Labour leader Wendy Alexander finally came out fighting yesterday and insisted she would not be resigning while her �reputation for integrity and honesty� was being questioned.

Labour leader Wendy Alexander finally came out fighting yesterday and insisted she would not be resigning while her "reputation for integrity and honesty" was being questioned.

After four days of awful headlines and growing calls for her to quit, Ms Alexander decided to face the media and dismiss any suggestions that she planned to stand down less than three months after succeeding Jack McConnell.

On Friday, the Paisley North MSP had looked tired and drawn as she made a brief statement in which she apologised for the fact her campaign team had accepted an illegal donation from a tax exile, but refused to answer a barrage of questions.

By yesterday, however, Team Alexander' had clearly decided that the best form of defence was attack.

Arriving at the Scottish Parliament at around 12.20, the Labour leader was again greeted by a battery of photographers before she addressed an impromptu press conference.

Looking more relaxed and confident than she had last week, she said: "I have never sought to mislead.

"I am not dishonest in any way and I have always believed that politicians should have the highest standards.

"My campaign did not set out to intentionally mislead or break the rules.

"Mistakes have been made. My future has been questioned.

"It would be easy to quit, but also wrong.

"To give up this job in these circumstances would be also to give up my reputation for integrity and honesty and I'm not going to do that."

She acknowledged that the last few days had been hard for her, her family and the Labour Party. But she added: "I do intend to fully clear my name."

The row broke last week when The Herald revealed the identity of the Jersey-based businessmen who had given money to Ms Alexander's leadership campaign.

Paul Green donated £950 at the request of Charles Gordon, the Glasgow Cathcart MSP, but the contribution was illegal because the multi-millionaire retail tycoon is a UK tax exile.

Further adding to the intrigue was the fact that the donation was registered in the name of the Glasgow firm Combined Property Services.

Both the firm themselves and Mr Green have since expressed bemusement at how their name came to be involved.

The Electoral Commission has given Ms Alexander's campaign team until the end of today to submit all the documentation relating to donations to her fund.

Ms Alexander said: "Until such times as the Electoral Commission have completed their inquiries, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further. In the meantime, I intend to get on with my job, which is to lead Labour in the Scottish Parliament, holding the SNP to account."

Despite suggestions to the contrary, Ms Alexander did respond to some questions.

She denied reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had urged her not to quit, but tellingly failed to give her support to Charles Gordon.

In response to Mr Gordon's earlier announcement that he would make a statement on his future later this week, the Labour leader said she had "no idea" whether he would quit his seat.

Somewhat ominously for the former Glasgow City Council leader, she added: "That is a matter for Mr Gordon."

Mr Gordon's position was further undermined yesterday by Mr Green, who said he had no idea why his donation had been registered in the name of Combined Property Services.

Mr Green said: "How the Labour Party managed to get themselves in this mess is something I find difficult to understand. I think what you have to say is that this has to be gross mismanagement."

It was unclear last night what Mr Gordon would say in his statement, although Labour insiders were suggesting he was unlikely to resign as an MSP.

With the SNP riding high in the polls, Labour's 2189 majority in Glasgow Cathcart would be under serious threat were he to quit Holyrood altogether.

One theory last night was that he could resign the Labour whip, leaving him free to remain as an independent MSP until the next election.

Despite the party's travails, Duncan McNeill, the chairman of the Labour group at Holyrood, said their MSPs were fully behind their leader.

Speaking after their weekly group meeting, which lasted almost an hour-and-a-half, he said: "She has got clear, overwhelming support in the group for her to continue in the job throughout this difficult period."