London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Feb 23, 2026

Banned City trader an organiser of Tories' Black and White ball

Banned City trader an organiser of Tories' Black and White ball

Jay Rutland part of event committee that fundraised for annual Conservative party

The phone tycoon who arranged Boris Johnson’s £15,000 Caribbean holiday and a businessman who has been banned from City trading are among 11 Conservative supporters who helped organise the party’s fundraising ball, the Guardian can disclose.

A leaked document shows that the party’s annual Black and White fundraising event on Tuesday was organised by a committee that includes the Carphone Warehouse founder, David Ross, who called in a favour to provide the prime minister and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, with a free holiday in Mustique over the new year.

Jay Rutland, the Essex businessman whose wife is the socialite Tamara Ecclestone, is also on the list. He previously worked in the financial sector in the City of London but in 2012 was banned from trading over “market abuse”.

The Financial Services Authority ruled that Rutland, the son-in-law of Bernie Ecclestone was not a “fit and proper person” and that his behaviour demonstrated a lack of “honesty and integrity”. In 2016 Rutland was cleared by a court of assisting a drugs baron to evade justice.

At the event, held on Tuesday in Battersea Evolution club, south London, cabinet ministers including the prime minister rubbed shoulders with wealthy party supporters. The annual event raises millions for the Conservative party.

One donor paid £60,000 for gold and silver versions of the Brexit Day commemorative coin and a signed copy of the withdrawal agreement, it was reported.

The auction also included a flight in a Lancaster Bomber with the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, a game of tennis with Johnson, and lunch with the justice secretary, Robert Buckland – in a prison restaurant.

Around 700 attendees paid up to £15,000 a table and dined on red mullet, salsa verde and artichoke, according to the Mirror. A cabinet minister was placed on most tables and drinks included champagne and white burgundy.


Other auction lots included a night of whisky tasting with Liz Truss, lunch with Zac Goldsmith and dinner at a Mayfair club with Michael Gove.

A day in a box at Lords for a one-day cricket international between England and Australia with the chancellor Rishi Sunak was also sold off.

It is the ball’s organising committee that is asked to contact the great and the good to come along to the event, and donate or suggest possible prizes, according to one party insider.

A document leaked to the Guardian shows that the other committee members include Anya Hindmarch, a handbag designer and former businesswoman of the year, George Bamford, an entrepreneur and son of the billionaire Conservative peer and vocal Brexit supporter Lord Bamford, and Amit Bhatia, the founding partner of Swordfish Investments and chairman of Queens Park Rangers football club.

Two of the UK’s most prominent theatre impresarios are also listed as committee members. They are John Gore, a theatre producer who gave the party £1m in the run up to last year’s general election, and Sally Greene, the former chief executive at the Old Vic Theatre.

Nicholas Coleridge, former head of Condé Naste and the chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Kate Reardon, a former editor of Tatler, are also listed, along with Phoebe Vela, the wife of the property tycoon John Hitchcox, who owns the Olympia exhibition hall in west London.

Jamie Reuben, the Melbury Capital financier and son of the billionaire property developer David Reuben, chaired the committee. He donated £50,000 to Johnson’s leadership campaign last year.
At the Tories’ summer ball last year prizes included a £15,000 eight-person excursion to shoot pheasants on an estate in Scotland, and a £27,000 all-expenses-paid trip to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

At the 2018 Black and White ball a bidder paid about £55,000 for the privilege of spending a working day with Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time.

Figures released by the electoral commission in November showed that Johnson’s party raised more than £5.67m in large donations – defined as amounts of more than £7,500 – compared with £218,500 given to Labour in the run-up to the general election.
As well as the prime minister and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, other politicians at the ball included the Foreign Office minister James Cleverly.

The event was compèred by Go Compare’s opera-singing mascot, Wynne Evans. One source claimed that Richard Desmond, the former owner of the Express newspapers, was also there.

Helena Morrissey, a financier, tweeted a photo of Johnson at the event with the caption: “Fun evening at the Conservatives Winter Party, with rousing speech (as always) by the Prime Minister.”

At the Tories’ summer ball last year prizes included a £15,000 eight-person excursion to shoot pheasants on an estate in Scotland, and a £27,000 all-expenses-paid trip to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

At the 2018 Black and White ball a bidder paid about £55,000 for the privilege of spending a working day with Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time.

