Amid fundraising controversy, Gordon Brown thanks the special donors club

Last updated at 10:52 04 December 2007


Gordon Brown went out of his way to reassure Labour's wealthy donors last night and told them: "We will get through this."

Faced with a torrent of new fundraising controversies, the Prime Minister took critics by surprise by turning up to a party for members of Labour's Thousand Club of backers.

Mr Brown, accompanied by his wife Sarah, spent 20 minutes pumping hands and smiling with donors who all give a minimum of £1,000 a year to the party.

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His appearance was a clear signal that he is determined to ride out the funding controversy and to show he has nothing to hide personally.

In a short speech at Savoy Place, he urged members to focus on the successful way the Government had handled crises such as foot and mouth and flooding rather than the recent disasters of Northern Rock, lost Revenue data discs and funding rows.

"We've had various problems, this is one of them," he said, according to witnesses at the private meeting from which the Press were excluded.

"We will tackle this just the same, and introduce new rules for funding. And we will come through it."

One observer said: "Tony Blair did not attend many of the Thousand Club events in recent years so it was a surprise to see Mr Brown. He went around the room thanking people individually for their support.

"It was a very strong message that he appreciates donors and doesn't want them to be scared away."

David Abrahams, the donor whose covert gifts triggered the latest crisis, is a member of the Thousand Club but he did not attend the Christmas party, hosted by club president Lord Sawyer.

Launched in the days of Neil Kinnock, the donor club was seen as the cutting edge of fundraising in its day but was later eclipsed by the astonishing success of Tony Blair and Lord Levy in obtaining multi-million pound gifts from tycoons.

Before he attended last night's donor party, Mr Brown addressed MPs and peers at a private meeting in Westminster where he promised to fast-track new laws on party finances.

Declaring himself to be angry about the £650,000 given to Labour by property developer Mr Abrahams through middle men, he said he would deal with problems over party funding once and for all.

The Conservatives today forced a debate in the Commons on party funding as Cabinet minister Peter Hain became the latest to admit irregularities over donations, amid continuing doubt over Harriet Harman's ability to ride out the storm over her £5,000 gift from Mr Abrahams.

A poll for BBC2's Newsnight last night suggested that 57 per cent of voters now view Mr Brown as "tainted by sleaze" - almost exactly twice the 28 per cent who said the same of Tory leader David Cameron.

Mr Brown is considering reforms to union funding but his aides deny reports that he is ready to accept a £50,000 cap on union gifts.

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