"Developer gave secret donation to Ken Livingstone"

The Sunday Times today report that "Ken Livingstone received a secret donation from a property developer with a conviction for fraud after the London mayor championed the businessman’s plan for a 46-storey skyscraper. Gerald Ronson, the tycoon jailed for his role in the Guinness share-dealing scandal, wrote a cheque to Livingstone for £4,990 – just £10 below the £5,000 threshold at which donations have to be publicly registered with the Electoral Commission. The disclosure raises questions over Livingstone’s use of a legal “loophole” which has allowed him to keep secret the identities of campaign donors. A spokesman for Livingstone, who is seeking a third term as mayor in May’s London elections, last night refused to reveal whether there were any other similar hidden donations. Ronson, 68, made the payment to the Labour mayor’s re-election campaign two years after he received planning permission for the Heron Tower development."



Read the rest, I found the explanation of why under £5,000 most interesting:
"The Conservatives claimed that Livingstone was exploiting a “loophole” in election law which allows him to hide cash gifts by maintaining they are payments to the Labour party rather than his personal election fund. If payments are made to a political party, only those above £5,000 have to be declared to the Electoral Commission. However, the threshold for individual politicians – the so-called “regulated donees” – is much lower at just £1,000. Boris Johnson, the Tory mayoral candidate, declares every donation to his campaign over £1,000. But Livingstone has never made any declaration as a “regulated donee”."