James Cleverly billed taxpayers £20k for his website and comms consultants
Tory James Cleverly charged taxpayers £20,000 updating his website and hiring people to advise him on 'digital communications', documents have revealed.
The former leadership contender, whom Kemi Badenoch named her Shadow Housing Secretary last month, claimed £7,000 on expenses for 'Digital Communications Constituency Services' in March (2025), according to watchdog IPSA.
The same month he claimed a further £5,400 for 'Comprehensive constituency communications and videography services.'
But unusually, IPSA's records don't say who the payments were made to.
It comes after Kemi Badenoch admitted she'd snitched on a child at school and had them expelled
Meanwhile, Mr Cleverly claimed a further £4,404 for 'website hosting and design' for his website between May 2024 and March 2025 - more than £400 a month.
During the same period the average spend per month for MPs who claimed back the cost of their websites was £67.
Again, the records don't say who the money was paid to.
Mr Cleverly did not respond to requests for comment.
Kemi Badenoch brought Sir James, her former cabinet colleague during Rishi Sunak's administration, back into the fold in a reshuffle last month.
Sir James stood as a candidate in last year's Conservative leadership election, but lost out on the Tory top job ahead of the final heat between Mrs Badenoch and her now-shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick. Since the leadership contest, he has returned to the Tory back benches as the MP for Braintree.
In 2023 The Mirror reported the former Cabinet minister joked about giving his wife a date-rape drug, just hours after announcing a crackdown on the growing epidemic of drinks spiking. The top Tory told female guests at a No10 reception that 'a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night' was 'not really illegal if it's only a little bit'.
A spokesman for the ex-Home Secretary said at the time: "In what was always understood as a private conversation, James, the Home Secretary tackling spiking, made what was clearly meant to be an ironic joke - for which he apologises."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I played Hug, Marry, Avoid with Labour MP Dawn Butler and couldn't stop laughing'
The Mirror's new YouTube show Party Games sees familiar faces from across the political spectrum for a party like no other - with a series of games to tease out stories from MPs It is not often you get to play games with elected Members of Parliament. But it is exactly what I am doing on The Mirror 's new show, Party Games, which was launched this Saturday, June 16. In the programme on The Mirror's YouTube channel, I host familiar faces from across the political spectrum for a party like no other. Our first guest is Labour MP for Brent East Dawn Butler. You can watch the first episode on YouTube now. Wearing an obligatory party hat, I spin a wheel of fortune to decide which games to play - with each one having its own special ability to tease out funny stories, emotional moments and, of course, some political jabs from MPs. They include 'Would You Rather?' where MPs have to make a painful choice out of two options, and 'Never Have I Ever?', There is also the 'Ask Me Anything' round and the '30-Second Pitch', where the guest gets to talk for 30 seconds about an issue, cause or campaign they are passionate about. There is also the 'Ask Me Anything' round and 'Hug, Marry, Avoid', where MPs have to choose who'd they'd hug, marry or avoid out of a given list of three people. I have to admit Dawn's reaction including Reform UK MPs Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Richard Tice did draw a cackling laugh out of me. "What? What are you talking about?," she said incredulously. "They're not options. They're all the same... I feel like I need help after this. I need therapy now." In an age where MPs face increasingly vicious intimidation, hate and violence, The Mirror's show hopes to allow viewers to get to know the humans behind the pomp of Westminster. Here's a look at some of the best moments from the episode. Have you ever been told off by the Speaker? 'Well obviously I got thrown out of Parliament for calling Boris Johnson a liar,' she said. 'He lied over and over and over again. I was just like, come on, he's gaslighting the whole country. And I'd had enough. I'm that kind of conviction politician, so what is the point in me being here if I'm not going to sort of speak truth to power? The doorkeepers came up to me and said, I had to leave Parliament - the whole estate - straight away, or do I need to be escorted off? And I was like, good job I had my keys on me.' Would you rather be London mayor or Prime Minister? 'London mayor. To represent London - and I'm a Londoner through, born in East London - just having London the way I have experienced it and see it, and just making London wonderful for everyone, and everyone being sort of proud of London and being a Londoner, yeah, I'd love to be Mayor of London.' Asked if she'd be running in the next mayoral election, she added: 'Once there's a vacancy, I will put my hat in the ring.' What was your greatest moment in politics? 'I was the first black female MP to ever stand at that despatch box as a government minister. And when I think back, I think, God, I made history. And a few weeks before, we were talking about the abolition of slavery, and I thought, God, they'd all be spinning in their graves knowing that there's a black woman at the dispatch box representing Her Majesty's Government. And so that's one of my proudest moments.' Would you rather stand out or follow the crowd? 'You have to stand out from the crowd, especially if you're a Black woman, what's the point? You're always going to stand out, right? And I remember somebody saying to me that if I want to be taken seriously as a politician, I need to tone down my dress. And that was it: I was like, illuminate! You're going to need sunglasses when I walk in a room.' Watch the Mirror's YouTube show Party Games IT is not often you get to play games with elected Members of Parliament. But it is exactly what I am doing on The Mirror's show, Party Games, which was launched last night. In the programme on the Mirror's YouTube channel, I host familiar faces from across the political spectrum for a party like no other. Wearing an obligatory party hat, I spin a wheel of fortune to decide which games to play - with each one having its own special ability to tease out funny stories, emotional moments and, of course, some political points from MPs. They include 'Would You Rather?' where MPs have to make a painful choice out of two options, and 'Never Have I Ever?', There is also the 'Ask Me Anything' round and 'Hug, Marry, Avoid', where MPs have to choose who'd they'd hug, marry or avoid out of a given list of three people. The '30-Second Pitch' round is where the guest gets to talk for 30 seconds about an issue, cause or campaign they are passionate about. In an age where MPs face increasingly vicious intimidation, hate and violence, The Mirror's show hopes to allow viewers to get to know the humans behind the pomp of Westminster. You can watch Party Games on YouTube now. What is an issue you are passionate about? 'My summer campaign 2025 is about cleaning up our high streets. At the moment, councils are not allowed to say no to betting shops and adult gaming centres. That's why we have so many in poorer areas. So what I want to do is make sure we change the law - the 2005 Gambling Act - so that councils can have more of a say, so that people can have more of a say, because our high streets deserve to be better, we deserve high streets that are full of beautiful complexity and not so many betting shops.'
