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Hain reveals £103k not declared Hain reveals £103k not declared
(about 1 hour later)
Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain failed to declare £103,000 in donations to his Labour deputy leadership bid, his spokesman has confirmed.Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain failed to declare £103,000 in donations to his Labour deputy leadership bid, his spokesman has confirmed.
Mr Hain, who is also Welsh Secretary, came fifth out of six in the race to succeed John Prescott last summer.Mr Hain, who is also Welsh Secretary, came fifth out of six in the race to succeed John Prescott last summer.
He expressed "regret" for not declaring the donations in time and not giving "higher personal priority" to the administration of his campaign. He said he should have given "higher personal priority" to the campaign, but he had put his government job first.
But he said everyone who had given him money was legally entitled to donate. He expressed regret donations were not reported on time but said they were all from people legally entitled to donate.
Earlier he passed full details of the £103,156.75 in donations to the Electoral Commission, which is due to report back next week.Earlier he passed full details of the £103,156.75 in donations to the Electoral Commission, which is due to report back next week.
I reasonably believed that the arrangements in place for my deputy leader campaign would be sufficient to ensure compliance with reporting requirements Peter Hain I reasonably believed that the arrangements in place for my deputy leader campaign would be sufficient to ensure compliance with reporting requirements Peter Hain class="" href="/1/hi/wales/7179528.stm">Ex-Hain official denies 'chaos'
In a statement, he said: "I understand that people will ask how I could have allowed this number of donations to go undeclared at the time.In a statement, he said: "I understand that people will ask how I could have allowed this number of donations to go undeclared at the time.
"The fact is that during this period, I gave my campaign for office within the Labour Party second priority to my government responsibilities."The fact is that during this period, I gave my campaign for office within the Labour Party second priority to my government responsibilities.
"I reasonably believed that the arrangements in place for my deputy leader campaign would be sufficient to ensure compliance with reporting requirements, but as it transpired, due to administrative failings this was not the case after early May.""I reasonably believed that the arrangements in place for my deputy leader campaign would be sufficient to ensure compliance with reporting requirements, but as it transpired, due to administrative failings this was not the case after early May."
Campaign rowCampaign row
He went on to say that fundraising had to continue after the deputy leadership campaign ended - owing to "unpaid invoices coming to light during the summer and autumn".
He said he had only become aware there was a problem on 29 November 2007 and had "immediately" taken steps to inform the Electoral Commission.He said he had only become aware there was a problem on 29 November 2007 and had "immediately" taken steps to inform the Electoral Commission.
He initially apologised for failing to declare a £5,000 donation, blaming "administrative failings", but later went on to admit that there were other donations he had failed to declare. Questions about Peter Hain's deputy leadership donations first emerged in November - amid a separate donations row engulfing the Labour Party.
Donations row
As the police began to investigate more than £650,000 of proxy donations made to the party by a property developer under other people's names, other problems with donations came to light.
Harriet Harman, who won the deputy leadership contest, came under fire for accepting a disguised donation for her successful bid to become Labour's deputy leader.
And Wendy Alexander's campaign team admitted accepting an offshore donation for her bid to be Labour's Scottish leader. Both said they acted in good faith.
On 29 November Mr Hain admitted failing to register a £5,000 donation to the Electoral Commission - something he blamed on an "administrative error" which he wanted to declare "in light of recent events".
Days later he said there were other donations that had not been properly declared.
After weeks of work going back through the paperwork, Mr Hain submitted a full list of donations to the Electoral Commission on Thursday.After weeks of work going back through the paperwork, Mr Hain submitted a full list of donations to the Electoral Commission on Thursday.
His admission has been followed by a row between the two men who ran his deputy leadership campaign over who was to blame. Meanwhile the two men who ran his deputy leadership campaign have been arguing over who was to blame.
On Wednesday, former Hain aide Phil Taylor, who ran the campaign in its earlier stages, said all donations had been declared when he was in charge.On Wednesday, former Hain aide Phil Taylor, who ran the campaign in its earlier stages, said all donations had been declared when he was in charge.
His successor, Steve Morgan, has said he was brought into the Neath MP's campaign "to bring order to the chaos" left by Mr Taylor.His successor, Steve Morgan, has said he was brought into the Neath MP's campaign "to bring order to the chaos" left by Mr Taylor.