Tory donor whose mother put Boris Johnson rent free gets £12.7million government deal

Wrightbus, owned by Jo Bamford, son of JCB tycoon Lord Bamford and Lady Bamford, will receive £6.4million of taxpayers' money in the framework of the agreement

JCB heir and Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford is a major Tory donor - as is his father (

Image: East Kilbride News)

A Tory donor whose mother has been offering Boris Johnson free rent for months has been handed a government contract worth £12.7million.

Jo Bamford, son of JCB tycoon Lord Bamford and Lady Bamford, bought struggling coach builder Wrightbus in 2021.

It will receive £6.4m of taxpayers' money, plus £6.3m from car industry bodies, to develop batteries for electric buses.

So-called 'green entrepreneur' Jo has personally donated £88,000 to the Tories, while his family and their businesses have donated over £14million in cash and gifts to the party since 2001.

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In October 2021, months after Jo took office, Wrightbus was awarded an £11.2m grant to develop hydrogen technology.

Jo Bamford (L) with her father Lord Bamford

Another of his companies - Hygen, formerly known as Ryze Hydrogen - is involved in projects funded by the government's Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. Former Tory Chief Whip Julian Smith is a former employee who earns £60,000 a year for development advice.

And science minister George Freeman has signed a contract to provide 'strategic advice' to the company, worth £20,000 a year. But he canceled the contract and returned £10,000 after being hit by second jobs watchdog ACOBA for not informing them before taking up the job.

The Department of Business and Trade said all grants “are subject to formal application...to ensure value for money.”