David Cameron is under further pressure over "lobbying"
after questions were raised over his election guru's links to the
fracking industry.
It has emerged that Lynton Crosby's firm Crosby Textor represents the
Australian Petroleum and Exploration Association, a powerful group that
campaigns for fracking.Jon Trickett, Labour's Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, highlighted the link saying that Mr Cameron’s friendship with Mr Crosby created a situation where his "decisions are open to question".
It comes as George Osborne unveiled the "most generous tax breaks in the world" for shale gas producers, provoking anger from environmentalists, who fear the process could cause contamination and trigger earthquakes.
The Chancellor has said that fracking firms will benefit from a 30% tax rate – new North Sea oil operations are taxed at 62%.
Mr Osborne said: "Shale gas is a resource with huge potential to broaden the UK's energy mix. We want to create the right conditions for industry to explore and unlock that potential in a way that allows communities to share in the benefits.
"This new tax regime, which I want to make the most generous for shale in the world, will contribute to that. I want Britain to be a leader of the shale gas revolution - because it has the potential to create thousands of jobs and keep energy bills low for millions of people."
Mr Trickett said that the announcement raised further questions over Mr Cameron’s relationship with Mr Crosby.
The latest lobbying allegations come after it emerged that Mr Crosby’s firm acted for the tobacco giant Philip Morris, as the Government dropped its plans for plain packaging for cigarettes.
However, Mr Cameron said he alone made the decision and that Mr Crosby worked for the Tory party as his election campaign strategist and had not ‘lobbied’ him on any matters.
Mr Trickett said: "Whether it's tobacco, alcohol, lobbying and now fracking, we need to know what role lobbying has played in deciding what our Prime Minister does.
"David Cameron must make clear exactly what sort of conversations has he had with Lynton Crosby on government policy?
"David Cameron must force Lynton Crosby to name his clients and the Prime Minister must be clear about them and their influence
"We need answers but all we get is evasion from the Prime Minister.
"Politics needs to be above suspicion and work for everyone, but what we've got is a Prime Minister who continually stands up for the wrong people and either can't or won't clean up what is looking more and more like a lobbying scandal at the heart of Number 10."
According to reports, Mr Crosby is expected to become a full-time adviser to Mr Cameron soon and will stop acting for private firms to concentrate on the May 2015 general election.
The Daily Telegraph quotes senior Conservatives as saying that it was their "working assumption" that Mr Crosby would spend the 15 months in the run up to the election working exclusively for Mr Cameron.
The Government on Wednesday published legislation which will require companies lobbying ministers to declare the names of their clients.