British police are to be called in to probe illegal funding of the ruling Labour Party, election authorities said on Thursday, in a new blow to embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The Electoral Commission said it would refer the probe into contributions from a businessman made via other people in breach of funding rules to London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) for further investigation.
"The Commission has now decided to refer matters to the MPS for further investigation," said a spokeswoman, adding that it would submit a formal report to the police yesterday.
The first step in the inquiry, which will be carried out by officers from the Met's specialist and economic crime command, will be to review the Commission's referral report.
The funding row started last weekend, when press reports revealed that property developer David Abrahams gave more than ?600,000 (US$1.2 million) to the Labour Party through four friends or associates.
Those revelations triggered the resignation of the party's general secretary and a flurry of developments since then have seen the party's chief election fund-raiser under pressure to explain his actions.
Brown admitted that the donations were not lawful and announced a series of investigations.
On Thursday Brown's office said he had nothing to hide.
"The Labour Party will co-operate fully and in every way with the inquiry. What happened was unacceptable and it is in the public interest that every question is answered," a spokesman said.
But the row is a fresh blow to the British leader, who came to office vowing greater openness, as it has echoes of the "cash for honors" affair which dogged his predecessor Tony Blair's last year in power.
Two of Blair's closest aides were arrested as part of the police corruption probe over whether seats in the unelected upper House of Lords were illegally sold to wealthy party donors. Nobody was prosecuted.
Labour's opinion poll ratings have nosedived in recent weeks, with a survey released on Thursday evening putting the Conservatives ahead 11 points, while another one gave them a 13-point lead -- their biggest lead for 19 years, when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister.
While on a visit to Washington, opposition leader David Cameron told Britain's Channel 4 News television that he thought Brown "should have referred the matter to the police himself."
"The prime minister said that law-breaking had taken place and so that's right ... If he didn't know what was going on in his party, then it raises very serious questions about his own ability and his own integrity," Cameron said.
Cameron described as "extraordinary" assertions by Labour's general secretary and chief fund-raiser that they were unaware that the donations were unlawful.
During a rowdy question-and-answer session in parliament on Wednesday, Brown vowed to come clean over party funding.
"What happened was completely unjustifiable. It has got to be investigated as a matter of urgency," he said.
"I am determined to make sure that political party finances are above board," Brown said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across