Chris Grayling at his best

Chris Grayling has sent a list of questions to Peter Hain.  Here are the main ones:

• When were you first made aware of the fact that your campaign had debts of over £100,000, for which you were personally liable?
• Did any of the payments to trade creditors to meet those debts exceed significantly their normal trading terms, and if so, have you sought advice from the Electoral Commission about whether these also constituted declarable loans?
• When did you first become aware that donations to your deputy leadership campaign had not been declared? And when did you first inform the Electoral Commission that your original declaration to it was incomplete?
• What checks did you personally make during the deputy leadership campaign to ensure that donations were being properly registered?
• What involvement, if any, did you have in raising the money to pay off the debts of your campaign?
• If you had no involvement in this, who did take responsibility for organising the fund raising effort to clear your debts?
• Will you commit to publishing any correspondence, by email, letter or internal memoranda, between members of your campaign team about fund raising?
• When were you first informed that sufficient funds had been raised to clear your debts?
• Given the fact that you knew that your campaign had substantial debts, and that fund raising was taking place to meet those debts, why were you unaware that additional donations were being sought for your campaign which would be declarable?
• Please could you publish a list of the actual dates on which the undeclared donations were received by your campaign?

Any then some questions about the mysterious think tank that was used to fund Mr Hain's deputy leadership bid:

• Under the terms of electoral law, to be permissible, any company has to be actually trading in the UK. Can you please clarify what its status actually is, what due diligence your campaign carried out into it, and what involvement you have had with it?
• How many staff does the ‘think tank’ employ?
• What documents has it published?
• When were you first made aware that donations to your deputy leadership campaign were being made by this ‘think tank’?
• What donations have been made to PPF since the conclusion of the deputy leadership campaign?
• Why were donors to PPF not fully informed that their donations were being passed to your deputy leadership campaign in advance of this being done?

Download full text (PDF) of Chis Grayling's letter to Peter Hain.

Comments

[Sally Roberts]

This is certainly Chris Grayling at his best! Tremendous forensic ability - I'd hate to be facing him on the other side. I will enjoy, however, seeing Hain wriggling on the hook.

[Malcolm Dunn]

I think the chances of Hain answering this adequately are nil. I wonder what he'll hide behind, 'waiting for the outcome of the enquiry' would be my guess.

[Tony Makara]

Classic QC style interrogation. Mr Grayling is doing our democratic system a service by holding Peter Hain accountable.

[Griswold]

More questions

1. Did John Underwood ask for your advice and input, or seek your involvement as a participant when he established PPF?
2. Do you have written records of such dialogue and are willing to disclose these documents?

[Richard]

I don't really understand Hain's defence that his campaign was a second priority to being a Cabinet Minister. If this is the case what priority did he place on obeying the law, third or fourth or was it even a priority?

[Yogi]

Chris Grayling is masterclass. However, I think we are wasting our time. People must realise that NuLab is above the law.

[GT]

I would think the Inland Revenue should be looking here.

Is any of the £103,000 taxable as income in Hain's personal tax return? The costs may not be necessary to his role as a politician.

Equally, the think tank income may be taxable in its hands, as if it made political donations, they are not tax deductible expenses, hence it would have made a taxable profit equivalent to the income it raised.

[Mark Fulford]

Is Hain under any obligation to answer these questions?

If Ditherer Brown's government still had a reputation worth protecting it would have some reason to sack Hain. As things are, I expect Hain will ignore everything and tough it out until the press move on.

[John]

Good stuff, but of course Grayling is mainly the front man for political attacks - most of the work will have been done by the political section in central office.

[The Huntsman]

On the admitted or undisputed facts, has not Hain committed an offence under para 12 of Schedule 7 of PPERA 2000 by not making a timely return of controlled donations?

I.E.

Sch 7. para 10 (1) A regulated donee shall—

(a) prepare a report under this paragraph in respect of each controlled donation accepted by the donee which is a recordable donation; and

(b) deliver the report to the Commission within the period of 30 days beginning with the date of acceptance of the donation.

para 12 (1) Where a report required to be delivered to the Commission under paragraph 10(1) ......is not delivered by the end of the period of 30 days mentioned in that provision—

(a) the regulated donee, ..........

is guilty of an offence."

if so, why the delay in resigning?

Even the BBC felt moved to mention this on the World at One so apprently obvious is it, yet Hain clings on by his fingernails.

Perhaps Chris Grayling ought to write to GB and ask "if a Minister admits facts which amount to a criminal offence, will you sack them?"

[GLOYD PLOPWELL]

You're both up to your necks in this, both parties. This is fabulous, stupendous news for us squeeky clean Lib Dems. A plague on both your houses!!!

[James Maskell]

Gloyd Plopwell, I wouldnt be so smug if I were you. Just because the LDs havent been caught recently doing dirty deeds doesnt mean that its not happening. Oaten and Hughes werent expected but they happened...

[Bexie]

Someone in parliament should also be asking why someone who's office had to be dragged to court to pay someone the minimum wage should be in charge of work and pensions. Shome Mishtake Surely?