Former minister Peter Hain was guilty of a “serious and substantial” breach of parliamentary rules for failing to declare political donations worth £100,000 (€107,000), the standards watchdog said yesterday.
The former work and pensions secretary must apologise in a personal statement to the House of Commons, parliament’s standards and privileges committee said in a report.
Mr Hain resigned in January last year after police launched an inquiry into the funding of his unsuccessful campaign to become deputy leader of the Labour Party.
His resignation forced prime minister Gordon Brown to reshuffle his cabinet and reignited a long-running debate over party funding and ethics in politics.
After replacing Tony Blair in June 2007, Mr Brown promised to restore public trust after years of corruption allegations and police inquiries into party funding.
“Mr Hain’s failure to register donations on this scale is both serious and substantial,” the watchdog said. “However, we accept that there was no intention to deceive and Mr Hain has already paid a high price for his omissions.”
In December, prosecutors said Mr Hain would not face criminal charges. The Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to charge Mr Hain, a former anti-apartheid campaigner and union official first elected to parliament in 1991. – (Reuters)