Damian Green, pictured outside his home. offered to use Tory party cash to pay for a special adviser for the DUP, it has been reported
The de facto deputy Prime Minister offered to pay Tory cash to the DUP in a secret deal as part of a bid to keep Theresa May in No10, it has been reported.
Damian Green is said to have offered to use party funds to pay for a special adviser for the small Northern Ireland party after they agreed to prop the Tories up in power.
The revelation is likely to infuriate Tory MPs and donors who would balk at the idea of party cash being funneled to help a rival.
And it will pile further pressure on Mr Green, who is already battling for his political career following allegations of sexual misconduct.
He is being investigated by the Cabinet Office over claims he made an unwanted pass as Tory activist Kate Maltby, and that he had extreme porn on an office computer in 2008.
Mr Green denies the allegations and the investigation into him is expected to report back this week.
Downing Street is under pressure to release the findings, but has said the final report may be kept secret.
Mr Green, the first secretary of state, was one of a number of Tory MPs who travelled over to Northern Ireland at the weekend for the DUP’s conference.
Over the summer the Northern Irish party told the Tories it wanted to create a DUP adviser paid from government funds, according to The Times.
Some aides said the post was needed to smooth the functioning of the Tory-DUP ‘co-ordination committee’.
But the bid was turned down by Sue Gray, the government’s head of propriety and ethics, who works in Mr Green’s department.
DUP leader Arlene Foster, pictured at her party’s conference in Belfast on Saturday, is said to have discussed the plan with Damian Green
Ms Gray rejected the proposal because the DUP are not in a formal Coalition and part of government, but in a parliamentary arrangement when they vote with the Government on big issues like the Budget and Brexit.
After the setback Mr Green and Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, reportedly discussed the situation and it was agreed the Tory party would pay directly for the position.
The arrangement would mean he was in effect agreeing to fund the work of a rival party.
And it comes on top of the £1billion the Tories agreed to pour into Norther Ireland’s coffers under the confidence and supply deal.
Downing Street did not comment on the discussions or on whether Theresa May was aware of Mr Green’s offer, but said that the proposal had never resulted in any payments going ahead.
Mr Green’s office said it did not comment on private conversations.