New twist in donations controversy

Party leader David Cameron switched the subject for Tuesday afternoon's regular Opposition Day debate in the Commons to political fund-raising, as Peter Hain became the latest Cabinet minister to admit irregularities over donations.

The Work and Pensions Secretary apologised after revealing that gifts to his unsuccessful campaign for Labour's deputy leadership earlier this year were not properly registered.

Mr Hain - who had already admitted failing to register a £5,000 donation from Labour's chief fundraiser Jon Mendelsohn - said he had informed the Electoral Commission and was reviewing all donations to his campaign.

He will come under further pressure to reveal exactly who provided the money to fund his campaign, and why he did not supply the Commission with full details when he was required to.

His surprise admission came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to regain control of the issue by pressing forward with wholesale reforms to the system for financing political parties.

Addressing MPs and peers at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in Westminster on Monday night, Mr Brown said he was as angry as any of them about the row over donations sparked by last week's revelation that property developer David Abrahams had given more than £650,000 to Labour through middlemen.

Mr Brown said it was crucial to deal with problems over party funding once and for all.

A poll for BBC2's Newsnight suggested that 57% of voters now view Mr Brown as "tainted by sleaze" - almost exactly twice the 28% who said the same of Mr Cameron.

But the PM told the packed PLP meeting that rows over fund-raising would not wreck Labour's chances at the next General Election, saying: "At the end of the day, it is not money that decides elections, it is ideas."