Hain: cover-up claims 'absurd'

Last Modified: 12 Jan 2008
By: Channel 4 News

Peter Hain attemps to stem the row over undeclared donations to his Labour deputy leadership campaign.

Peter Hain faced the cameras outside his home in his Wales constituency this afternoon, read a short statement, then went back inside to get on with his cabinet jobs.

The work and pensions - and Welsh - secretary described the notion that he had attempted to hide anything as "absurd". He blamed it all on "poor administration".

And he said he is now making arrangements to pay back £25,000 of the money raised for his Labour deputy leadership campaign. But is it enough to stem the row?

Why did the think tank Progressive Policies Forum receive more than £40,000 from Peter Hain's supporters, only to forward it on to the Hain campaign?

When it comes to explaining how his deputy leadership campaign failed to declare £103,000 in donations on time, Peter Hain has a script - and today he was determined to stick to it. Outside his constituency home he insisted this was cock-up, not cover-up.

But the Hain camp was arguably not giving its full cooperation to the media today. Mr Hain would not answer questions, and there is one question that everyone in Westminster wants to ask him: why did the think tank Progressive Policies Forum receive more than £40,000 from Peter Hain's supporters, only to forward it on to the Hain campaign?

With allegations that the money was transferred "almost contemporanesously", was the think tank - which has yet to produce a single piece of research - a vehicle to conceal the identities of donors?

'To date PPF has not been involved in the publication of pamphlets or the development of new policy initiatives.'
John Underwood, founder, Progressive Policies Forum

The man who set up the think tank, John Underwood, issued this explanation today: "To date PPF has not been involved in the publication of pamphlets or the development of new policy initiatives - the traditional activities of think-tanks - because its resources were put behind Peter Hain's deputy leadership campaign... But we propose to seek further support and to engage in these activities in the future."

John Underwood was not answering questions either today. He did not, for example, address the allegation that donors' money went in to PPF and out to the Hain campaign on the same day.

Peter Hain today distanced himself from the think tank's creation.

Accompanying report by Zoe Conway