First Minister's call to resign piles pressure on Alexander

The First Minister had previously refrained from speaking specifically about the illegal donation to Ms Alexander's leadership campaign, but yesterday decided to step in, increasing the pressure on the Scottish Labour leader.

Mr Salmond claimed that a police investigation was now "inevitable" and, consequently, Ms Alexander should relinquish her role as party leader until that investigation was complete.

The police have not yet started any investigation into Ms Alexander's campaign finances and officers have not formally confirmed whether an investigation will occur.

The issue of the 950 donation is currently with the Electoral Commission. It will decide what action to take in the next few days.

Ms Alexander's team has admitted breaking the law in taking the cheque from Paul Green, a Jersey-based businessman who is ineligible for campaign donations because he is not a UK-registered voter.

However, Ms Alexander has protested her innocence, claiming she will be cleared of any "intentional wrong-doing" because she checked the legality of the money with Charlie Gordon, the Glasgow Cathcart MSP who solicited the donation and was assured it was legal.

However, Mr Salmond yesterday decided to increase the pressure on Ms Alexander.

Talking about the admission of a breach in the law, he said: "In these circumstances, a police investigation has become as inevitable as night follows day. It cannot be dealt with any other way.

"In these circumstances, I find it difficult to see how Wendy Alexander's position, at least staying in office during an investigation, is tenable.

"As [Sir] Alistair Graham said, in normal circumstances, you would step aside as these investigations are completed. The automatic position is, where there is a declared illegality, there is a police investigation."

Sir Alistair is the former standards watchdog at Westminster. Earlier this week, he said that it would be usual for MPs or MSPs to relinquish their roles as senior office bearers while they were being investigated over improper donations.

Ms Alexander tried to ignore the furore yesterday by leading a Labour debate on Scotland's constitutional future and taking on Mr Salmond in First Minister's Questions, but she had to cope with repeated taunts from the SNP benches.

Mr Salmond did not mention the affair specifically, but alluded to it after referring to fruitful discussions between ministers and the police over a pay deal.

"I think everybody in this parliament should always be willing to help the police with their inquiries," he remarked, to applause from Nationalist MSPs.

Mr Gordon previously said he would make a statement about his "political future" this week, and is expected to do so in the next two days.

ABRAHAMS' WARNING

DAVID Abrahams, the developer at the centre of the Labour funding scandal, said he had made donations, through associates because he feared he would be accused of being part of a "Jewish conspiracy".

He also warned he would come out fighting if he took a "hammering" from the government.