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18th March 2008Election watchdogs have been called in to investigate claims that Ken Livingstone has systematically hidden sources of cash for his re-election bid.
The Electoral Commission said it was considering a complaint that Labour's London mayor has failed to declare a single donation since election funding laws were introduced seven years ago.
Mr Livingstone claims he has not received a penny and any money he spends is raised by Labour.
But his website asks for cheques to be made payable to "The Ken Livingstone Campaign Fund".
Donations are sought on the basis that "I want to re-elect Ken Livingstone" under the banner "Back Ken".
A full-scale inquiry would be a serious blow for the already embattled Mr Livingstone, who has slipped behind his Conservative rival Boris Johnson in the latest polls.
The Mayor has been accused of receiving a secret donation from a property developer after championing the businessman's plan for a 46-storey skyscraper.
Gerald Ronson, the tycoon jailed for his role in the Guinness share-dealing scandal, is alleged to have written a cheque to Livingstone for £4,990 - £10 below the £5,000 threshold at which donations have to be publicly registered with the Electoral Commission.
Mr Livingstone's opponents claim he is exploiting a "loophole" in election law which allows him to hide cash gifts by maintaining they are payments to the Labour Party rather than his personal election fund.
If payments are made to a political party, only those above £5,000 have to be declared to the Electoral Commission. However, the threshold for individual politicians is much lower at just £1,000.
Boris Johnson, the Tory mayoral candidate, declares every donation to his campaign over £1,000.
But Mr Livingstone has never made any such declaration.
Tory MP Greg Hands, who reported the Mayor to the Electoral Commission, said: "I have today called in the Electoral Commission to urgently investigate.
"With just over six weeks to go until the Mayoral election, the public has a right to know who is funding Ken Livingstone's attempt at re-election.
"Yet for seven years, Livingstone has been systematically avoiding legal requirements to declare the nature and extent of donations made to him.
"There is no better time than right now to start cleaning up politics."
Mr Johnson said: "Clearly this Mayor feels the rules do not apply to him.
"I have always acted in good faith and registered all donations to my campaign as required to do so by law.
"It is about time he did the same. We will continue to be as open as possible and aim to adopt this attitude if elected into City Hall on May 1."
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: "We have received a complaint and we are reviewing it.
"Broadly, it is that donations were not correctly reported. We are looking to complete an initial assessment within the next couple of days."
Earlier this month, Mr Livingstone's closest aide Lee Jasper was forced to quit over claims £100,000 of taxpayers' money was channelled to projects run by a woman he bombarded with sexually-charged emails.
Police are investigating projects at the London Development Agency, which is the London mayor's business arm.
The inquiry centres on claims that LDA contracts and funding totalling more than £3million were awarded to organisations with personal links to Mr Jasper, but which appear to have done little if anything in return.
