Labour say Gambling Bill unaffected by donation from gambling mandarin

[oldman]

The Labour party claimed that a £50,000 donation from an internet betting company had no influence on the controversial Gambling Bill now debated in parliament, The Scotsman reported.

The party said the money, given on 18 July by Peter Coates, who has interests in betting shops and the gambling website bet365.com, was not linked to the gambling legislation.

A Labour party spokesman said: "No donation to the Labour Party will give the donor any influence over party or government policy.

"Peter Coates is a regular donor to the Labour Party so there is nothing out of the ordinary about this donation, which is clearly made because Mr Coates is a supporter of the Labour Party and for no other reason," the party spokesman said.

Figures issued by the Electoral Commission revealed Labour and the Conservatives each received more than £3 million in donations in the third quarter of this year.

The Liberal Democrats received £915,523 over the same period, from July to September.

Businessman Hans Rausing – often said to be Britain’s wealthiest man after selling his Tetra Pak packaging company for £4.5 billion – topped the list of donations to the Tories with a gift of £198,000.

The party received £3,528,504 in all over the three months.

Labour’s £3,715,524 was largely made up of donations from the big trades unions, who gave both to its head office and to individual constituencies.

Plaid Cymru’s donations totalled £29,293 and the Scottish National Party’s £95,043.

The British National Party received £21,250 in gifts and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) – £175,576.