'Mr Access All Areas' has transformed Tory party coffers but left series of scandals in his wake
The TelegraphFor a man whose livelihood depends on connections, it is perhaps unsurprising Mr Elliot met his future wife Mary-Clare, the daughter of the American rock star Steve Winwood, backstage at an Eric Clapton concert in Madison Square Gardens in New York. Mr Elliot has harboured political ambition for some years and had previously declared that he would “love to represent a West Country seat” as an MP and more recently has been accused - an allegation his friends deny - of undermining Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the MP for The Cotswolds since 1997, where Mr Elliot now lives. Mr Elliot is also old friends with Lord - formerly Zac - Goldsmith, the Environment Minister, who in turn is a confidante of Carrie Johnson, the prime minister’s third wife. Although co-chairman of the party, he is also the sole chairman of the Conservative Party Board and the party’s chief executive is said to report directly to Mr Elliot rather than Ms Milling. Super-rich donors Under Mr Elliot’s stewardship the potential for super-rich donors to influence the prime minister appears greater than ever - even if the Conservative Party insists policy and donations are not linked.
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Tory chairman Ben Elliot ‘sold access to his uncle Prince Charles’
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