A senior Conservative has admitted that he and the chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng attended a private champagne reception with hedge fund managers at the home of a Conservative donor on the same day he delivered his mini-budget.
The chancellor is alleged to have given guests information about forthcoming government spending cuts during the event at the west London home of Andrew Law, a financier, on the evening of Friday 23 September.
Kwarteng’s mini-budget earlier in the day, which introduced a £45bn package of tax cuts that will mostly benefit the richest fifth of households, triggered economic turmoil. Sterling collapsing to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 and the Bank of England was forced to act to save pension funds.
The Conservative party chair, Jake Berry, said the drinks reception was not unusual and that property developers had also been present.
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