Oil and gas donors gave over £400k to Tories before North Sea decision

Exclusive: payments in past year came as government decided on licences for new fossil fuel sites

Individuals and companies linked to the oil and gas industries have donated more than 400,000 to the Conservative party in the past year, while the government mulled controversial new licences to explore the North Sea for fossil fuel production sites, it can be revealed.

Disclosures from last July to the end of March, the latest date for which data is available, show at least 419,000 was given to the Conservatives by donors with a strong interest in oil and gas, including in the North Sea, research by the environmental investigations group DeSmog and the Guardian has found.