Haskins kicked out for funding opposition

In an exclusive interview with The Independent on Sunday, Chris Haskins, ennobled by Tony Blair, said he would be seeking neither a return to the party to which he has donated millions nor to join the one to which he gave £2,500.

"This regulation wasn't designed to deal with people like me but to flush out villains," he said. "This is the second time I've been expelled from the Labour Party. The first was in 1961 ... I was very active in CND and we decided to run a CND candidate in the by-election.

"We announced we were going to do it and George Brown expelled us - the only problem was that he hadn't bothered to check whether I was actually a member. I suppose this time they have at least managed to do that."