Obscure conduit for donations

THE Conservative Industrial Fund, to which the fugitive businessman Asil Nadir made out cheques for the Tory party, is one of the lesser known conduits of donations to the party, writes Rosie Waterhouse.

According to the Labour Research Department, the fund is occasionally declared by companies in their accounts as the recipient of gifts under the heading of political donations.

Until Asil Nadir made public the fact that he made substantial donations to the Tory party through the fund, few people outside Conservative central office had heard of it.

Its chairman is Michael Grylls, MP for North West Surrey, and its secretary is a Col E P Basley, a retired lieutenant colonel. A Central Office spokesman said the fund was not based there but a local Conservative association said it was part of the Conservative Board of Finance.