If a company partly funds the private office of a Shadow Minister and if the said company has a direct interest in the portfolio of the said Shadow Minister is there not a potential conflict of interest? I think the simple answer to this question is YES.

The leading Tories who have taken money from various sources are as follows:

George Osborne
The shadow Chancellor was found to have broken the rules by failing to declare £500,000 which had been channelled through Tory HQ from donors to run his office.

Alan Duncan
The shadow Business Secretary received funds from Ian Taylor, the president and chief executive of Vitol oil company, who is a former colleague of Mr Duncan.

Grant Shapps
The housing spokesman took tens of thousands of pounds in cash from five companies linked to his portfolio.

Andrew Lansley
The shadow Health Secretary received funds from London Secure Services and Julian Schild, who owned a medical equipment company, Huntleigh Technology, the largest manufacturer of NHS beds, until last year.

Jeremy Hunt
The shadow Culture Secretary, whose brief includes tourism, received funds from the chairman of the Conservative Tourism Taskforce, John Lewis, also a former chairman of the British Tourism Authority.