Tory MP hands back Imperial donation

Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, is to hand back £5,000 given as a political donation by a disgraced businessman.

The Independent on Sunday revealed last week that Mr Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, had received the money shortly before the 2001 general election from local businessmen Lincoln Fraser and his long-term partner David Willerton.

Mr Fraser was then chief executive of the controversial Lincolnshire-based finance company Imperial Consolidated. In July last year he was one of two Imperial executives banned for four years by the DTI from holding a company directorship over the earlier financial mismanagement of a hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire.

Two weeks ago the international offshore finance company went into administration, owing investors up to £200m. On Friday, Lincolnshire Police said that their fraud squad had begun an inquiry into Imperial at the request of the Grenadan government. The running of Imperial's offshore subsidiary Imperium Bank was taken over by Grenadan regulators in April.

On Thursday, Imperial's four Grenada-based mutual funds and one in the British Virgin Islands were put into administration.

Gainsborough Association secretary Martin Vickers said the donation had been to the election fighting fundand Mr Leigh "was not consulted as to whether or not it should be accepted".