Tories face questions over co-chair's firm marketing Covid tests to rich clients

The Conservative Party is facing questions about how much it knew about the business activities of its co-chair at the start of the pandemic.

The Times has reported that Ben Elliot's firm arranged for its wealthy clients to buy PCR and antibody tests.

Labour accused Mr Elliot of marketing them at a time when the NHS and care homes "were crying out" for more tests.

The Conservatives said the firm's activities are "entirely separate" from the party.

Mr Elliot is a co-founder of Quintessentially - a company which helps its customers with a range of services from organising holidays, buying properties and arranging private concerts by pop stars.

In a statement, the company said it worked on a "purely reactive basis".

"Quintessentially helped put those members that requested a test, (which were in fact a very small number), in touch with the suppliers directly," a spokesman added.

In an exchange seen by the Times, a Quintessentially lifestyle manager explained to Mohamed Amersi - a client and Conservative donor - the various Covid testing options being offered by a private healthcare company.

This included the chance to buy PCR tests at a cost of £295 and antibody blood tests for £139.

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests determine whether someone has coronavirus and are more sensitive than the alternative lateral flow tests.

The document from the healthcare company said the tests were carried out by the same labs that were testing for the NHS, but insisted that this would not undermine the capacity for NHS testing.

In a letter to the Conservatives, Labour's chair Anneliese Dodds said: "It beggars belief that in the middle of this national crisis, when our NHS and care homes were crying out for more Covid tests and the Conservative government was failing to provide them, Mr Elliot's company was marketing the very same tests to its super rich client list - and highlighting their use in the NHS as a selling point.

"Indeed, these tests were being offered to Quintessentially clients before they were even available to care home staff and residents without symptoms."

She said it raised "serious questions about the culture within your party" and asked the Conservative's other co-chair, Amanda Milling, whether the party knew about the company's activities.

She also asked if Ms Milling had had any discussions with Mr Elliot about potential conflicts of interest and what action she intended to take against him.

On Monday, Labour also urged the Conservatives to "come clean" about reports in the Financial Times that Mr Elliot had developed an exclusive club to connect Tory supporters with senior figures.

Businessman and Conservative donor Mohamed Amersi told the newspaper it was a "very elite" membership with people required to "cough up £250,000 per annum or be a friend of Ben".

In response, Ms Milling said government policy was "in no way influenced by the donations the party receives".

She said all parties needed to fundraise, adding that: "If political parties didn't have a fundraising system in place they would be forced to use taxpayers money."