The mystery over who paid £80,000 for sacked former chancellor George Osborne’s speech in New York a few months ago has been unravelled.
The ex-chancellor picked up the £80,000 pay cheque for a two-hour speech from a former Essex trader Rob Palmer.
It was reported the 34-year-old futures broker arranged the event in the Big Apple to “show off” to his influential clients.
The October 27 speech was recorded on Osborne’s declaration of financial interests as being hosted by Palmex Derivatives, set up by Palmer in 2014 to receive commission payments from his work.
Palmer, who had left his employment at the British firm Sigma Broking a few days earlier, is thought to have invited a number of his contacts from banks and major commodity trading firms.
“For somebody to be able to invite individuals to hear a speech by the immediate ex-chancellor, there’s a degree of kudos there,” one source told The Times. “There’s an element in any broker of showing off.”
