The son of a Tory donor who hosted Boris Johnson’s wedding party was handed an £11.2million UK Government grant to build hydrogen buses. Jo Bamford’s Wrightbus was given the cash to pioneer the “green” fuel cell vehicles in March 2021.
He is the son of JCB founder Lord Bamford, who hosted Johnson’s lavish wedding party on his grand Cotswolds estate last week. The outgoing Prime Minister and his wife Carrie partied with family and friends at 18th-century Daylesford House after officially tying the knot last year during the coronavirus pandemic.
A cringeworthy video has emerged of the couple dancing to Sweet Caroline in a luxury marquee tent. Billionaire Bamford has donated millions to the Conservatives and is understood to have met at least some of the costs of the party.
SNP Cabinet Office spokesman Brendan O’Hara MP said: “Tory cronyism in this Parliament has been endemic under Boris Johnson’s leadership The public will rightly want transparency over why the UK government handed over £11.2 million to Jo Bamford’s company. He may be going, but the legacy that will follow Boris Johnson is one of Tory sleaze.
"His premiership made it crystal clear that the Westminster system is broken and no changing of the guard or tinkering around the edges will fix it. It’s time for Scots to free themselves from this sinking ship.”
Lib Dem economy spokesman Willie Rennie added: “There appears to be an unhealthy relationship between Conservative donors and Conservative Ministers responsible for awarding multi-million-pound contracts. There must be transparency about how these contracts were dished out.”
Jo Bamford is behind the world’s first double-decker powered by the gas, and Wrightbus has won multi-million pound publicly funded contracts to supply vehicles across the UK. Another of his firms, Ryze Hydrogen, is facilitating a £45million distribution hub planned for Lanarkshire and has signed a deal to import tankers of the gas from Australia.
But a leading scientist has questioned whether hydrogen offers a solution to climate change as production methods currently involve large quantities of fossil fuel.
Aberdeen University professor of chemical engineering Tom Baxter said: “Hydrogen is being touted as a silver bullet for reaching net zero emissions - in all my years working, I have never seen a lobbying operation like it to sell an idea to politicians that just doesn’t make sense. The science just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. The idea of importing hydrogen from Australia, for example, is bonkers.”
Johnson married in a low-key ceremony at Westminster Cathedral last year in front of a small group of family and friends due to Covid restrictions. A huge white marquee topped with bunting was erected in Bamford’s landscaped grounds for Johnson’s party last week.
Hay bales and benches were placed outside the tent so guests could enjoy views across the vast meadows and orchards.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “All contracts are awarded in line with procurement regulations and transparency guidelines and there are robust rules and processes in place to prevent conflicts of interest.”
Representatives of Bamford did not respond to requests for comment.
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