CONSERVATIVE SHADOW chancellor George Osborne has admitted making "a mistake" by becoming involved in discussions about a possible donation to the Conservative Party by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
Mr Osborne again dismissed claims by financier Nathaniel Rothschild that he had attempted to solicit a £50,000 (€63,000) donation from Mr Deripaska while on holiday in Corfu last August.
"I neither asked for money nor received any, and I didn't break any rules," Mr Osborne told the BBC's World at Oneprogramme. "But I think I did make a mistake."
The chastened shadow chancellor - who is not universally popular among colleagues and whose judgment has been called into serious question - continued: "I think in politics it is not just what you say or what you do, it's how things look. If I am absolutely honest this didn't look very good and I regret that."
Mr Osborne also confirmed that, as the man in charge of his party's election planning, he would no longer be involved in discussions about donations from individual donors. While presenting this as his own decision, this was earlier reported as one forced upon him following some speculation that party leader David Cameron might eventually be forced to give his brief to former leader William Hague.
Mr Cameron will be hoping yesterday's modest apology will draw a line under the affair in respect of Mr Osborne, his closest political friend and ally.
It might also clear the way, however, for a renewed Tory focus on the relationship between Peter Mandelson, the former EU trade commissioner recently appointed British business secretary, and the Russian aluminium magnate.
Before heading off on a business trip to Russia on Sunday, Mr Mandelson was obliged to deny granting Mr Deripaska any favours in respect of the removal of trade restrictions that had previously hindered the oligarch's aluminium business.
That denial followed Mr Mandelson's admission on Saturday that he first met Mr Deripaska two years earlier than his office had previously indicated.
William Hague has led calls for "clarity" about Mr Mandelson's meetings with Mr Deripaska when he was trade commissioner, "and what was discussed and whether they ever discussed aluminium tariffs and so on".
However, the European Commission yesterday said there were no grounds for an investigation and that it was for Mr Mandelson to decide whether to provide a list of his social engagements.