Tony Leon has denied allegations by fellow former DA leader John Steenhuisen that his communications firm, Resolve Communications, sought to influence DA ministers, saying the claims are false and that legal action is being considered.

Over the weekend, Steenhuisen alleged that Leon and former DA CEO Paul Boughey’s company, Resolve Communications, drove a negative narrative around the foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign his department mounted.

Steenhuisen was recently removed as Minister of Agriculture by new DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, a move that Steenhuisen said he was disappointed by. 

Additionally, Steenhuisen claimed that Leon's firm had used its proximity to the party to get DA ministers to meet with its clients, an issue which Steenhuisen said he had raised internally in the DA.

Former Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George also said in a recent interview that he was approached by Leon and Resolve Communications to meet with their clients, but refused, and he also alluded to possible negative commentary against him, allegedly by Resolve Communications, as a result, but also stressed that he had no evidence to back this up.

George, however, also pointed to hypocrisy on the part of Steenhuisen, alleging that the former DA leader also approached him on multiple occasions to meet with organisations, which George said he had refused to do so, as it would have been a conflict of interest.  

Political parties have called for an investigation into the allegations, with some likening them to 'State capture' corruption.

Leon, as chairperson of Resolve Communications, refuted any claims of State capture, arguing that his firm was being used in internal party factionalism.

“I want to be especially clear on one point, because it goes to the heart of these insinuations. We do not, and we cannot, direct the decisions of ministers or officials. We have never sought to. Where we have requested a meeting on a client's behalf and that request has been declined, we have respected the decision without complaint. A request, made and freely refused, is not corruption. To suggest otherwise is to misunderstand - or deliberately to misrepresent - how an open society works,” he stated.   

More specifically, he said he found the comparison to State capture “objectionable”, as someone who had opposed such corruption from the opposition benches.

He added that comparing his “law-abiding” firm’s business to State capture was an insult to victims thereof, noting that no proof has been presented to back up the claims.

“Resolve has at all times acted lawfully, transparently and in accordance with the recognised standards of our profession,” he stated.

Leon believes that the claims stem from political contests in party politics, which he strongly assured his company was not involved with.

“What we will not accept, in silence, is the weaponisation of the language of corruption or wrongdoing to settle political scores at the expense of a legitimate business and the people who work in it. Where these falsehoods cross into defamation, we are considering our legal remedies,” he warned.