David Mackintosh: ex-MP 'hid source of donations'

The trial of a former Tory MP has heard how he received £39,000 in disguised political donations.

David Mackintosh, who represented Northampton South before stepping down in 2017, is accused alongside another man of not declaring the true source of the money.

The prosecution said the case "cuts across transparency and democracy".

Mr Mackintosh, and Howard Grossman, a property developer from Hertfordshire, both deny the charges.

Both are appearing before Warwick Crown Court accused of breaking electoral laws designed to ensure the true source of political donations are disclosed to the registered party receiving them.

The registered party in this case was the Northampton South Conservative Association.

Opening the prosecution case, William Boyce KC told the jury Mr Grossman had entered into a contract to develop Northampton Town Football Club's Sixfields stadium while Mr Mackintosh was the leader of the now defunct Northampton Borough Council.

This was funded by a series of loans from the council to the club and it was alleged both men became friends after being introduced to each other in 2012 by the football club's then owner David Cardoza.

Nine donations were made to Mr Mackintosh's political campaign ahead of the 2015 general election, Mr Boyce said, made up of three of £10,000 each, and six of £1,500 each.

Mr Grossman, 61, from Bushey, was the ultimate source of all of these payments, the prosecutor continued, and they were made through 1st Land Ltd, a company set up to carry out the Sixfields development.

Mr Boyce added the smaller amounts were at the threshold of the limit beyond which they would have had to have been declared to the Electoral Commission.

The jury heard how 44-year-old Mr Mackintosh had been introduced to one of the £10,000 donors, Al Mayfield, at a fundraising gala for the Amy Winehouse Foundation and both men had visited the set of EastEnders in the company of Mr Grossman's wife, Mandy.

Mr Boyce told the court the two defendants emailed, texted and spoke with each other over the phone in relation to the nine donations.

He told the jury, Mr Grossman had asked another of the £10,000 donors, Gary Platt, to tell his auditor that the payment to his company, Apple Consultants, by 1st Land was a loan.

One email from Mr Platt to Grossman asked "are you 100% this is above board?" to which he replied that it was "all kosher and good", Mr Boyce added.

The issue for the jury to decide in relation to Mr Mackintosh, Mr Boyce said, was whether the former MP knew where the donations had come from.

"On Mr Mackintosh's case, Mr Grossman's generosity must have extended to helping him... without telling his friend what he was doing," he said.

"This case is not about why he [Mr Grossman] wished to donate money - it's about the methodology he employed in doing so. The prosecution do not have to prove why he did it."

Mr Grossman went on to organise a £295-a-head fundraiser for Mr Mackintosh at London's Carlton Club, known for its ties to the Conservatives, in November 2014, showing how close the two men were, according to Mr Boyce.

During his police interview in March 2018, the court heard Mr Mackintosh answered no comment to the questions put to him, instead providing a prepared statement.

Mr Grossman also provided detectives with a statement, saying he was "genuinely impressed" by the MP and wanted to support him.

The case is expected to last up to six weeks.