Tories' biggest donor Lord Laidlaw admits to being a sex addict after orgy expose

Lord Laidlaw, 64, who is worth an estimated £730 million, admitted he has suffered from the "disease" for the whole of his adult life.

The peer is the Tories' biggest donor and has given £6 million to the party under David Cameron's leadership alone. He has also given money to Boris Johnson's campaign to become London mayor.

He laid bare his problem after a national newspaper uncovered he had been holding sex parties at his house in Monaco.

The News of the World claimed he was flying in prostitutes who charged thousands of pounds a night for the orgies in the tax haven.

Lord Laidlaw promptly owned up in a candid letter which revealed he had been struggling with sex addiction for decades.

He said: "I have been fighting sexual addiction for my whole adult life. Sexual addiction is comparable to the other, better known addictions such as drug, alcohol and gambling.

"Many people suffer different types of this disease. There is no cure for it, and self-help is rarely successful.

"But having an addiction is no excuse for my behaviour. I have been in therapy a number of times, but I have not worked hard enough or continuously enough on this.

"I should have been stronger in resisting the temptations."

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The peer apologises "from the bottom of his heart" for the embarrassment to his friends and collegues but speaks of his wife, Christine's support and encouragement.

He also says he is seeking long-term help and plans to donate £1 million to a UK addiction charity to help fellow sufferers.

The letter ends: "I hope that, in time, people will be able to understand and forgive me as I fight this difficult personal battle."

He is due to start six weeks of therapy in South Africa tomorrow, but admits this will not cure him but only "prevent any relapse".

His wife is thought to be with him.

The News of the World claimed the peer was a regular customer of several madams who only send him the best, and most expensive, prostitutes they have on their books.

One drug and champagne-fuelled party with four prostitutes and a male gigolo in an exclusive Monte Carlo hotel is said to have cost him £27,000.

Lord Laidlaw, who was not taking drugs, is also said to have paid for the prostitute's return flight to London and a chaffeur-driven limousine.

The son of a mill owner, he made his fortune after establishing the world's biggest conference organising company, the Institute for International Research which he sold in 2005 for £768 million.

He became a Tory peer in 2004 and agreed to renounce his status as a tax exile but four years on, he is still not a UK resident and does not pay British taxes.

After taking leave of absence from the Lords last year, he also does not sit or vote there.