The Conservative MP for East Wiltshire, Danny Kruger, is under investigation over funding to a parliamentary group that received £55,000 from Conservative Christian groups against assisted dying.
Westminster’s standards watchdog has opened the case following allegations that the donations to the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on dying well were not properly registered.
Mr Kruger, who was chair of the APPG, has been vocal in his opposition to assisted dying, previously saying it would send “a terrible signal to the frail, to the disabled and people with mental health conditions”.
The Wiltshire MP held the position of chair of the APPG from its beginnings in 2021 until earlier this year.
According to an analysis by the Observer, in 2022, the group received £37,500 in donations from three anti-assisted-dying campaign groups with strong links to the evangelical Christian right.
The group’s entry to the APPG register reveals that, of that figure, £22,500 was not registered until January 2024.
The Observer found that in one case there was a 564-day gap before a donation from the group’s main funder, Care Not Killing, was declared.
This is despite rules for APPGs requiring that registrable benefits worth more than £1,500 should be registered within 28 days.
Given his position as chair of the APPG, Mr Kruger is considered responsible for the group’s adherence to these rules.
A spokesperson for Mr Kruger said: “The rules state that a member under investigation should not comment publicly on the allegations being investigated. We will therefore not be commenting.”
This comes before MPs vote on the assisted dying bill on Friday, November 29.
If it became law, the bill would give some terminally ill people in England and Wales legal assistance to end their own life.
However, these individuals must meet certain requirements, such as being expected to die within six months and having the mental capacity to make a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure.
Mr Kruger has argued that it would be “impossible” for such a bill to be “tight enough”.
Back in 2023, the MP appeared alongside his mother, Dame Prue Leith, best known for starring alongside Paul Hollywood on Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off, in a show exploring the morality of assisted dying.
The programme was called Prue and Danny’s Death Road Trip and saw the pair explore their differences in opinion on the topic, with Mr Kruger strongly opposed to the idea.
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