Personal message to tycoon reopens donations row as embattled leader stays silent

WENDY Alexander only questioned the illegal donation to her leadership campaign after she personally thanked the Jersey tycoon at the centre of the row for his cheque.

The Labour leader, who believes emails between herself and a campaign member will clear her of any "intentional wrongdoing", first asked about Paul Green's contribution after it had been received, banked and acknowledged.

The revelations cast doubt on whether Alexander took "all reasonable steps", the phrase enshrined in law, to ensure the £950 donation was legal.

She is also refusing to say whether she has been interviewed under caution by the Electoral Commission, the watchdog conducting the inquiry into the donations row.

It was revealed in November that the Paisley North MSP, who became Labour's Holyrood leader in September, accepted £950 from Green as part of her campaign to replace Jack McConnell. But the contribution was illegal as the tax exile is not on the UK electoral register - a requirement for donors - a disclosure that prompted the commission's inquiry.

Alexander, who as the regulated donee is legally responsible for donations to her campaign, said the existence of "repeated correspondence" - which sources close to her say was emails between her and Charlie Gordon, the Labour MSP who solicited the Green donation - would clear her.

To comply with the law, she must show that "all reasonable steps" were made by her to ensure the donation was legal.

However, the Sunday Herald understands the email exchange started in the October recess last year, by which point the money had been accepted and lodged in Alexander's campaign bank account.

The email approach, which was made by an aide to the Labour leader, was also made after Alexander sent a thank-you note to Green, dated October 5, to his home in Jersey.

The emails are not believed to ask about the source of the donation, and made no mention of Combined Property Services (CPS), the company named by the Alexander campaign at the beginning of the row as the original source of the Green donation.

After CPS denied making the donation, the Alexander campaign stated the cheque had been a personal contribution from Green, an admission that triggered Gordon's resignation as Labour's transport spokesman.

One insider with a knowledge of electoral law doubted whether raising questions about a donation after a "thank you" note had been sent out could be judged as taking "all reasonable steps".

In separate developments, the Sunday Herald understands: l Minutes were taken of Alexander's campaign meetings, but the Green donation was never mentioned.

l Key members of the campaign team were ignorant of large parts of the law on donations.

Alexander has said nothing about the donations scandal since last month. She also refuses to say whether she has been interviewed under caution by the commission, an option the regulatory body has in relation to people suspected of breaking the law. The commission is expected to deliver its verdict within days.

Asked whether the Labour leader had been questioned under caution, a Scottish Labour spokesman said: "Wendy Alexander has fully co-operated with the Electoral Commission and is confident it will clear her of any intentional wrongdoing. She hopes that the commission will complete its inquiries swiftly but it must have time to do so free from political or outside pressure." The spokesman declined to comment on Alexander's email exchange with Gordon.

Nationalist MSP Roseanna Cunningham said: "I can see no reason why Wendy Alexander should not say if she has been interviewed under caution. It's a real pity people aren't being open."

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission declined to comment on the Alexander case, but said: "If you are a regulator, you have the power to make inquiries. In the course of that, sometimes it is appropriate to interview someone under caution."