Scotland Yard was called on last night to investigate the secret donor row after the Conservatives upped the political ante by directly challenging Gordon Brown's honesty over the affair.
COMMENTS SUSPENDED OWING TO PERSISTENT ABUSE
Scotland Yard was called on last night to investigate the secret donor row after the Conservatives upped the political ante by directly challenging Gordon Brown's honesty over the affair.
The request to the police was made by the Liberal Democrats, who said the continuing revelations about the £650,000 of proxy gifts from David Abrahams, the millionaire property developer, meant a full inquiry was now necessary.
Vince Cable, the acting LibDem leader, said that on first sight there might have been "serious breaches of the law in relation to senior figures in the Labour Party" and that, if this were the case, then they had to face the consequences.
"We therefore believe that the police should investigate this matter fully and the Crown Prosecution Service should make an assessment as to whether charges should be brought against those individuals who are implicated in what looks like criminal behaviour."
In a separate development, Chris Huhne, challenging to become the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said he had asked Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to investigate the matter.
A Met spokeswoman said the force - which ended its probe into the "cash for honours" affair only six months ago - had not yet received Mr Huhne's letter, nor had the Electoral Commission requested that it investigate Mr Abrahams's donations.
However, a police inquiry seems inevitable, given that Labour accepts that donations were given unlawfully. The 2000 Elections Act bans undisclosed third-party gifts.
Earlier, at a boisterous Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron taunted Mr Brown, claiming his version of events "beggars belief" and called into question his "own integrity".
Mr Cameron asked: "Does he really expect us to believe that someone, who even his own side say is a control freak, was preparing for an election, sorting out the finances and sitting round a table with everyone caught up in this scandal, and yet didn't have the first idea what was going on?"
He added: "Aren't people rightly asking: Is this man simply not cut out for the job?'"
The PM faced another day of mockery as Mr Cable noted Mr Brown's remarkable transformation over recent weeks "from Stalin to Mr Bean".
For his part, the Prime Minister sought to insist that it was up to the commission, the elections watchdog, to investigate, and decide whether or not the police should be called in.
He again accepted the proxy donations were unjustifiable and wrong, telling MPs: "Any changes in the law that are necessary will be made and I believe all parties have an interest in sorting this out."
The suggestion that Peter Watt, Labour's general-secretary who resigned on Monday, was the only senior party figure to know about the proxy donations disintegrated yesterday when it emerged that Jon Mendelson, appointed Labour's election fundraiser in September, also knew.
In a statement, he explained that Mr Watt had told him Mr Abrahams's proxy donations were a "long-standing" arrangement and "fully complied with the law". Mr Mendelsohn said he saw no reason to doubt the explanation.
However, he went on to say he was unhappy with the arrangement about third party gifts and was determined to stop them.
Mr Mendelsohn said he did not discuss the matter with the party's ruling executive committee or the leadership, but decided to tell Mr Abrahams personally that his "method of contribution was unacceptable", seeking to arrange a meeting with the businessman.
"He specifically asked if it was for asking for money and was given the reply that it was to update him on our plans," explained the Labour official.
He stressed: "The letter does not ask for funds but is a polite and courteous request to organise a meeting at which I was planning to tell him of my decision."
The letter, released by Labour, explained how the party was "very appreciative" of all the help and support Mr Abrahams had given over many years and that Mr Mendelsohn wanted to talk about Labour's "plans for the time between now and the next General Election". Mr Abrahams has said he interpreted the letter as an approach for more money.
Elsewhere, an uncomfortable-looking Jack Dromey, Labour's treasurer and husband of Harriet Harman, the deputy leader, repeated the phrase "complete concealment" when he was asked by reporters whether he knew about the proxy donations or was kept in the dark.
In March 2006, it was an indignant Mr Dromey who revealed he had not been informed about payments from wealthy individual supporters, running into millions of pounds - the so-called "cash for honours" saga.
Today, he will have to watch MPs grill Ms Harman, the Commons Leader, under pressure because she accepted a £5000 proxy gift from Mr Abrahams during her deputy leadership campaign, when she takes Business Questions in the chamber.
