Ukip fuels Tory loans row

The UK Independence party (Ukip) has threatened to use powers under the Freedom of Information Act to make full details of the Conservatives' backers public.

Party chairman David Campbell-Bannerman said he would use the act to force the Electoral Commission to make public the Tories' confidential financial documents.

On Friday, Tory chairman Francis Maude revealed a list of backers who had lent £16 million to the party, but refused to disclose a number of individuals, saying their loans had been recently repaid to ensure their anonymity.

This prompted speculation that these backers were being deliberately hidden – in particular, that one or more of them are based abroad, something that is not illegal but goes against the spirit of the law banning foreign donations.

Labour party chairman Ian McCartney warned that withholding these details was "fuelling suspicions that [the Conservatives] have even more to hide".

Yesterday, shadow leader of the Commons Theresa May said the Conservatives would reveal details of these loans to the Electoral Commission, but would not make them public, to preserve the rights of the individuals concerned.

But Mr Campbell-Bannerman today said this was unacceptable and insisted the public had a right to know who was funding their political parties. He said he would use the Freedom of Information Act to demand the information if the Tories did not volunteer it.

"The loans, like those to the Labour party, may have been technically legal, even where they were made by people who would be ineligible as donors," he said.

"However, the political establishment has a duty to abide not just by the letter but by the spirit of the law. This deliberate concealment shows clearly that the traditional parties are not just financially bankrupt, but morally & politically bankrupt as well."

The Electoral Commission told politics.co.uk it has yet to receive any such request, but today's announcement is only likely to fuel the debate about party loans – which is gaining increasing political relevance as May's local elections loom closer.

Ukip are targeting many Tory seats in the forthcoming poll, and the continued scrutiny about both them and Labour is also likely to benefit the Liberal Democrats, particularly when combined with the turmoil surrounding Tony Blair's departure.

Launching the party's local election manifesto this morning, Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell insisted his party would happily hand over all their accounts to the Electoral Commission "because there is nothing to find…we believe we have nothing to hide".