Sir Elton and friends come out for Paddick

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Stars including David Walliams, Dale Winton, Christian Slater and Tamara Mellon turned out for the event at the singer's Notting Hill home last night.

Former police chief Mr Paddick, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats, is a close friend of Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish, and was at their 2005 civil ceremony.

A former deputy assistant commissioner and Lambeth borough commander, Mr Paddick was the most senior openly gay officer at the Met. He has struggled to raise campaign funds, and the party was a major boost. An insider at the dinner, attended by about 20 guests, said Sir Elton outlined why he and Mr Furnish were supporting Mr Paddick. They discussed his policies and what the priorities should be for the next mayor.

Mr Paddick told The Standard: "I have been friends with Elton and David for many years and I am so grateful to them for supporting me in this way. Elton, David and their friends really engaged with the discussion. We were very pleased with the way the evening went." The Lib-Dems have nothing like the fundraising capacity of Labour and the Tories. Mr Paddick has registered no donations with the Electoral Commission so far. A recent event with 80 supporters at a wine bar near London Bridge raised £5,000.

Boris Johnson has almost £250,000 for his Conservative campaign, with a £1.2 million target. Ken Livingstone's Labour team are expected to aim for about £1 million.

A £150,000 target is seen as realistic but an "uphill struggle" by the Lib-Dem team. Between 18 March 18 and the election on 1 May a spending cap of £400,000 will apply to all candidates.

The Standard revealed in December that Sir Elton was endorsing Mr Paddick. It is thought to be the first time the singer has aligned himself so closely with a political party, although he has campaigned on gay rights.

London's gay community could be influential in the election and earlier this week Mr Paddick took his campaign to the gay bars of Soho.