Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne has denied that he had asked Russia's richest man for an illegal political donation after a wealthy fund manager made the claim in a letter to the Timesnewspaper.
Nathaniel Rothschild, co-chairman of Atticus Capital, said Mr Osborne and party fundraiser Andrew Feldman had approached aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska for a donation.
Mr Rothschild said the approach occurred on Deripaska's yacht during the summer, when Mr Osborne was a guest at Rothschild's mansion in Corfu in August.
British election law bans political parties from accepting donations from foreign citizens.
Mr Osborne said the allegations in Mr Rothschild's letter were untrue but confirmed he had been on the Russian's boat on two occasions.
"A very specific allegation has been made that we solicited a donation from Mr Deripaska and I want to make it absolutely clear that we neither asked for money nor did we receive money," he told reporters outside Conservative party headquarters in London.
He later released a detailed statement in which he said he had met Mr Deripaska five times, four of which were in Corfu.
He said it was Mr Rothschild who had raised the issue of a donation but that Mr Feldman had said these were subject to strict rules.
Mr Osborne also called on Business Secretary Peter Mandelson to explain his actions. Mr Mandelson, who was European Union Trade Commissioner at the time, was another of Mr Rothschild's summer guests and accompanied him on one of his visits to Mr Deripaska's boat.
Mr Rothschild made his intervention in reaction to newspaper reports of a private conversation between Mr Mandelson and Mr Osborne at a restaurant during their stay on Corfu.
Mr Mandelson, since recalled to London to join the government, is said to have made unflattering comments about Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the meal but has declined to confirm the reports.
Reuters