Labour Party to report UKIP to ELCOM

The Guardian ? What's that? .. Oh that crypto-communist rag you mean? Well that doesn't count does it. Non-story gone tomorrow.

What are you on about? ...that boring rubbish this morning in the 'Times'? ....the foggy Foggit non-story that will flicker and fade in a funk, sinking without trace in the foggy foggity dew?

There is only innuendo... nothing more. Sh..t-stirring that's all it is and that's what it will be seen as.

Douglas Denny - UKIP NEC member - on the latest UKIP scandal

UKIP’s leadership have been claiming that no-one is interested in the fact that Agnew, Bannerman, Reeve, Farage and Pearson are caught up in a donations and pay scandal.

When will they ever learn? Do they really think that this story is going to vanish without trace? The Labour party has already announced that they are to make a formal complaint about UKIP to Elcom.

The story has also been featured in several national newspapers and on the BBC!

And when will someone in UKIP realise that attacking journalists and describing them as crypto-communists, liars or fascists is not exactly going to endear the press to the party?

It may surprise Nigel Farage and Douglas Denny but the Sunday Times, the Telegraph and the Guardian have more than just a handful of readers. The BBC news is also, we understand, watched by quite a few people!

From the Eastern Daily Press

Norfolk Euro MP is facing calls for his conduct to be investigated amid claims he spelled out ways that potential supporters could bypass election rules and keep details of large donations secret.

The Sunday Times claimed Stuart Agnew and Ukip party leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch suggested ways to flout Electoral Commission rules to give cash to its general election campaign fund.

Mr Agnew, a farmer from Helhoughton, near Fakenham, who was elected to Brussels last year, reportedly told an undercover reporter a person could remain anonymous by channelling funds through an unincorporated association called Global Britain, which was set up by Lord Pearson in 1997.

Electoral Commission rules state unincorporated associations, which do not have to file accounts, can make donations to political parties but the money must not be channelled from an individual who is seeking to remain anonymous.

In the Sunday Times, Mr Agnew was recorded as saying: “I've spoken to Nigel Farage (Ukip MEP and former party leader) and he says at the moment you can put £25,000 into Global Britain and you will remain anonymous."

Mr Agnew suggested that other ways of keeping a potential donor's identity secret included giving money as a gift to another person who then donated it.

He went on: “Your mother can make you a loan of £100,000 to buy a house ... and you would then become a donor to the party for £100,000 and your name would go up on the Electoral Commission website.”

When the real donor died, she could state in her will the loan was now a gift. “You are seen to be the donor rather than her,” he added.

Another undercover reporter spoke to Lord Pearson who said the money given to Global Britain would be passed “straight on” to Ukip.

Asked if he could guarantee the donor's name would not come out he said: “Yes, we did it in the European elections (in 2009). We passed on £80,000 from one person in effect ... and that caused no difficulty at all.”

When confronted later Lord Pearson reportedly told the paper he would have given the donor's name to the Electoral Commission.


Mr Agnew, who is standing as a general election candidate for Ukip in the Broadland constituency, could not be contacted by the EDP yesterday.

But Labour MEP Richard Howitt, last night called for a full investigation in to the issue.

“I will be raising it with the Electoral Commission first thing on Tuesday,” Mr Howitt said. “It's always been true that of all the British parties in the European Parliament, Ukip has been the least open and transparent.

“I'm extremely concerned because Ukip has two seats in the East of England, which may have been based on donations which may in fact have been illegal.”

Lord Pearson also branded some Ukip members “Neanderthals” and said Mr Agnew, 60, was “one of our only really sane MEPs”.

It is not the first time that a Ukip MEP in the region has hit the headlines over financial matters.

Last year former Ukip MEP Tom Wise was jailed for two years for fraudulently claiming £39,000 of EU parliamentary expenses.

To see the original: LINK

And this is from The Guardian:

Ukip party leader and an MEP reveal how to circumvent rules on donations.

Party chiefs outline to undercover reporters how money was channelled into funds for European elections in 2009.

Ukip's party leader and an MEP have been recorded on tape describing how to get around the rules on donations set out by the Electoral Commission.

The Sunday Times recorded Stuart Agnew describing how donors could funnel money into the party in secret by passing tens of thousands of pounds through intermediaries as the party filled its coffers ahead of the general election.


The MEP was recorded as saying: "I've spoken to Nigel Farage [Ukip MEP and former party leader] and he says at the moment you can put £25,000 into Global Britain and you will remain anonymous."

Agnew suggested that by channelling funds through Global Britain, an unincorporated association set up by Lord Pearson in 1997, the donor could remain incognito but Electoral Commission rules state unincorporated associations, which do not have to file accounts, can make donations to political parties but the money must not be channelled from an individual who is seeking to remain anonymous.

Another undercover reporter spoke toPearson who said the money given to Global Britain would be passed "straight on" to Ukip.

When confronted with his comments Pearson told the paper he would have given the donor's name to the Electoral Commission.

Last night, Ukip confirmed it received £80,000 last year, via Global Britain, for the European election campaign from Patrick Barbour, a Taxpayers' Alliance backer, who wished to remain anonymous.

The statement said: "This anonymous donation was at the time perfectly legal and within the guidelines set down by the Electoral Commission. This donation was fully disclosed by Ukip in the second quarter of 2009."

The sting may damage Pearson and his party who have positioned themselves in order to benefit from public anger over the expenses scandal.

To see the original: LINK

And the story has been featured on the following blogs:

Cliff Roper

Ruperts Read

Lib Dem Voice

http://cllrcliffroper.blogspot.com/2010/04/ukip-donation-scam.html

http://rupertsread.blogspot.com/2010/04/ukip-eastern-region-mep-caught-with-his.html

http://www.libdemvoice.org/ukip-donations-sunday-times-18697.html

Farage may wish it BUT this story is NOT going to go away!