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Putin's dark childhood from mother's eye gouged out to being chased by rats
Vladimir Putin has become one of the most powerful men in the world, but his childhood was marked by tragedy and violence in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg The world has been watching President Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin with baited breath - and whilst the US leader is determined to forge a reputation as a peacemaker, it is yet to be seen how much success can be found in his Alaska summit with the President of the Russian Federation, with no deal being reached. Putin might now hold a formidable reputation, but he undoubtedly has come a long way since the early years of his childhood, which were mired by poverty and violence in Leningrad - now called St. Petersburg. Some experts have gone so far as to claim the Russian President's unrelenting attitude to his invasion of Ukraine can be traced back to these early experiences. The Mirror looks back at his childhood as Putin warns of nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine. Putin was born on 7 October 1952, seven years after the Second World War ended, in St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad. His parents, Vladimir and Maria, had previously had two sons before he was born, both of whom had died. Putin is reported to be notoriously reticent about mentioning his deceased siblings, and only the name of one is known: Viktor. The other sibling is said to have died whilst an infant, but Viktor's death during the 872-day German siege on Leningrad is reported to have occurred in "terrible circumstances" - per Psychology Today. Aged just one year old, Maria, who was "near death" due to starvation caused by the siege, put Viktor into a children's home, hoping that he would be protected there. Heartbreakingly, he was no safer in the home in reality, and he died from diphtheria and was buried in an unmarked mass grave - one that Putin is said to visit during official commemorations of the long siege. By the time Putin was even born, his life was marked by tragedy, and not just that of the death of his elder brothers. Before his parents even married, a terrifying attack from Vladimir Senior against Maria is claimed to have been the start of their relationship, due to the "disgrace" he brought upon her with his violence. An explosive book, The Tsar in Person: How Vladimir Putin Fooled Us All, about the Russian President's life, claimed that in a "fit of rage" his father gouged out his mother's eye with a pitchfork. The book alleges that Putin's father went with male friends to Maria's home - who was known as Marusya - when she was there by herself in 1928, according to someone who lived in the village in the Tver region. The young woman refused to let them in, causing Vladimir Senior to become enraged. "They took the pitchfork that was standing by the fence and started breaking down the gate. She got scared, ran out of the house, and raced up to the fence. "And Volodka [Vladimir senior, Putin's father] at that moment broke through the gate with the pitchfork and hit Marusya right in the face. "In short, he accidentally gouged out her eye. He took her to the hospital right away. There, Marusya's eye was removed." This was seen as a "disgrace" so Maria's mother "threatened Volodka: if you don't marry, I'll put you on trial. So they got married. Marusya was very embarrassed about her glass eye later, never looked you in the face when talking, and tilted her head to the side." The villager added that Putin's father was notorious for abusing and terrorising local girls, "He liked to lift up girls' skirts and tie them in a knot over their heads," so that he and other local men could see their underwear. Putin totally denies that this interpretation of his parents' characters, but he has admitted that he had a tough childhood in some respects. In his memoir, Putin described the vermin-ridded neighbourhood he grew up in, and wrote about a time he had an encounter with a rat. "It had nowhere to run,' Putin said. "Suddenly it lashed around and threw itself at me… Luckily, I was a little faster and I managed to slam the door shut in its nose.' Some have argued that experiences like this one, along with the fact that he was scrawny, small and often bullied and attacked in his area as a child, have influenced his attitude that there can be no backing down from a fight. His close pal from his schooldays is reported to have said about him, "He could get into a fight with anyone… He had no fear… If some hulking guy offended him, he would jump straight at him – scratch him, bite him, pull out clumps of his hair." At home his parents are said to have doted on him wildly, but outside of the house, this certainly was not the case, "As he himself admits, it was then, in neighbourhood brawls, that he learned lessons that he has followed ever since – to take on any and all adversaries, never to retreat, and to fight to the finish," reports The Week.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I got kicked out of Parliament for my brutal takedown of Boris Johnson'
