Chuka Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham, Ibiza regular and scourge of the tax avoiders, has been questioned by Guido Fawkes, who reveals Umunna had received a £2,500 donation on behalf of his party from Signature Tax Advisors, a boutique tax advice company. Signature is run by Ebrahim Sidat, also a director of AMS Accounting, based in the same building. And while he’s taken a shine to Chuka his business has also supported Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Earlier this year, Sidat and Clegg spoke about community engagement at an event funded, in part, by AMS Accounting. Sidat told the Asian Image website that “AMS Accountants Group is pleased to have been involved in facilitating an engaging evening with Nick Clegg for our client base and the wider Manchester community” and that “it is fantastic to be able to engage with political leaders”. On top of the £2,500 Sidat has donated to Umunna via Signature, his other venture, AMS Accounting, has given £5,000 to Sheffield Lib-Dems. The donation was accepted by Nick Clegg’s local party on New Year’s Eve 2013.
“Liberal Democrats believe in openness and transparency in politics, especially when it comes to political donations,” says a spokesman for the Lib Dems. “Individuals and companies are obviously free to donate to whichever political party they wish, and this donation was declared properly with the electoral commission.”
So when Sidat is the director of Signature he’s a Labourite, when he’s the director of AMS, he’s a Lib-Dem. Talk about split personality.
