An oil firm whose chief executive has bankrolled the Conservatives won exclusive rights to trade with Libyan rebels during the conflict, following secret talks involving the British Government.
The deal with Vitol was said to have been masterminded by Alan Duncan, the former oil trader turned junior minister, who has close business links to the oil firm and was previously a director of one of its subsidiaries.
Mr Duncan’s private office received funding from the head of Vitol before the general election. Ian Taylor, the company’s chief executive and a friend of Mr Duncan, has given more than £200,000 to the Conservatives.
Vitol is thought to be the only oil firm to have traded with the rebels during the Libyan conflict. Oil industry sources said that other firms including BP, Shell and Glencore had not been approached over the deal. One well-placed source said this was “very surprising” because other companies would have been keen to be involved.
The Daily Telegraph.
Oops!
Eagle-eyed viewers may notice this story was being given a very different spin yesterday;
'How Cameron's secret unit choked off oil supplies to Gaddafi's frontline forces - 'Libyan oil cell' was run by international development minister Alan Duncan and helped to strengthen sanctions against country'
The Guardian.
Diddy Alan Duncan has form on this.
Before he went into politics, he set himself up as an independent oil trader in 1989, and made his first millions during the first Gulf War, selling oil to Pakistan when Kuwait was occupied by Iraq.
This allowed Duncan to (semi) retire, and he became a Conservative MP in 1992.
And arguably, ten years later, his immense wealth gave him the cushion and the clout to become the first Tory MP to come out.
But remember, if anyone asks, it was a humanitarian intervention...
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