Blair hit by fresh sleaze row

LABOUR was fighting fresh sleaze allegations last night after it admitted accepting a second £50,000 donation from the vaccines firm which won a £32 million smallpox contract from the government.

The party accepted the cheque from Paul Drayson, the chief executive of PowderJect, six weeks before his firm secured a deal to produce 30 million smallpox vaccines.

The cash gift of £100,000 left the government wide open to fresh accusations from Opposition MPs that it is selling favours to the highest bidder.

Mr Blair has already defended himself against accepting a £50,000 donation from Mr Drayson last year.

It emerged yesterday that the smallpox deal was agreed only after a second cheque, for the same amount, was registered on 8 February.

The contract was awarded by the Department of Health under a veil of secrecy, prompting claims that rival companies had been denied the chance to tender for it to suit a friend of Tony Blair.

The Prime Minister is already trying to recover from the damaging revelations that Labour accepted £125,000 from Lakshmi Mittal. The steel tycoon won a Romanian contract after a letter from Mr Blair described his Dutch Antilles-registered company as British.

Tim Collins, the shadow cabinet office minister, said it was no longer credible for the government to insist there was no link between Mr Drayson’s donation and the smallpox contract.

"This further very sizeable donation from Mr Drayson means that he was become one of Labour’s most generous donors since the general election," he said. "This Labour government can no longer be surprised if more and more voters don’t believe a word they say."

Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman, said: "This exposes once again the over-reliance of the Labour Party on wealth donors.

"The fact that these donations coincided with the awarding of procurement contracts to donors gives the appearance of sleaze."

Mr Drayson made his second donation in December and it was registered with the Electoral Commission, the political funding watchdog, on 8 February.

The government denied categorically that Mr Drayson’s second donation had influenced its decision, which was made for "one reason and one reason alone - they were the only company that was able to supply the vaccine that we required as soon as possible".

Mr Drayson also denied yesterday there had been any link between the cash gifts and the contract.

In a statement, he said: "I want to state categorically for the record that there has never been, nor will there ever be, any connection between my donations, which are made in a personal capacity, and my business life."

Labour accused Mr Collins of making "baseless and unfounded allegations".

A party spokesman said that Labour had taken the lead in bringing "openness and transparency" to the issue of funding, declaring all donations of more than £5,000 since 1995 and setting up the Electoral Commission register.

He added: "We still don’t know who, and from where, the Tories 1997 campaign was funded and we only know who funded their 2001 campaign because of the legislation this government introduced."

Mr Drayson said in his own statement that he shared the party’s aims and was "fortunate enough to have the financial resources to support the things I think are important". He said it would be untrue to say that support had brought him any special access.

He added: "Currently, political parties rely financially on membership fees and voluntary donations. Therefore, I am disappointed that recent comment appears to question the integrity of those who donate to political parties."

Mr Blair’s official spokesman said last night: "Officials at the top of the department did check all the correct procedures were followed and their position was that they were."