The Times February 4th 2017
Barry Gardiner's receipt of funds from Christine Lee and employment of her son was first covered by Wembley Matters 5 years ago when allegations were made by the Times newspaper. At the time Gardiner made the following statement on his website:
“Christine Lee & Co have generously supported my work as a Member of Parliament over many years since we first worked together to fight against plans to redevelop Oriental City and the loss of homes, livelihoods and community ties in Brent. The firm has enabled me to appoint a strong research support team to hold the government to account. This has always been transparently and appropriately recorded in the register of members’ interests. The Times article has revealed nothing that was not already in the public domain and they themselves admit that the secondment of staff was properly declared and state that “there is no suggestion of impropriety”.
The statement is no longer available on Gardiner's website but was included in Wembley Matters' coverage
It wasn't just Tories under the influence (The Times February 4th 2017)
At the time the sum involved was put at £180,000 and 5 years later is said to be c£500,00 between 2015 and 2020 by some accounts. The new circumstances are M15's warning to parliamentarians and the worsening US and UK relationship with China and the clampdown in Hong Kong. Back in 2017 Barry Gardiner was a prominent supporter of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet and had been praised for his media appearances.
Yesterday's annoncement is of course concerning and raises questions about Gardiner's judgement (as does his friendship with Modi) but has been seized upon by Tories to help deflect attention from 'partygate' and the government's culpability in the many deaths that would not have happened with better management of the Covid crisis.
In contrast to Boris Johnson, Gardiner appeared on LBC yesterday to answer questions from the presenter Iain Dale and his listeners. I leave it up to readers to make up their own mind when they watch the recordings. Gardiner said he regarded Jennifer Lee as a friend and felt betrayed by her.
Recordings can be found HERE on the LBC website.
It is worth recalling the prescient comment made by Wembley Matters contributor Philip Grant on Barry Gardiner's 2017 statement:
Oh,come on, Barry! You may have declared the "donations" you received from Ms Lee's firm in the register of Members' interests, but the standards of conduct in public life require that:-'... you should not place yourself in situations where your integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.'
Ms Lee's firm acts as a legal adviser to the Chinese Embassy / Barry Gardiner MP (recipient of £180k in staff costs from that firm) was a strong supporter of Chinese involvement in the Hinkley Point nuclear power station project. Is that not placing yourself in a situation where your integrity may be questioned?
One of the staff funded by the £180k from Ms Lee's firm was Ms Lee's son, who worked in Barry Gardiner MP's Westminster Office, so presumably has a "pass" enabling him to access parts of Parliament not generally open to the public.
Given Ms Lee's links with the Chinese Embassy, does that not pose a security risk, and again raise doubts over whether our MP has put himself in a situation where his integrity, the appearance of his behaviour, and his judgement, could be called into question?
