Millionaire rapist invited to a gala dinner by Labour

Owen Oyston, who served three-and-a-half years in jail for attacking a 16-year-old girl, was invited by party chiefs to the £1,000-ahead event at Wembley Stadium.

The disgraced multi-millionaire businessman was filmed at the gala on Thursday which aimed to raise £500,000 to help plug the £20million hole in Labour's finances.

The Prime Minister has asked party officials to investigate how he came to attend the event.

It is not known how much he has donated but Mr Oyston, 73, was a major Labour benefactor in the early 1990s.

His presence at the dinner, revealed by BBC's Newsnight, will fuel concerns over Labour's fundraising activities.

The Prime Minister has attempted to distance himself from the cash-for-peerages scandal that overshadowed Mr Blair's final year in office.

Since Mr Brown took over two weeks ago, Downing Street has refused to discuss any issues relating to the inquiry.

Critics, however, will find it extraordinary that Labour chiefs have solicited funding from a convicted rapist.

Liberal Democrat MP and antisleaze campaigner Norman Baker said: 'It is a pretty seedy end to Blair's Labour.

"The only thing missing was an auctioned copy of the Hutton Report. Are there any depths the Labour Party won't stoop to?"

Mr Blair was the star guest at the fundraiser, which was billed as a celebration of "ten years of sporting achievement".

Also on the guest list were Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and former Olympic athletes Steve Cram and Tessa Sanderson.

Simply Red singer Mick Hucknall, Nancy Dell'Olio and Robin Gibb, who lent Mr Blair his Barbados villa last summer, also attended.

Leading figures from the Party were also there and Oscar-winning producer Lord Puttnam made a special film to be distributed on DVD to guests.

The cost of their tickets entitled them to tour the stadium and try out sports including football, basketball, table tennis and rowing.

Mr Oyston was jailed for six years at Liverpool Crown Court in 1996 for raping his victim at his country home Claughton Hall in Lancashire.

He was released after serving just over half his sentence at Wealston Prison in West Yorkshire. The former chairman of Blackpool Football Club, Mr Oyston also once owned a chain of radio stations and the rights to the Miss World contest.

A Labour Party spokesman confirmed that he did attend the gala.

A spokesman for Mr Oyston told Newsnight: "He was invited to take a table, which he decided to do.

"As he's got lots of companies, he thought it might be useful to attend."

Mr Oyston was a regular contributor to Labour during the early 1990s. He made three gifts totalling £15,750 between 1992 and 1994.

The Prime Minister, however, acted swiftly to reject any more cash.

A spokesman said: "Mr Brown did not meet Mr Oyston nor was he aware of his presence in advance.

"Mr Brown has asked the Labour Party general secretary (Peter Watt) to investigate, but he has already instructed him that any donation from Mr Oyston should not be accepted."