A Tory tycoon and a senior Conservative adviser were yesterday accused of trying to ‘bully’ former MP Charlotte Leslie.
These comments were made during a heated Commons debate about her treatment.
The parliamentary division criticized Carl Hunter, a prominent Conservative adviser and Mohamed Amersi, a multimillionaire Tory donor.
Miss Leslie, an ex-Bristol North West Tory politician, fell out last year with Mr Amersi after he claimed that he attempted to use his wealth for the purchase of a Tory group she ran which seeks to improve UK-Middle East relations.
Mr Amersi, who then launched his own Tory Middle East group, Comena, to rival Miss Leslie’s Conservative Middle East Council, fiercely denies any wrongdoing.
Conservative adviser Carl Hunter and multi-millionaire Tory donor Mohamed Amersi (pictured) were yesterday accused of trying to ‘bully’ former MP Charlotte Leslie
It follows Wednesday’s disclosure by the Daily Mail of shocking leaked phone calls between Mr Hunter and Miss Leslie.
In the calls, Mr Hunter told her she needed to ‘consider being able to walk the dog at night’ if she refused to apologise to Mr Amersi. Miss Leslie complained to the police about the ‘sinister’ calls.
There is no suggestion Mr Amersi was aware of the nature of Mr Hunter’s conversations with Miss Leslie or instructed him to speak to her in the way he did. During yesterday’s debate, ex-Tory Cabinet minister David Davis said Mr Hunter ‘engaged in bullying and egregious behaviour’ towards Miss Leslie when he ‘tried to broker peace’ between her and Mr Amersi.
And Labour MP Liam Byrne said: ‘What on earth is going on in this country when people like this are able to issue threats to anyone – never mind former MPs?’
Last night Mr Amersi denied trying to ‘intimidate’ Miss Leslie and accused her of ‘trying to portray herself as the victim when the reverse is true’.
He claimed Mr Davis and Mr Byrne had ‘hidden behind Parliamentary privilege to recycle false allegations’ against him in a dossier compiled by Miss Leslie.
He hoped to meet the two MPs to ‘explain the truth’ about his ‘business dealings and relationships in Russia so they can retract their remarks’. Hunter did not respond to our request.
Miss Leslie, an ex-Bristol North West Tory MP (pictured), argued with Mr Amersi after she said he attempted to use his wealth for the purchase of a Tory group that was run by her. This Tory group aims to improve UK-Middle East relations.
Mr Davis told MPs’ that Mr Amersi ‘tried to force his way to becoming CMEC chair – ‘because he saw it as his route to a knighthood’ and had ‘used his wealth and influence to try to bully Miss Leslie into silence,’ said Mr Davis.
He continued: ‘Mr Amersi is used to getting his way. In an effort to get it solved, he throws money at problems. Ms Leslie has been subject to this legal harassment for a year now.’
Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, told the debate she had been subjected to ‘utterly disgraceful intimidation.’
Labour MP Liam Byrne said Mr Hunter told Miss Leslie that if she did not apologise to Mr Amersi her legal dispute with him had ‘all possibility of going further to a really gruesome stage.’
Mr Byrne said: ‘What on earth is going on in this country when people like this are able to issue threats to anyone – never mind former MPs?’
There is no suggestion Mr Amersi was aware of the nature of Mr Hunter’s conversations with Miss Leslie or instructed him to speak to her in the way he did. Pictured with Prince Charles:
The remarks by the MPs were made under Parliamentary privilege in a debate on so called ‘lawfare’ – whereby wealthy foreign businessmen are accused of using British courts to pursue their critics and undermine press freedom.
At the heart of this debate was Justice Minister James Cartlidge and Conservative MP Julian Lewis (chairman of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee).
Accusing Mr Cartlidge of failing to offer enough support Miss Leslie, Mr Lewis told him bluntly: ‘She was trying to see whether or not the money that was being offered by someone who wanted to take over a political organisation within the Conservative Party was clean or dirty.
‘As a result of her doing her duty, she is threatened with financial ruin. If you my cannot see the relevance of my asking for protection for such people to this debate, you need to go back and restudy your brief.’
Julian Lewis, Tory MP and Justice Minister James Cartlidge advocate for more action in support of Miss Leslie here.