Murdoch MacLennan went to 'thank-you dinner for major donors' two months after 2010 general election

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive of the publisher behind the Daily Telegraph, attended a previously undisclosed "thank-you dinner" hosted by David Cameron in Downing Street two months after the 2010 general election.

The evening engagement, held at No 10, was a post-election show of appreciation for "major donors", the Conservative party said on Monday – but the chief executive of the Conservative-supporting title is himself not a donor to the party.

The No 10 dinner was dislosed as the Tories attempted to seize control of the cash-for-access scandal that prompted the resignation of the party's co-treasurer, Peter Cruddas, on Sunday, following an investigation by the Sunday Times.

In a briefing the Conservative party said MacLennan was invited by Cameron to Number 10 on 14 July 2010, while the prime minister's private flat was being refurbished. He attended with his wife Elsa.

The dinner was not previously disclosed in the prime minister's quarterly report of gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings launched by Cameron in his drive to create a "sleaze-free" government.

The MacLennans attended the dinner along with Lord John Sainsbury, the Tory peer and part-owner of supermarket giant Sainsbury's, Andrew Feldman, co-chairman of the Tory party, and five other couples described as major donors to the party.

The post-election dinner with MacLennan came in the same month that Cameron met Aidan Barclay, chairman of Telegraph Media Group, and Rupert Murdoch in separate meetings in No 10. Those meetings were disclosed last summer by No 10 in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal which prompted the prime minister to publish details of his relationship with News International.

The Tories launched an internal inquiry into the cash-for-access row, in which the party treasurer Cruddas was filmed by the Sunday Times apparently offering private dinners with the prime minister and chancellor in return for six-figure donations. The sting prompted the immediate resignation of Cruddas amid calls for a full independent inquiry into whether donors had been given influence over government policy.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook.