Peter Cruddas

Peter Andrew Cruddas, Baron Cruddas (born 30 September 1953) is an English banker and businessman. He is the founder of online trading company CMC Markets. In the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List, he was named the richest man in the City of London, with an estimated fortune of £860 million. As of March 2012, Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.3 billion, equivalent to £830 million at the time. Cruddas was appointed Conservative Party co-treasurer in June 2011. In March 2012 it was alleged by The Sunday Times that he had offered access to the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chancellor George Osborne, in exchange for cash donations of between £100,000 and £250,000. Cruddas resigned the same day. In June 2013, Cruddas successfully sued The Sunday Times for libel over its coverage of him, which the High Court found had been defamatory. However, in March 2015, the Court of Appeal reduced the libel damages from the original £180,000 to £50,000, ruling that the Sunday Times's central allegation around "cash for access" had been borne out by the facts, while also ruling that a series of subsidiary allegations made in the same Sunday Times article were still false and defamatory. In December 2020, it was announced he would be conferred a life peerage after a nomination by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, despite the contrary advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which unanimously recommended that the Prime Minister rescind his nomination.

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