England's new university regulator is facing questions about a potential conflict of interest.
'Lord Wharton has been appointed chair of the Office for Students (OfS) but is also a paid adviser to a firm Aquind, which wants to build a cable linking the UK and French electricity grids.
The £1.2bn project would be built through the University of Portsmouth, which is strongly opposed to the route.
The OfS says protections are in place to prevent conflicts of interest.'
Donations in multiple £thousands have been made to him under various names (probably ex Tory Central Office funds) including from from Temerko and Cruddas.
Omitted that he is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel and was quoted:
In 2014 Wharton denied allegations by a UKIP councillor that a letter he wrote to constituents on the subject of the conflict in Gaza had "been sent to those residents who may reasonably be expected to be Muslims, based only on their names".
'Lastly, it appears that the terror group Hamas in its entirety is no longer subject to Treasury financial sanctions as it was on an EU listing. Can the Minister confirm, in writing if he is unable to answer today, that Hamas, which clearly has not changed from being a terror organisation over the past couple of weeks, will rightly continue to find itself subject to Treasury financial sanctions?'
on February 19, 2021, 9:49 am