Dawn Butler has said there's no point in being an MP if it's not to 'speak truth to power' as she recounted being kicked out of Parliament for insulting Boris Johnson A Labour MP who was kicked out of Parliament for calling Boris Johnson a one-word insult has doubled down with a more brutal attack. Appearing on The Mirror 's new show Party Games, Dawn Butler said the former Tory PM was "gaslighting the whole country" looked back on being thrown out of the Commons in 2021. The moment came up as the Labour MP for Brent East played 'Never Have I Ever?' with The Mirror's Sophie Huskisson - and was asked 'Never Have I Ever been told off by the Speaker'. The Mirror's new YouTube show Party Games, which launched on Saturday, sees MPs play a series of games, which tease out funny stories, emotional moments and political jabs from MPs. You can watch the first episode with Ms Butler on YouTube by clicking here. 'I played Hug, Marry, Avoid with Labour MP Dawn Butler and couldn't stop laughing' Asked if she'd ever been told off by the Speaker in the House of Commons, Ms Butler responded: 'Well obviously I got thrown out of Parliament for calling Boris Johnson a liar.' Pressed why she called him that, she continued: 'Because he was a liar! He lied over and over and over again. 'I was just like, come on, he's gaslighting the whole country. And I'd had enough. I'm that kind of conviction politician, so what is the point in me being here if I'm not going to sort of speak truth to power? The doorkeepers came up to me and said, I had to leave Parliament - the whole estate - straight away, or do I need to be escorted off? And I was like, good job I had my keys on me.' The row happened in 2021 during a discussion in the Commons on the prospect of a public inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic. Under the Commons rules, it is forbidden to call another MP a liar and considered unparliamentary language. But Ms Butler had had enough of Mr Johnson's behaviour during the pandemic and told the Commons: "Poor people in our country have paid with their lives because the Prime Minister has spent the last 18 months misleading this House and the country over and over again." She highlighted disputed claims made by the PM about the Covid vaccination programme, adding: "It's dangerous to lie in a pandemic. I am disappointed the Prime Minister has not come to the House to correct the record and correct the fact that he has lied to the House and the country over and over again." Ms Butler refused and said: "It's funny that we get in trouble in this place for calling out the lie rather than the person lying." After being asked to reflect on her words, she added: "I've reflected on my words and somebody needs to tell the truth in this House that the Prime Minister has lied." Here's a look at some of the other best moments from the episode Would you rather be London mayor or Prime Minister? 'London mayor. To represent London - and I'm a Londoner through, born in East London - just having London the way I have experienced it and see it, and just making London wonderful for everyone, and everyone being sort of proud of London and being a Londoner, yeah, I'd love to be Mayor of London.' Asked if she'd be running in the next mayoral election, she added: 'Once there's a vacancy, I will put my hat in the ring.' What was your greatest moment in politics? 'I was the first black female MP to ever stand at that despatch box as a government minister. And when I think back, I think, God, I made history. And a few weeks before, we were talking about the abolition of slavery, and I thought, God, they'd all be spinning in their graves knowing that there's a black woman at the dispatch box representing Her Majesty's Government. And so that's one of my proudest moments.' Watch the Mirror's YouTube show Party Games IT is not often you get to play games with elected Members of Parliament. But it is exactly what I am doing on The Mirror's show, Party Games, which was launched last night. In the programme on the Mirror's YouTube channel, I host familiar faces from across the political spectrum for a party like no other. Wearing an obligatory party hat, I spin a wheel of fortune to decide which games to play - with each one having its own special ability to tease out funny stories, emotional moments and, of course, some political points from MPs. They include 'Would You Rather?' where MPs have to make a painful choice out of two options, and 'Never Have I Ever?', There is also the 'Ask Me Anything' round and 'Hug, Marry, Avoid', where MPs have to choose who'd they'd hug, marry or avoid out of a given list of three people. The '30-Second Pitch' round is where the guest gets to talk for 30 seconds about an issue, cause or campaign they are passionate about. In an age where MPs face increasingly vicious intimidation, hate and violence, The Mirror's show hopes to allow viewers to get to know the humans behind the pomp of Westminster. You can watch Party Games on YouTube now. Would you rather stand out or follow the crowd? 'You have to stand out from the crowd, especially if you're a Black woman, what's the point? You're always going to stand out, right? And I remember somebody saying to me that if I want to be taken seriously as a politician, I need to tone down my dress. And that was it: I was like, illuminate! You're going to need sunglasses when I walk in a room.' What is an issue you are passionate about? 'My summer campaign 2025 is about cleaning up our high streets. At the moment, councils are not allowed to say no to betting shops and adult gaming centres. That's why we have so many in poorer areas. So what I want to do is make sure we change the law - the 2005 Gambling Act - so that councils can have more of a say, so that people can have more of a say, because our high streets deserve to be better, we deserve high streets that are full of beautiful complexity and not so many betting shops.'
