Businessman who gave £5m to Tories knighted
The Guardian|March 29, 2024
A businessman and former Egyptian government minister who donated £5m to the Conservative party last year was unexpectedly given a knighthood yesterday on the recommendation of Rishi Sunak.
Rowena Mason , Peter Walker
Businessman who gave £5m to Tories knighted

Mohamed Mansour, a senior Conservative party treasurer for just over a year, was one of several surprise recipients of honours, with the citation saying it was given for business, charity and political service.

Labour has previously called for the Tories to hand back £5m donated last year by Mansour, who served as transport minister in Egypt under the military ruler Hosni Mubarak's regime from 2005 to 2009, before the Arab spring uprisings.

The opposition called for the prime minister to return the donation last year after it emerged that one of Mansour's family companies had still been operating in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

The firm, Mantrac, said in May 2023 that it was winding down its business in Russia, more than a year after Moscow's war drew international condemnation and calls from Sunak and Boris Johnson for businesses to withdraw.

This story is from the March 29, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the March 29, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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