Tories fail to honour pledge on Nadir cash

A Labour MP called on the Tories to honour a promise made by former Prime Minister Sir John Major to return donations totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds if the money was “dishonestly obtained and dishonestly donated”.

However, in a statement, the Party insisted the money had not come from Nadir but from his company.

“The Conservative Party has no record of having received donations from Asil Nadir,” the statement said.

Nadir was once a darling of the Tory Party and one of its biggest benefactors.

It is estimated that the tycoon gave £500,000 to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative administration.

But the good fortune of both was to end in the autumn of 1990.

Mrs Thatcher was ousted from Number 10 and Nadir was being chased abroad by police, creditors and irate investors.

Even his friend Michael Mates, a Minister in John Major’s government, could not help.

He had to resign after it was discovered he gave Nadir a watch inscribed “Don’t let the buggers get you down” just before he fled before his trial in 1993.

Now, years later, Nadir may have thought another Tory PM in Downing Street might bring him luck.

But only Mr Mates, who continued as an MP until 2010, turned
up at the Old Bailey to speak for Nadir.

The former Northern Ireland Minister said he presented Nadir with the birthday present to cheer him up.

He added: “It had
an inscription on it which was meant jocularly but was taken many other ways. It caused a lot of trouble.”