Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had a private lunch with an ex-boss who has been making huge profits by betting against the falling pound, the Times newspaper has revealed. Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is said to have cooked an "informal dinner" for Kwarteng at his home during the Tory leadership contest back in July.
The meeting took place just days before Liz Truss - whose candidacy then business secretary Kwarteng backed - was announced as one of the two front runners for the PM role. A source told The Times that said the pair met in a "personal capacity and did not discuss any plans for government," adding that, at the time, no one knew if Truss would emerge victorious.
They also stated that she had yet to name Kwarteng as being her potential chancellor. Meanwhile, Odey himself has said that he and Kwarteng, who worked for Odey Asset Management before becoming an MP, "have never discussed anything but the usual gossip of politics".
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"At the time he came for lunch, it was not known who was going to win the leadership and he wasn’t particularly optimistic about getting one of the big three," Odey added. "I have never talked to Kwasi about anything serious and I have the utmost respect for his intelligence and his insights - I think that he has shown bravery."
63-year-old Odey - who, along with his wife, has an estimated personal fortune of £825m - has donated more than £75,000 to the Tories since 2017 and helped bankroll former Prime Minister Boris Johnson 's leadership campaign. He has reportedly overseen a 145% rise in his company's main fund this year and was previously revealed to have made £220 million overnight following the Brexit vote.
Having described his bets against government debt as "the gifts that keep on giving" he also denied, during an interview with the Financial Times, having a trading advantage due to the fact Kwarteng once worked for him. "There's a mad idea that one's behind every twist and turn," he said.
"All I can do is catch the wind now and again." Instead, he blamed the state of the pound on "Remainers" who "hate the government."
In addition, he told The Times he'd had been short-selling both sterling and UK government debt, known as gilts, for two years - way before Kwarteng announced his plan last week for tax cuts and higher borrowing, leading to a fall in value.
"I am patriotic and it annoys me that the press seek to make out that I hate my country and want it to fail," said Odey. "Just because my greatest returns come from moments when the markets are having to adjust to something they haven’t considered."
A supporter of the Truss government’s approach, he added, "I believe the changes they propose are meant to make the UK a more attractive place to invest and live. We can all quibble about the rate of tax, but it must make sense to allow individuals to bring in cash and not be taxed as if it is income."
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