Labour dubs Tory donor inquiry ‘a whitewash’

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband has promised to publish details of his private meetings with major donors as he renewed his call for an independent inquiry into allegations that Tory supporters were offered access to the Prime Minister in return for cash.

David Cameron revealed the names of 17 Tory donors invited to dine with him at Downing Street or Chequers since he became Prime Minister in 2010.

The Prime Minister gave in to pressure to expose the meetings with wealthy benefactors – between them thought to have given £23 million since 2005 – after party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas was caught promising meetings and influence in return for cash.

Mr Miliband is now expected to release details of his private meetings with major donors by the end of this week.

“I’m very happy to publish and to be very transparent about what we do and who we meet,” said Mr Miliband. “But what I do say is let’s be realistic about what happened here. We’ve got an issue about the way in which government is being conducted, the way in which Downing Street is being used.

“That is why we need not just proper transparency from the government, but we also need a proper inquiry, an independent inquiry into what happened.”

Mr Cameron’s promise of a party inquiry, chaired by Tory peer Lord Gold, was denounced by Labour yesterday as a “whitewash”. Former justice secretary Jack Straw called on the Electoral Commission yesterday to investigate suggestions illegal foreign donations could be channelled through a third party to escape rules outlawing overseas cash.