Cameron attacks inquiry's proposal for curb on wealthy party donors

David Cameron has intervened directly in an independent inquiry into political funding to demand a more favourable outcome for the Conservatives and a severe clampdown on Labour's trade union donations.

i has learnt that the Committee on Standards in Public Life is to propose a £10,000 cap on donations to parties by individuals and organisations to "take the big money out of politics". The parties would be compensated by a multimillion-pound increase in state funding. There would be stricter controls over the affiliation fees paid by the unions to Labour but they would not be subject to the cap.

Mr Cameron has made a last-minute appeal to the committee to revise its draft proposals. The Tories, who have more rich donors than other parties, favour a £50,000 cap.

Mr Cameron's move has upset some members of the committee, which is chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly and is due to report next month after a 17-month inquiry. It includes a representative from each of the three main parties and six independent members.

"Cameron has thrown his toys out of the pram," one independent source said. "We had a consensus and were ready to publish and this has delayed it." Labour and the Tories have long disagreed over whether union money should count towards a cap. But the level of the ceiling could now prevent an agreement being reached.

Lord (Andrew) Feldman of Elstree, the Tories' co-chairman and a friend of Mr Cameron, has sent a strongly worded letter to Sir Christopher, a copy of which has been obtained by i. "The Prime Minister has asked me to write to you," Lord Feldman wrote.

"The Prime Minister and I were very disappointed to learn that you believe that there should be a donations cap that applies to all Conservative and Liberal Democrat party funding, but that specifically excludes a major source of funding to the Labour Party. The rules on donations should apply equally to all parties."

The tone of the letter has angered some committee members. Labour fears that Nick Clegg will side with Mr Cameron when he draws up the Government's response to the proposals. The Liberal Democrats have also backed a £50,000 cap, while Labour favours a much lower one of £500.

Labour said the letter underlined how the Tories were playing "fast and loose" with politics, citing the shake-up of constituency boundaries and new rules on voter registration.

funding

A £10,000 cap on donations to parties by individuals and organisations.

Unions would have to make clear members have right to opt out of paying political levy and ensure those who do pay lower membership fee; unions could not "over-affiliate" by saying they have more members paying the levy than they do.

Options for increased taxpayer funding, perhaps based on between £1 and £3 for every vote received.

One-off trade union donations subject to the £10,000 cap.

David Abrahams

In 2007, it emerged that the Labour Party had received more than £500,000 from the North-east-based property developer, channelled through several third parties including a builder and secretary. The Crown Prosecution Service decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Liam Fox

Resigned as Defence Secretary eight days ago after it was revealed that Adam Werritty, his friend and self-appointed "adviser", had received £147,000 in donations from businessmen to fund his foreign trips at Mr Fox's side. The official inquiry said there was a perceived conflict of interest but no evidence that the donors had sought to influence Mr Fox's decisions.

Lord Ashcroft

The billionaire former Conservative Party treasurer and deputy chairman has donated more than £4m to the party since David Cameron became leader. Labour claims his grants to Tory candidates in marginal seats gave them an unfair advantage. It was revealed last year that he had not given up his non-domiciled tax status when he became a peer in 2000.

Michael Brown

The Liberal Democrats accepted £2.4m from the "offshore trader" living in Majorca before the 2005 election, their biggest donation on record. He has been on the run for three years after being convicted of a multimillion-pound theft from his clients. It emerged last month that he is living in the Dominican Republic. The Liberal Democrats have declined to repay the money.

Bernie Ecclestone

The Formula 1 boss donated £1m to Labour in 1997. It emerged after the Blair government said the sport would be exempt from its ban on tobacco advertising. Mr Ecclestone personally lobbied the PM for the exemption. Mr Blair told voters he was "a pretty straight kind of guy". The money was repaid.

Cash for honours

To sidestep the Blair government's new law on disclosing donations, the Labour Party took out secret loans (not then subject to the disclosure rules) before the 2005 election on the advice of its chief fundraiser, Lord Levy. Some of the lenders were nominated for peerages. Despite a police inquiry no one was prosecuted.