Official complaint made about Hain donations

The pressure on former Northern Ireland Secretary, Peter Hain, intensified today after an official complaint was made to the Westminster “sleaze” watchdog.

The office of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, John Lyon, confirmed that he had received a formal complaint concerning the conduct of the Work and Pensions Secretary.

No details of the complaint were released, but it follows Mr Hain’s admission yesterday that he failed to declare more than £100,000 in donations to his Labour Party deputy leadership campaign.