Weeks before vast secretive donation to DUP, Vote Leave chief noted DUP ability to spend £700k

Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliott made the remark at a point where the DUP had not registered as an official participant in the campaign – something which it would then do before receiving the then biggest donation in the history of Northern Irish politics, the source of which is shrouded in mystery.

The episode features in a new book by the journalist Peter Geoghegan in which he explores the influence of ‘dark money’ – cash from unknown sources who wield huge political influence.

A chapter in the book, Democracy For Sale, published by Head of Zeus, describes the £435,000 given to the DUP to campaign on Brexit in Great Britain as “probably the most blatant example of dark money in recent electoral politics”.

The only clarity around the donation was that it came from a little-known body called the Constitutional Research Council, with whom only one individual is known to be associated – Scottish Tory and businessman Richard Cook.
However, there was never any suggestion that the huge sum had come from Mr Cook.

Mr Geoghegan says: “Just how much control the DUP had over its record donation and how it was spent remains unclear. And who was behind the money remains a mystery.”

The DUP and Vote Leave have always denied that there was any coordination between them as to the spending of the money – much of which went to the same firms being used by Vote Leave – and that would have been illegal.

The Electoral Commission has closed its investigation into the issue and the DUP, Vote Leave and Mr Cook have said that they abided by all the rules.

However, Mr Geoghegan argues that the case reveals a serious shortcomings in those rules which make it easy for parties to be funded by secretive donors.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe