Brown 'more tainted over sleaze'

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More than half of adults think Gordon Brown has been tainted by sleaze, a BBC poll suggests.

According to an ICM poll for Newsnight, 57% thought Mr Brown was tainted, compared with 28% for Conservative leader David Cameron.

The findings come after it was revealed that businessman David Abrahams had given Labour more than £650,000 in secret through four associates.

ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults by telephone.

Cut out for PM?

The poll asked people to put aside their party preferences and, choosing as many or as few as they liked, to say which of the three main party leaders was tainted by sleaze.

Some 57% said Brown, 28% Mr Cameron and 15% the acting Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable.

Meanwhile, 33% replied that they did not know.

Asked who was cut out to be prime minister, 43% of the respondents said Mr Brown, 41% Mr Cameron and 8% Mr Cable, with 26% saying they did not know.

Mr Brown has promised to move "quickly" to reform party funding.

The Tories say they will rejoin talks on the subject if Labour does not exclude trade unions from donation caps.

The Newsnight poll also asked which of the three main party leaders was competent, with 43% of those polled choosing Mr Cameron, 42% Mr Brown and 14% Mr Cable.

The poll was carried out between 30 November and 2 December.

Interviews were conducted across the country and the results were weighted to the profile of all adults.