Miliband to reveal details of meetings with donors

David Cameron revealed on Monday the names of 17 Tory donors who had been invited to dine with him at Downing Street or Chequers since he became Prime Minister in 2010.

The Prime Minister gave in to pressure to expose the meetings with wealthy benefactors – between them thought to have given the Tories £23m since 2005 – after party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas was caught promising meetings and influence in return for cash.

Mr Miliband is now expected to release details of private meetings with major donors since he became Labour leader by the end of this week.

“I’m very happy to publish and to be very transparent about what we do and who we meet,” said Mr Miliband yesterday.

“But what I do say is let’s be realistic about what happened here. We’ve got an issue about the way in which government is being conducted, the way in which Downing Street is being used.

“That is, I think, what concerned people: Downing Street, Chequers, the way that those Government buildings have been used.

“That is why we need not just proper transparency from the Government, but we also need a proper inquiry, an independent inquiry into what happened.”

Mr Cameron’s promise of a party inquiry into the Cruddas affair, chaired by Tory peer Lord Gold, was denounced by Labour on Monday as a “whitewash”.

They have called for an independent investigation.

Former Justice Secretary Jack Straw yesterday called on the Electoral Commission to investigate suggestions that foreign donations could be channelled through a third party to escape rules outlawing overseas cash. Donations are only legal if they come from individuals on the electoral roll or from companies registered in the UK.

Sarah Southern, a former Conservative Party staffer now working as a lobbyist, was recorded by the Sunday Times saying: “The party will look at the criteria of which... in that document you’ll have seen the kind of the legal bullet points and as long as the money is coming from a legal UK-registered donor, or a legal registered UK company that is operating, then they’ll normally be happy.”

In a letter to the watchdog, Mr Straw wrote: “According to reports, undercover reporters told Mr Cruddas and Ms Southern that they were interested in making a donation on behalf of Middle Eastern donors.

“The reporters were allegedly told that money from foreign investors could be channelled through a company established by the reporters as they were on the UK electoral roll.”

He added: “These reports raise serious questions as to how the Conservative Party is soliciting donations.”

Mr Cruddas was caught on film telling undercover reporters that “premier league” gifts could secure meetings with ministers and influence policy.

He quit his post on Saturday.