Nick Clegg: "Urgent overhaul of party political funding needed"

7.23.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 7th Jun 2008

Commenting on the recent expenses scandals that have hit the Conservative party, Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg said:

"These allegations of the misuse of public money by Conservative MPs and MEPs simply underlines that all politicians of all parties must now abide by the highest standards of probity.

"But these scandals should not distract attention from the much bigger problem in British politics: the total lack of transparency in the way big money is now funding party politics in Britain.

"It is all very well for David Cameron to be holier than thou with his own MPs, but if he really wants to represent the new politics he should come clean on the way the Conservative Party is funded by dodgy donors located abroad.

"What's the point of changing the rules on MPs pay and expenses if multi-millionaires living in tax havens abroad can run a coach and horses through Britain's weak rules on party funding.

"We need an urgent overhaul, binding on all political parties, of the rules on party political funding."