'Sizeable' donation of £3,000 confirmed by card company

Lord Fink said that there was never any intention or chance of him profiting from hosting the hospitality night in the House of Lords for American Express and that he had only agreed to sponsor the dinner because AmEx was offering a, "sizeable charitable donation to a major hospital".

After being contacted by The Independent and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, AmEx said that the "sizeable" sum it was to donate in return for the dinner in the Lords – part of a corporate hospitality package priced at £6,000 a head – was £3,000, which it would give to Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital.

The company added that it would still make the donation even though the dinner in the House of Lords was no longer going ahead.

St Thomas's hospital says that it is not aware of the donation but that if it has not yet been made it would not show up on its records.