PM faces probe over bankrupt ‘crony’ hired to run £60bn quango
DAVID Cameron was last night facing a Commons inquiry over his ‘astonishing’ decision to appoint a bankrupt Tory crony to run a £60billion quango. The Prime Minister came under fire after it emerged he handed businessman Tony Caplin a plum public appointment a year after he was declared bankrupt for failing to pay his taxes.
Anti- sleaze rules mean that Mr Caplin was required to inform Mr Cameron of his bankruptcy, which sources say he did not.
Tory sources last night insisted Mr Cameron was unaware of Mr Caplin’s personal circumstances in July 2013 when he appointed him to the powerful role at the Public Works Loans Board, where he was responsible for overseeing £60billion of loans for infrastructure projects such as transport links, schools and hospitals.
But a simple internet search of Mr Caplin’s name on the website of the UK’s official record, The Gazette, reveals he was declared bankrupt in May 2012.
And a glance at his CV reveals he has previously held positions with a number of companies that have gone into liquidation, receivership or administration.
Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is likely we will be inquiring about how this appointment was made.’
Former sleaze watchdog Sir Alistair Graham said: ‘The most important thing now is to have an investigation of the appointment and make public all the information that was available to the Prime Minister. We can then make a judgment on whether he made a bad decision or was badly informed.’
Labour, which initially appointed Mr Caplin as a commissioner at the PWLB in 2003, said it was ‘astonishing’ that his bankruptcy could have been missed at the time he was made chairman.
Mr Caplin was chief operating officer of the Conservative Party when Mr Cameron became leader, and has a powerful network of friends and allies across the party.
He was fired as chairman of the commissioners at the PWLB on Saturday, after Downing Street was
He helped write Tory manifesto
informed of his bankruptcy by the Mail on Sunday.
A Government spokesman said it had been Mr Caplin’s responsibility to declare his bankruptcy, adding: ‘This has been pointed out to him and as a result he has resigned.’
The revelations are personally embarrassing for the Prime Minister. Mr Caplin helped him write the Tories’ 2005 manifesto.
He also once ran stockbroking firm Panmure Gordon, where Mr Cameron’s late father Ian was a partner. Mr Caplin was made bankrupt in 2012 with debts of more than £3million. The bankruptcy order was granted at the request of HM Revenue and Customs, which was owed £200,000 in taxes.
Mr Caplin made a fortune in the City but was also associated with a number of business failures in the past. Among his 47 resigned directorships were a number from firms that went bust shortly afterwards.
They included a position at Dudley Stationery and Dudley Office Supplies, which went into administration with debts of £28.5million.
The Tories also face separate questions about Mr Caplin’s links to the former head of the party’s Policy Research Unit, Iain Corby.
An email obtained by the Mail on Sunday suggests the pair were pursuing a secret £5billion investment deal from which they would both benefit financially.
The message from Mr Corby to Mr Caplin read: ‘Tony, I have anything from £100m – £5bn to invest in UK infrastructure projects, after the construction risk is concluded.
‘Any opportunities come to mind? (Aussie pension fund money). Just acting as an intermediary, so my commission is from the investor, yours from the investment. Thanks. Iain.’ Both men had privileged access to Government information on upcoming projects.
Mr Corby was sacked last month after claims of publicly funded sex parties at the PRU.