Labour MP: Darling must return £500,000 donation
Labour MP and member of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee John Mann has now called on Alistair Darling to hand back the £500,000 donation given to the No campaign by Vitol president and chief executive Ian Taylor.
He is quoted in today's Herald: "If Alistair Darling hangs on to this cash, the No campaign will be tarnished," said John Mann MP, the Labour member for Bassetlaw.
Welcoming Mr Mann's intervention, SNP Westminster Leader and Defence and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Angus Robertson MP said:
“It was John Mann who called Mr Taylor's donations to the Tories 'dirty money', and his welcome comments shows just how uncomfortable Labour people are with Alistair Darling taking this cash. Mr Taylor is the No campaign's principal funder - contributing nearly half of their donations. This means that around half of the money spent on every single No campaign initiative will be funded by - to use this Labour MP's own term – ‘dirty money'.
“John Mann MP and former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish are both absolutely right to speak out about this cash. Mr Mann is the latest Labour politician to distance himself from Mr Taylor’s donations – Finance Spokesperson Ken Macintosh MSP said he wasn't close enough to the No campaign to know about it. Who will be next?
“Alistair Darling’s refusal to return this donation pending further investigation – and his refusal to outline what he knew of these matters before accepting the money, when he met Mr Taylor – is completely undermining the credibility of the No campaign.
"Alistair Darling needs to listen to these concerned voices in his own party, and do the right thing by handing the money back to Mr Taylor pending a full investigation by the No campaign."
ENDS
Notes
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/oil-cash-pressure-grows-on-no-camp.20790182
