Hain investigated in funding row
Monday, 14 Jan 2008 20:06
Peter Hain failed to declare £103,000 in donations
Work and pensions secretary Peter Hain will be investigated over his failure to declare £103,000 in donations, it was announced today.
John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner, confirmed this morning he would launch an investigation into how Mr Hain, who is also secretary of state for Wales, failed to declare the money.
Mr Hain confirmed last week that he had not declared the donations to his deputy leadership campaign.
The MP claims the failure to follow the rules was a "purely administrative" error.
Prime minister Gordon Brown has said he expects Mr Hain to remain in government but accepts his future lies out of his hands.
Mr Hain could be suspended from parliament if the report is critical.
"The matter must rest with the authorities, who will look at these matters," Mr Brown said in an interview with the Sun newspaper.
"It would be my expectation that he will carry on in government."
The work secretary has faced criticism from within his party, with Labour MP Ian Gibson saying Mr Hain "has let the side down".
"[MPs are] very aware of the rules of [funding]; I'm really surprised when you're running for deputy leader that you're not ultra-aware of the problems and make sure that [you] don't get into messes like this, because it does affect us all," he told BBC Radio 4's programme The World at One.