This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7182480.stm

The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 12 Version 13
Hain faces sleaze watchdog probe Hain faces sleaze watchdog probe
(about 3 hours later)
Peter Hain has been reported to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for failing to declare £103,156 in gifts to his Labour deputy leader bid.Peter Hain has been reported to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner for failing to declare £103,156 in gifts to his Labour deputy leader bid.
The watchdog will investigate whether the work and pensions secretary broke the rules on MPs' conduct.The watchdog will investigate whether the work and pensions secretary broke the rules on MPs' conduct.
Downing Street said Gordon Brown had "full confidence" in Mr Hain, who has said his failure to declare the donations was an innocent mistake.Downing Street said Gordon Brown had "full confidence" in Mr Hain, who has said his failure to declare the donations was an innocent mistake.
But Plaid Cymru has called for Mr Hain, who is also Welsh secretary, to resign.But Plaid Cymru has called for Mr Hain, who is also Welsh secretary, to resign.
The Conservatives have held back from calling for Mr Hain's resignation, pending the outcome of the investigation by standards commissioner John Lyon.The Conservatives have held back from calling for Mr Hain's resignation, pending the outcome of the investigation by standards commissioner John Lyon.
This appears to be playing fast and loose with the law and cabinet ministers can't do that Elfyn LlwydPlaid Cymru There has to come a point where people say it's not feasible for him to be running two departments when all this has gone on David DaviesConservative MP
But Tory work and pensions spokesman Chris Grayling said: "If he gets severely criticised by the standards commissioner I think there will be very real doubts about his future."But Tory work and pensions spokesman Chris Grayling said: "If he gets severely criticised by the standards commissioner I think there will be very real doubts about his future."
Mr Lyon will prepare a report for the Committee on Standards and Privileges, which has the power to suspend Mr Hain from Parliament. Mr Lyon will now prepare a report for the Committee on Standards and Privileges, which has the power to suspend Mr Hain from Parliament.
'Not feasible''Not feasible'
The complaint against Mr Hain was lodged by David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth, who said MPs had to declare donations in the register of members' interests, as well as to the Electoral Commission, within four weeks. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is standing by Mr Hain, although the latest developments are likely to cause fresh embarrassment for Labour, which is already facing a police investigation over proxy donations made by businessman David Abrahams.
Peter Hain's campaign took out a full page ad in the Daily MirrorPeter Hain's campaign took out a full page ad in the Daily Mirror
Mr Davies told BBC Wales: "What happens next is up to the Committee for Standards, and Gordon Brown, but there has to come a point where people say it's not feasible for him to be running two departments when all this has gone on." They also cast fresh light on Labour's deputy leadership contest, after it emerged Harriet Harman's successful campaign accepted £5,000 from one of Mr Abrahams' proxies. She has said the money will be returned.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Mr Hain admitted he had failed to declare £103,156 in donations to his failed campaign to become Labour's deputy leader to the Electoral Commission. Tory MP David Davies, who lodged the complaint against Mr Hain, said: "What happens next is up to the Committee for Standards, and Gordon Brown, but there has to come a point where people say it's not feasible for him to be running two departments when all this has gone on."
He said he had been too busy with his duties as the then Northern Ireland secretary to concentrate on the "day-to-day administration and organisation" of his deputy leadership bid, something he now "regrets". The Electoral Commission has launched a separate investigation after Mr Hain admitted he failed to declare £103,156 in donations.
The Electoral Commission is carrying out its own investigation into whether electoral laws were broken. In a statement, Mr Hain said he had been too busy with his duties as the then Northern Ireland secretary to concentrate on the "day-to-day administration and organisation" of his deputy leadership bid, something he now "regrets".
Think tankThink tank
In his statement, Mr Hain said it had become necessary to raise more cash after the deputy leadership contest finished in June last year, because "unpaid invoices" emerged during the summer and autumn. He said the campaign to raise more cash, after the deputy leadership contest finished in June last year, was to clear "unpaid invoices".
Anyone who's worked with Peter Hain - which I've done over the years - would know that it could only be what he says it is - an honest innocent oversight Martin LintonLabour MP But he learned on 29 November last year that these donations had not been declared within the required timescale, and "immediately" informed the commission.
But he learned on 29 November last year that these donations had not been declared within the required timescale, and "immediately" informed the Electoral Commission. More than £25,000 in donations to Mr Hain's campaign were channelled through the Progressive Policy Forum (PPF), a little-known think tank set up three months after he launched his campaign.
