Tory parliamentary candidate cosies up to Blair in photos

The Tory candidate in Thursday's poll in Ealing Southall, Tony Lit, the boss of Asian radio station Sunrise, queued up to be photographed with the Prime Minister.

In addition, Sunrise paid £4,800 for the table where Mr Lit was sitting and successfully bid £4,000 for a trip to America including dinner with Hillary Clinton, a close personal friend of Mr Blair and his wife, Cherie.

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Mr Cameron put his credibility on the line by personally selecting former male model Mr Lit, 34, who joined the party only a week before he was chosen. He stood down as managing director of Sunrise when the by-election campaign started.

Campaigning with Mr Lit last week, Mr Cameron said: "Tony Lit is a brilliant candidate. I am really pleased to be here supporting him. He is the only candidate campaigning on the issues that matter to the local community."

The Labour event, Celebrating Diversity, took place on June 20 at the Riverbank Plaza hotel near the House of Commons and was attended by a host of senior Labour figures. The Labour Party released a copy of the £4,800 cheque paid by Sunrise.

It is the latest episode in a tit-for-tat war between the parties to poach each other's supporters. Gordon Brown scored the first blow when veteran Tory MP Quentin Davies defected to Labour. The Tories hit back by revealing that Mr Brown's Trade Minister, ex-CBI boss Sir Digby Jones, considered running as their candidate for London mayor. Mr Cameron achieved another coup last week when five Labour councillors in Ealing defected to the Tories.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown seized on Mr Lit's Labour links to appeal to Conservative supporters to back Labour. "As we reach out to those who share our vision of a better Britain of rising aspirations and new and better opportunities, I urge all who share our values - from progressives in all areas of Britain to moderate Conservatives - to join us in making Britain the country it can be,' said Mr Brown.

Labour MP Joan Ryan said: "David Cameron's personal intervention to overrule local Tories and appoint a candidate has totally backfired."

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In the 2005 General Election, the Tories came third behind the Liberal Democrats in Ealing and face a huge task to overturn Labour's 11,441 majority. Mr Cameron has ordered his MPs to back Mr Lit's campaign in an attempt to secure the party's first by-election gain for 25 years.

The by-election follows the death of veteran Labour MP Piara Khabra. Labour's 60-year-old candidate, Virendra Sharma has been described as having 'the charisma of a breeze block'. But Labour claims his low profile could now be an advantage over flamboyant Mr Lit.

Mr Lit said: "As a businessman, I did indeed attend this event for the Asian business community, but like many British Asians I feel the Labour Government does not have the answers to the challenges that currently face the country.

"Increasingly, the Asian community is leaving the Labour Party and joining David Cameron's modern and inclusive Conservative Party."

Curiously, despite successfully bidding in the Labour auction for the tickets to Atlanta, including dinner with Mrs Clinton, Sunrise has not yet paid for them.

A Labour spokesman pointed out that when they do pay up, Sunrise will have to be declared as a Labour donor.

Together with the £4,800 it paid for last month's Labour dinner, it takes them over the £5,000 threshold above which parties must declare donors.