CPS decides no charges for Peter Hain MP

5 December 2008

The Crown Prosecution Service has today advised all concerned parties that there is insufficient evidence to charge Peter Hain MP with any offences in relation to donations made to Mr Hain's campaign to support his bid to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in mid 2007.

Stephen O'Doherty, reviewing lawyer from the CPS Special Crime Division said: "Although Mr Hain did not report all regulated donations to the Electoral Commission within the 30 days stipulated by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, in order to prove a criminal breach of the Act the Crown must first prove that Mr Hain held the position of either a 'regulated donee' or, if operating via a 'members association' he was the 'person responsible for dealing with donations to the association'.

"The evidence in this case shows that Mr Hain's campaign was run through an organisation named 'Hain4Labour' which was made up of members of the Labour Party. That organisation had its own bank account and the funds for Mr Hain's campaign were solicited for that account and cheques donated were made out to that account. Those were all characteristics of a 'members association' as defined in the Act. Mr Hain was not a signatory to that account and did not direct where funds should be spent.

"In light of this evidence, I have concluded that Mr Hain was not the 'regulated donee' and nor was he the person responsible for dealing with donations to the association under the terms of the PPERA."

"As to who should have been responsible for reporting these regulated donations, it is not possible to prove from the evidence available that any other individuals involved with Mr Hain's campaign fell into the category of being either the regulated donee or the person responsible for dealing with donations. Accordingly I have advised the police to take no further action."

Following a review into donations received to support Mr Hain's election campaign by the Electoral Commission, the matter was referred for investigation to the Metropolitan Police Service in January 2008. Following their investigation, a file was submitted to the CPS in July 2008.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. All media enquiries to CPS Press Office on 020 7796 8102 or 8127
2. The Crown Prosecution Service is the independent authority responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. It is responsible for:
   • Advising the police and reviewing the evidence on cases for possible prosecution
   • Deciding the charge where the decision is to prosecute
   • Preparing cases for court
   • Presenting cases at court
3. The CPS consists of 42 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales. The CPS employs around 8,400 people and prosecuted 1,091,250 cases with an overall conviction rate of 85.1% in 2007-2008. Further information can be found on our website: www.cps.gov.uk