TOBY MELVILLE
The Labor Party wants to ask the prime minister in the so-called Liaison Committee, a parliamentary committee, as several media reported on Thursday.
Previously, the BBC had posted a text message exchange between Johnson and Dyson from last year, in which they both discussed possible tax breaks for Dyson’s ventilator manufacturing company. Johnson confessed to the exchange in parliament on Wednesday and defended his actions. He will absolutely not apologize for this, the prime minister said it was ultimately a matter of saving lives. He announced that he would publish the details. However, the government initially rejected an investigation.
“The revelations today seem to confirm the growing feeling that someone with access to a phone number like that of the prime minister or the finance minister can get special benefits, possibly even significant financial ones,” wrote Labor MP Rachel Reeves in a statement. “The Prime Minister has to appear before the Liaison Committee immediately, and we need a thorough investigation into this case.” Other members of the UK government were also previously suspected of communicating with company officials through opaque channels.
Dyson moved the headquarters of his company, which is best known for vacuum cleaners, to Singapore a few years ago. At the height of the first wave in the coronavirus pandemic, the government had also called on non-specialist companies to manufacture ventilators. Dyson reportedly wanted an assurance that a government contract would not result in additional tax burdens. Johnson replied by text message: “I’ll fix this,” the BBC report said.