The commission has since been kept in touch with progress on establishing which donations were not registered, added Mr Hain. It has emerged that one of the PPF's trustees, John Underwood, a former Labour communications director, was closely involved in the financing of Mr Hain's campaign.
In another development, it has emerged that a trustee of a think tank which channelled £25,000 into Mr Hain's deputy leadership bid - John Underwood, a former Labour communications director - was also closely involved in the financing of the campaign.
The cash, in the form of five donations, was not declared to the Electoral Commission.
More than £25,000 in donations and a further loan of £25,000 were made by individuals through the Progressive Policy Forum (PPF), which does not have a website and whose registered address is a solicitor's office in London.
A third donor, Isaac Kaye, the former head of a company raided in 2002 by police investigating alleged price fixing of NHS drugs, gave nearly £15,000 through the PPF.
Steve Morgan, the lobbyist brought in to run the later stages of Mr Hain's campaign, also gave £5,000 using the same method.
The think tank was set up in December 2006, shortly after the launch of Mr Hain's deputy leadership campaign.
Donors 'not told'
The money was passed to the campaign but not declared to the Electoral Commission as donations.
Mr Hain said all of the individuals who had given money to the PPF were asked if they were happy for the cash to be transferred to his campaign.
HAVE YOUR SAY Mr Hain is the latest in a very long line of politicians who has breached the rules on disclosure Arthur Smedley, Surrey Send us your commentsHAVE YOUR SAY Mr Hain is the latest in a very long line of politicians who has breached the rules on disclosure Arthur Smedley, Surrey Send us your comments
But the BBC has spoken to one donor who said he had not been consulted. The think tank is registered at a solicitor's office in London but does not appear to be active.
Another donor, diamond dealer Willie Nagel, who donated £25,000 to the PPF and made three-month loan for the same amount, was not told the cash was given to Mr Hain's campaign, according to the Financial Times. There is nothing illegal about donating through proxies, provided the original source of the money is reported to the authorities.
'Dynamite' Donors 'not consulted'
A spokeswoman for Mr Hain said he stood by everything he had said in his statement and would not be making any further comment. Mr Hain said all of the individuals who had given money to the PPF were asked if they were happy for the cash to be transferred to his campaign.
Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's leader in Parliament, told BBC Wales the latest revelations meant Mr Hain's position was no longer tenable. But the BBC has spoken to one donor, who did not want to be named, who said he had not been consulted.
He said: "Yesterday I didn't say Mr Hain should consider his position, but today's revelations are dynamite. Another donor, diamond dealer Willie Nagel, who gave £5,000 to the PPF and made three-month loan for £25,000, was not told the cash was given to Mr Hain's campaign, according to the Financial Times.
"More than sorrow than in anger, I am forced to say his position is untenable. Christopher Campbell, a former rail executive, gave £1,990 to the PPC, which was transferred to the campaign.
"This appears to be playing fast and loose with the law and cabinet ministers can't do that." Another donor, Isaac Kaye, a former head of a company raided in 2002 by police investigating alleged price fixing of NHS drugs, gave nearly £15,000 through the PPF.
Steve Morgan, the lobbyist brought in to run the later stages of Mr Hain's campaign, gave £5,000 through the same method.
'Innocent oversight''Innocent oversight'
Labour MP for Battersea, Martin Linton, who was part of Mr Hain's campaign team, told BBC News he had never heard of the PPF think tank. Elfyn Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's leader in Parliament, told BBC Wales that the latest revelations meant Mr Hain's position was no longer tenable. He accused him of "playing fast and loose with the law."
But he defended what he described as an "innocent oversight". The Labour MP for Battersea, Martin Linton, who was part of Mr Hain's campaign team, defended what he described as an "honest, innocent oversight".
"Anyone who's worked with Peter Hain, which I've done over the years, would know that it could only be what he says it is - an honest innocent oversight - and he's very sorry for it." The latest revelations mean Mr Hain, who came fifth out of six in the deputy leadership contest won by Ms Harman, spent at least £191,300 on his campaign, rather than the £82,000 he had originally declared.
The extra donations mean Mr Hain spent £185,000 on his campaign, rather than the £82,000 he had declared previously, and much more than the other contenders. The campaign is thought to have spent heavily on courting trade union support and, on 8 June last year, took out a full page advertisement in the Daily Mirror, thought to have cost £25,000.
The Neath MP came fifth in the six-way race to replace John Prescott as Labour's deputy leader, a contest won by Harriet Harman.
His campaign is thought to have spent heavily on courting trade union support and, on 8 June last year, took out a full page advertisement in the Daily Mirror, thought to have cost £25,000.