Questions asked over guests at Osborne’s taxpayer-funded country estate

Questions have been raised over George Osborne’s use of a country mansion to entertain wealthy Tory donors as the Chancellor’s leadership planning gathers pace.

Ministers last week confirmed there had been no official visitors to Dorneywood, Osborne’s country residence, between April and September last year. However, the ‘transparency’ list only includes the names of guests whose hospitality is paid for by the taxpayer – not those hosted by Osborne who are paid for by him or the Conservative Party. The Tories themselves revealed that at least one party donor, Lord Wolfson, was entertained at the country house during the period in question.

Now Labour’s Jon Ashworth has written to Osborne, asking him to name everyone who has been received as a Dorneywood guest since the Chancellor took up residence in 2010.

In the letter, the Shadow Cabinet minister warns that “anything less than full transparency will give rise to suspicion that your access to Dorneywood is being used to give privileged treatment to certain individuals and interests in a way to further your own career.”

When Labour was in office, John Prescott was infamously photographed playing croquet on the lawn while deputising for Tony Blair.

Now Ashworth says Osborne has held a birthday party at the house, thrown a barbecue for Conservative MPs, and wined and dined “a number of senior media figures”.

“It is therefore clear that Dorneywood is being used by you in a way that goes much further than the official government records would suggest,” Ashworth writes.

Treasury sources claimed it is unreasonable to ask Osborne for information on “private and family occasions”, The Independent reported.

You can read Ashworth’s full letter here:

Dear George, 

I am writing to express my concern at the lack of transparency surrounding your use of Dorneywood. 

Last week (11 February) HM Treasury published the latest transparency returns on guests at Dorneywood. This may, or may not, have been prompted by a written question I tabled in Parliament on this very issue. 

As has been the case on previous occasions the released recorded ‘nil return’ for the period April to September 2015, noting that it did not include those guests receiving hospitality paid for by yourself or the Conservative Party.  However a separate release published by the Conservative Party in November last year revealed that Lord and Lady Wolfson attended a dinner at Dorneywood on 30 May 2015 (Lord Wolfson being a Conservative Party donor). These two releases, when taken together, suggest that the public is only getting a partial picture of how Dorneywood, a grace-and-favour residence provided by the state, is being used for party political purposes. 

Given your well known intentions to succeed David Cameron as Conservative Party Leader in the near future the question of how you use Dorneywood is becoming increasingly important. The public will expect full transparency and disclosure on this issue. For that reason I believe it only right that you publish the full details of everyone who has visited and stayed at Dorneywood since May 2010, including all those whose hospitality was paid for by yourself or the Conservative Party. Anything less than full transparency will give rise to suspicion that your access to Dorneywood is being used to give privileged treatment to certain individuals and interests in a way to further your own career. 

I believe this is important because the latest official release from the Treasury means there is no government record of which guests have been entertained by you at this property provided by the state. This is despite the fact it has been well documented that numerous events have taken place at Dorneywood since you took office. Alongside the disclosure of the dinner on 30 May 2015 it has been reported that you held your fortieth birthday party there in 2011 and that you hosted a barbecue there last summer which Conservative MPs attended. Furthermore the Leveson inquiry also revealed that a number of senior media figures have been entertained at Dorneywood on numerous occasions. Other media reports have noted that costs relating to repairs, renewals and refurbishment at the property have increased significantly since May 2010. 

It is therefore clear that Dorneywood is being used by you in a way that goes much further than the official government records would suggest. 

It is essential that the public has clarity and confidence over the proper use of properties such as Dorneywood and as such I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, 

Jonathan Ashworth