Figures released by the electoral commission in November showed that Johnson’s party raised more than £5.67m in large donations – defined as amounts of more than £7,500 – compared with £218,500 given to Labour in the run-up to the general election.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Police Officers Guarded 2010 Epstein Dinner Attended by Prince Andrew, Reports Say
US Trade Representative Affirms Commitment to Existing Tariff Agreements with UK and Other Partners
Activists at the Louvre hung a framed Reuters photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor slumped in the back of a car leaving a police station on the day of his arrest
The royal biographer said that he expected the police to 'look at the money trail' - including Sarah Ferguson borrowing money from Epstein
A Protestor screams in NYC: “Bill Gates is on the Epstein’s List…”
FBI and Secret Service Hold Press Conference After Shooting Incident at Mar-a-Lago
Mark Zuckerberg Testifies in Trial Over Social Media's Impact on Children's Mental Health
Maggie Oliver exposes Keir Starmer using letters to close child rapists investigations
Kouri Richie's wrote a children’s book to help her sons grieve the death of their father. Now she’ll stand trial for his murder
New York Braces for Major Snowstorm With Up to 18 Inches Forecast and Blizzard Warnings Issued
Mexican Military Kills CJNG Leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes as Violence Erupts Across Jalisco
Metropolitan Police Deploys Palantir-Powered AI to Flag Potential Officer Misconduct
UK Parliament Rebukes Police Over Ban on Israeli Football Fans
Britain Emerges Among a Small Group of Nations Without a Religious Majority
UK’s Manufacturing Base at Risk as Soaring Energy Costs Weigh on Industry
Matt Goodwin’s Unconventional Campaign for Reform UK in the Gorton and Denton By-Election
US Military Movements in the UK Spark Speculation Over Preparations Related to Iran Tensions
UK Faces Significant Economic Risk From Trump’s New Global Tariff Regime
UK Defence Secretary Signals Intent to Deploy British Troops to Ukraine
UK Students Mark Lunar New Year as Universities Adjust to New Equality Compliance Rules
UK Government Weighs Removing Prince Andrew from Line of Succession After Arrest
Prince Andrew’s Arrest in UK Rekindles Scrutiny Over US Handling of Epstein Records
Trump’s Strategic Warning to UK Over Chagos Islands Deal Sparks Diplomatic Whiplash
Starmer Government Postpones Local Elections Affecting 4.5 Million Voters
UK Economy Remains Fragile Despite Recent Upturn in Headline Indicators
UK Businesses Face Fresh Uncertainty Following US Tariff Ruling
Reform UK’s Senior Figures Face Scrutiny Over Remarks on Women and Family Policy
UK Electric Vehicle Drive Threatened by Shortage of 44,000 Qualified Technicians
University of Kentucky Trustees Advance Academic Reforms and Approve Coliseum Plaza Purchase
Boris Johnson Calls for Immediate Deployment of UK Troops to Support Ukraine
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praises the rapid progress of Chinese tech companies.
North Korea's capital experiences a significant construction boom with the development of a new city district dubbed 'Pyonghattan'.
New electric vehicle charging service eliminates waiting times
Vox Populi confronts Justin Trudeau at Davos over vaccination policies
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki ENDS support for Ukrainian citizens:
The mayor of Rotherham in Britain
One day after ex-Prince Andrew's arrest, British police are searching his former home, while U.K. lawmakers will consider introducing legislation to remove him from the line of royal succession
Vandana Shiva reminding the world that Bill Gates did not invent anything.
Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni highlights record employment and economic growth
UK Confirms Preferential U.S. Trading Terms Will Continue After Supreme Court Tariff Ruling
U.S. and U.K. to Hold Talks on Diego Garcia as Iran Objects to Potential Military Use
UK Officials Weigh Possible Changes to Prince Andrew’s Position in Line of Succession Amid Ongoing Scrutiny
British Police Probe Epstein’s UK Airport Links and Expand High-Profile Inquiries
The Impact of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba's Humanitarian Crisis: A Tightening Noose
Trump Directs Government to Release UFO and Alien Information
Trump Signs Global 10% Tariffs on Imports
United Kingdom Denies U.S. Access to Military Base for Potential Iran Strike
British Co-founder of ASOS falls to his death from Pattaya apartment
Early 2026 Data Suggests Tentative Recovery for UK Businesses and Households
UK Introduces Digital-First Passport Rules for Dual Citizens in Border Control Overhaul
×