Brown gives £600,000 to charity

Gordon Brown was last night forced to defend receiving £600,000 from speeches and books published in the past year.

The latest Register of Members' Interests reveals the former prime minister received more than £100,000 as a distinguished global leader in resident at New York University; £62,000 for a speech in Lagos; £50,000 for a speech to King Saud University in Saudi Arabia; and a £78,000 advance for his book Beyond the Crash. Other speeches were given in Miami, Las Vegas, California, Singapore and New Delhi.

But in a statement, Mr Brown insisted all the money went to the Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown, and is used to support good causes. "I can state categorically that I have not earned one penny for myself. The speeches are to fund the continuing public service that Sarah and I undertake and the good causes, including the Jennifer Brown Institute and the Piggy Banks Kids charity, we support.

"None of these payments, as the Register of Members' Interests makes clear, are to me."