New Labour row over fund-raising

CONTROVERSIAL plans to hold fund-raising events in Downing St and give big business donors preferential access to ministers were drawn up by Labour Party officials last year.

The revelation, which threatens to embroil the party in a fresh row over its links with business, will embarrass the party leadership, which had hoped to put allegations of Tory-style "sleaze" well behind it.

The proposals, outlined in a paper from Amanda Delew, head of the party's high-level donor fund-raising unit just after the general election, fleshed out a detailed strategy for fund-raising in government. It also suggested that Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's Chief of Staff at Downing St, retain his role as a link-man to potential big business donors.

If carried out, the plans would have led to an unprecedented commercialisation of the Prime Minister's office and breached the long-standing convention of keeping party and government business separate.

The proposals were quickly rejected by the head of the party's business unit, Mike Cunnington, who produced a new, toned-down version of the strategy paper called "High Level Donors to the Labour Party".

The earlier document predated the row over the pounds 1m donation given to Labour by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone. At the time of its authorship, last May and June, Labour was trying to adjust to life without the so- called Short money provided for opposition parties.

Party sources yesterday described Ms Delew's proposals as a "rather naive" draft from a junior official. Because it was thrown out, the paper never reached the party's headquarters at Millbank, or Downing St.

The new, approved versionmaps out a strategy for continuing high level fund-raising and establishing a fund involving donors in a five-year programme.

A Downing St spokesman said: "There never has been and there never will be fund-raising at Number 10. That would be completely inappropriate." A Labour Party spokesman said: "As far as ministers are concerned, no meeting takes place with business by dint of party political preference. Ministers meet people of all political persuasions. These meetings are always based on the merits of the issues and have nothing to do with party affiliation.

"As far as the Labour Party is concerned we always make clear that anyone who wants either to sponsor or donate does so in the clear knowledge that this will, in no way, lead to any preferential treatment with regard to ministers at any level."