Tory Robert Jenrick squirms under grilling over £75,000 donation from mystery firm

The Tory enactment contender insisted 3 donations of £25,000 from a sports fittingness steadfast which has ne'er turned a nett and has nary employees were "valid and normal"

Tory enactment campaigner Robert Jenrick squirmed nether questioning implicit tens of thousands successful currency donated by a institution with nary employees.

The Spott Fitness Ltd handed 3 payments totalling £75,000 to Mr Jenrick during July. But quizzed astir the crushed for the donations - oregon adjacent the individuality of the idiosyncratic down them - connected Sky News, Mr Jenrick gave evasive answers.

"As I recognize it, this is simply a fittingness institution that operates successful the UK. It's a perfectly ineligible and valid donation nether British law, and we've acceptable it retired successful the nationalist domain successful the mode arsenic 1 does with donations," helium said. Host Trevor Philips replied: "Sorry, erstwhile you accidental 'as I recognize it'...somebody's wanged you 75 expansive and you don't truly cognize who they are?"

"We bash cognize who they are," Mr Jenrick insisted. "It's a institution that does sports fittingness technology successful the UK. It's a perfectly valid and ineligible donation." Asked who owns the company, and wherefore they are giving him money, Mr Jenrick said: "The owners of the institution are acceptable retired connected Companies' House successful the mean mode - and they evidently enactment arsenic galore bash my imaginativeness for the aboriginal of the Conservative Party."

The donations were decently declared and there's nary proposition of immoderate wrongdoing connected Mr Jenrick's part.

The steadfast is owned by Mark Dembovsky, a lawyer and advisor and fittingness entrepreneur Benjamin Hudson. As of December past year, erstwhile the astir caller accounts were published, the steadfast had nary employees and £330,000 successful fiscal liabilities. It has ne'er turned a profit.

Probed astir the radical down the donations, Mr Jenrick continued to beryllium evasive. "I've evidently met radical who are progressive with the company," helium stammered. "It's a perfectly valid and mean donation." But helium refused to sanction immoderate names.

Tory members are preparing to prime a caller person aft Rishi Sunak announced helium was lasting down pursuing the party's general election decision successful the summer.

Mr Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat are each vying for the enactment leadership, and volition get a accidental to code the party's rank astatine the league successful Birmingham which gets nether mode today.