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Romanian bid preceded donation to Labour Party: Lakshmi Mittal
Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal has refuted allegations under the `cash for access` scandal, saying his bid to buy a Romanian steel company came through much before he made a donation of 125,000 pounds to the ruling Labour Party last year.
Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal has refuted allegations under the 'cash for access' scandal, saying his bid to buy a Romanian steel company came through much before he made a donation of 125,000 pounds to the ruling Labour Party last year.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing charges, following reports in the pro-conservative telegraph group of newspapers that he helped facilitate the Romanian deal because Mittal, owner of the multinational ISPAT international, made the donation to his party.
Mittal told the Daily Telegraph from Delhi Monday night that he gave the money to Labour on May 23, before the election last year, and not after, as had been reported by the Sunday Telegraph.
Blair is said to have written to Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase on July 23, supporting the Mittal bid to buy up the state-owned Sidex steel firm. However, the Daily Telegraph quoted Mittal as saying that he handed over the money before polling day because ''it makes more sense to give money before an election when parties need it'', a statement that the opposition Conservative Party seized in order to prove its 'cash for access' allegations.
The party's vice chairman, Tim Collins said, ''these revelations that the money given to the Labour Party was donated in the midst of a general election campaign, which is the most sensitive time for any political organisation, indicates that the donation was more significant than first thought.
Bureau Report
Mittal told the Daily Telegraph from Delhi Monday night that he gave the money to Labour on May 23, before the election last year, and not after, as had been reported by the Sunday Telegraph.
Blair is said to have written to Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase on July 23, supporting the Mittal bid to buy up the state-owned Sidex steel firm. However, the Daily Telegraph quoted Mittal as saying that he handed over the money before polling day because ''it makes more sense to give money before an election when parties need it'', a statement that the opposition Conservative Party seized in order to prove its 'cash for access' allegations.
The party's vice chairman, Tim Collins said, ''these revelations that the money given to the Labour Party was donated in the midst of a general election campaign, which is the most sensitive time for any political organisation, indicates that the donation was more significant than first thought.
Bureau Report