He has managed to recast himself as a philanthropist and benefactor, rather than the shady political fixer for corrupt politicians that he really is\u201d.<\/p>\n
He would do \u201cwhatever he can to get influence.. and clearly, the British establishment is vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a green-eyed gullibility at the top of society, with institutions happy to hoover up cash without asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir David\u2019s dramatic Commons intervention followed a separate clash between Mr Amersi and Dame Margaret Hodge.<\/p>\n
The BBC reported on Tuesday that she has written to the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission calling on them to investigate whether the Conservative Party had broken election rules by taking a \u00a3200,000 donation from his partner, Ms Roditcheva.<\/p>\n
Dame Margaret said fresh details of the donation shortly before the 2017 election had emerged in a new book, \u2018Cuckooland,\u2019 by investigative journalist Tom Burgis.<\/p>\n
She said Mr Amersi had offered to make a donation and had been advised by Tory HQ that the money should come from his partner\u2019s account because he was not on the electoral register.<\/p>\n
Dame Margaret told BBC Newsnight: \u201cThe Conservative Party may have knowingly taken a donation from a non permissible person. <\/p>\n
\u201cMr Amersi at the time was not on the electoral register. And if you aren\u2019t on the electoral register you aren\u2019t allowed to give donations. If his money was transferred to a third party that is also non permissible. That is a very serious matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Conservatives said they only accept money from permissible sources.<\/p>\n
Mr Amersi said no rules had been broken and that the money came from his partner\u2019s account. He accused Dame Margaret of a \u201cpolitically motivated vendetta\u201d against him.<\/p>\n
When Sir David criticised Mr Amersi in parliament in the past, the businessman responded by calling the Tory grandee a \u201cliar, coward and bully\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the High Court judgment last year Mr Justice Nicklin threw out Mr Amersi\u2019s libel case against Ms Leslie, saying he had \u201cfailed to prove serious harm\u201d had been inflicted on him by her. It was hailed as a \u201clandmark victory\u201d by press freedom campaigners.<\/p>\n
She sent a dossier which raised questions about Mr Amersi\u2019s past business links Russia to a handful of senior Tories and figures in the intelligence services. Mr Amersi claimed her \u201cdodgy dossier\u201d contained false information which damaged his reputation.<\/p>\n
After Sir David\u2019s attack in the Commons, Mr Amersi said: \u201cDavid Davis made another misinformed rant against me in favour of Leslie and to promote Burgis\u2019s book. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor the record I repeat what I had previously said: By using parliamentary privilege, Davis has bullied and lied about the true facts. If he has any substantive proof about what he alleges, please say it to me outside. Do not be a coward.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery deal undertaken had magic circle advisors and blue chip banks. I deny in the strongest terms any and all allegations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the deals have been the subject of review by various enforcement agencies around the world and no wrongdoing on my part was established.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email A Tory tycoon in a \u201ccash for access\u201d controversy accused a female ex-MP of attempted \u201csexual blackmail,\u201d according to a former Cabinet minister. Conservative MP Sir David Davis called for a police investigation into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n