Pressure increases on embattled Hain

Demands grew today for British government minister Peter Hain to answer questions about the funding of his campaign for Labour…

Demands grew today for British government minister Peter Hain to answer questions about the funding of his campaign for Labour's deputy leadership.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron warned the Work and Pensions secretary he would not survive the controversy unless he "got out" and explained himself.

Mr Cameron also accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who continues to support Mr Hain of "dithering".

Mr Hain issued statement on Saturday defying calls for his resignation and dismissing suggestions he tried to cover up donations to his failed bid as absurd. Mr Hain, who made no public comments yesterday, said all the donations to his campaign were legitimate.

READ MORE

The former Northern Ireland secretary has been under fire over his failure to report £103,000 of donations to his deputy Labour Party leadership campaign until this week.

Mr Cameron insisted yesterday that questions remained over the funding arrangements, suggesting that the Public Policies Forum, a think tank via which donations were channelled, could have been a "front".

The Liberal Democrats said Mr Hain's position looked "increasingly unsustainable".