Nick Clegg was embroiled in a cash-for-access scandal last night after it was reported that a senior Liberal Democrat agreed to accept a potentially illegal donation.
Ibrahim Taguri, the party’s former chief fundraiser, is alleged to have told an undercover reporter posing as an Indian businessman that he could donate via family members or backdate cheques to help to conceal his identity from official registers.
After supplying a cheque for just over £7,500, the reporter was invited to a fundraising dinner and a private meeting with Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, one of the most senior Lib Dems in government. He was also given a tour of Mr Clegg’s office and promised that the cash would also “open doors” to other party figures.
With less than two months until the general election, the allegations are highly embarrassing for the deputy prime minister, who is battling to save his party from losing dozens of MPs after five years in coalition. They also raise questions about party funding.
Mr Taguri has stood down as the party’s parliamentary candidate for the London seat of Brent Central.
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A Daily Telegraph reporter posed as a wealthy supporter who wanted to donate to the party without his identity being made public.
Electoral Commission law requires the publication of the name of anyone giving more than £7,500 to a central party, or £1,500 to a local party, in a calendar year. Rules state that intermediaries “must not be used as an attempt to evade the controls on permissibility and transparency”.
According to the newspaper, Mr Taguri explained how the donor could bypass these limits by enlisting the help of family members. When the “businessman” texted him to explain that he had transferred £7,650 to his “cousin”, he is alleged to have replied: “Brilliant thank you!”
Mr Taguri is then said to have suggested that another “cheeky” way of avoiding the £7,500 limit was to backdate a cheque so that it appeared that the money had been given over the course of two years.
The “businessman” gave £9,100 to the Lib Dems, adding that he hoped to reach between £50,000 and £100,000 by persuading his wife to “go public”.
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He was introduced to Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, the former Lib Dem leader and chairman of the party’s election campaign, and invited to a speech by Vince Cable, the business secretary. He was also taken to Mr Clegg’s Commons office and offered a meeting with him.
He is said to have been invited to two events with Mr Alexander, who sits in “the quad” of top political decision-makers alongside the prime minister, the chancellor and Mr Clegg. The chief secretary to the Treasury is said to have thanked the “businessman” and encouraged him to provide further financial support to the Lib Dems, but said that he did not want “to intrude on the details” of his donations.
Mr Taguri is alleged to have promised that the donations would grant access to party officials for the businessman and his clients. He offered to introduce him to the party’s treasurer, claiming: “He may, will, have a good range of networks that you can access, I’m sure, and he’ll be able to help you.”
Mr Taguri told the newspaper that he denied wrongdoing, saying that he had not cashed the cheque he had been given and would have declared it.
He said that he thought the fictional cousin had donated his own money, adding that he would be “publicly declaring all donations”, even those not required to be disclosed by law.
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A Lib Dem spokesman said: “The party has not received the donation in question, and if we had it would have been subject to a series of checks and procedures to ensure it met all legal requirements. We firmly reject any suggestion that Danny Alexander or any other Liberal Democrat parliamentarian has acted in any way improperly.
“Ibrahim Taguri has rightly stood down as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Brent Central and from any formal role within the party. We have now referred this matter to the Electoral Commission.”