Labour ladies get glamorous for fundraising auction which topped £600,000

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Ministers including Tessa Jowell, Caroline Flint, and Hazel Blears looked uncharacteristically glamorous for the auction which raised more than £600,000 for the Labour party.

Plenty of celebrities also showed up for the glitzy occasion including footballer Sol Campbell, actress Michelle Collins and Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb.

Labour ladies: Ministers Tessa Jowell and Caroline Flint (left) and Hazel Blears (right) show off their party dresses at the fundraiser

An original piece by Turner Prizewinner artist Antony Gormley raised the most cash for a single lot in the auction, which was conducted by former spin chief Alastair Campbell and former sports minister Richard Caborn.

The Gormley picture narrowly beat rival lots such as a tennis match with Tony Blair, lunch with Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson and a chance to play in a Gordon Banks XI football match.

Glammed up: Gordon Brown and wife Sarah (left) and leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman donned their fine threads for the auction which raised £600,000

Party sources said last night's event was 'even more successful' than a similar auction last year.

Although Labour would only say officially that 'high hundreds of thousands of pounds' had been raised, it is understood the figure could reach £700,000.

Glitzy: Each of the 40 tables included a celebrity including Nancy Dell'Olio (left) and Michelle Collins

The cash will go towards Labour's huge debts.

The Gormley work, Feeling Material Again IV, is believed to have fetched more than £70,000.

Each one of the 40 tables at the event featured a celebrity, including England's World Cup winning goalkeeper Mr Banks, Nancy Dell'Olio, Pete Waterman and Steve Cram.

The offer of a swim with Little Britain's David Walliams also attracted keen interest.