UPDATE: 24-01-08, 11.30am: He's gone.
::The troubles of Welsh Secretary Peter Hain deepen as the Monmouth Tory MP David Davies makes an official complaint to Westminser's 'sleaze watchdog'.
The office of the parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon will decide whether to investigate Mr Hain's conduct after his admission of failure to declare more than £100,000 in donations to his Labour deputy leadership campaign.
Mr Hain insists it is a matter of cock-up not conspiracy as the pressures of ministerial office forced him to take his eye off the ball, allowing administrative failures in the running of his campaign.
Mr Davies said that any member of the public could view the Commons register of members' interests to see that Mr Hain failed to declare donations he now admitted to the Electoral Commission.
"The commissioner will consider my complaint and I expect to hear on Monday that he will investigate it," Mr Davies said.
"The rules (for MPs) are pretty clear - you declare any money you receive - and the money isn't declared."
Though the rules can cause confusion.
MPs will want to know what was the status of a think tank, the Progressive Policy Forum (PPF), which passed on £25,000 in donations and a further £25,000 loan from individuals to Mr Hain's campaign.
A full standards inquiry would present a report to Westminster's powerful Standards and Privileges Committee which rebuke or if it sees fit recommend suspension from the House.
Mr Hain confirmed that he had failed to declare to the Electoral Commission 17 donations totalling £103,156.75, more than half the money received by his failed deputy leadership campaign.
In a statement, he blamed the pressures of his then job as Northern Ireland and Welsh Secretary for his failure.
The declarations stopped around May, in the aftermath of Assembly elections which pitched Labour into turmoil over coalition talks wth Plaid Cymru.
Mr Hain said that it became necessary to raise more cash after the deputy leadership contest finished in June because 'unpaid invoices' emerged during the summer and autumn.
But he learned on November 29 last year that these donations had not been declared within the required timescale, and “immediately” informed the Electoral Commission.
Downing Street said that Gordon Brown continued to back Mr Hain.
“The Prime Minister has full confidence in Peter Hain,” a No 10 spokeswoman said. (11.14am)
Penyberth wrote...
Hain stretches his credibility by expecting us to believe that he puts down the failure to declare £103,000 of the £185,000 to an administrative error...some error!!
Donations were made to PPF a Think Tank which isn't and arguably there to hide the details of donors to Hain's campaign...which is illegal.
The front man for PPF is a John Underwood who was also treasurer of Hain's campaign...This is a 'tall story' and frankly not believable and he should resign.
Posted by: Penyberth | January 13, 2008 1:11 PM