A senior fundraiser for Britain's ruling Conservative Party resigned today after being secretly filmed offering exclusive access to prime minister David Cameron in return for donations of £250,000 a year.
The disclosure is damaging for Mr Cameron's party which has tried to shake off an image of being too close to the interests of business and the rich as Britain undergoes a strict austerity programme to cut its budget deficit.
The party's co-treasurer Peter Cruddas stood down within hours of the Sunday Times newspaper publishing video of him telling undercover reporters, posing as international financiers, that the contributions would enable them to ask Mr Cameron "practically any question you want".
The Conservative Party said no donation had been accepted or formally considered and that it complied with electoral funding legislation.
The Conservative-led coalition government is facing a backlash after a budget last week that cut tax for top earners while freezing tax allowances for pensioners.
While there were also some tax cuts for lower earners, the budget went down badly with many Britons, giving the impression the government was looking after the wealthy and cared little for those suffering rising unemployment and falling incomes as the economy struggles to recover from recession.
"The revelations ... prove that the problem is the ability of those with money to buy their way to the heart of government through political donations," Mark Adams, an opposition Labour-supporting lobbyist who helped the Sunday Times with its investigation, told the paper.
The issue is embarrassing for Mr Cameron, who promised before coming to power in May 2010 to curb corporate lobbying, saying it was the "next big scandal waiting to happen."
The Labour Party, which has called for limits on the amounts wealthy individuals can give to political parties, called on Cameron to reveal what he knew about the matter.
The Sunday Times reporters had posed as Liechtenstein-based fund managers who wanted to develop contacts with Mr Cameron and other ministers on behalf of their Middle East investors.
Mr Cruddas told them the access would be "awesome for your business", adding some of the party's bigger donors had enjoyed dinner with Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha in their private apartment at his Number 10 Downing Street office.
He advised them that a donation of £100,000 was a minimum but that £200,000 or £250,000 was "premier league".
Reuters