MP calls for Electoral Commission inquiry into Coulson

The Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate claims that Andy Coulson, former editor of the News of the World, broke the law by receiving pay and benefits from the tabloid's publisher while he was David Cameron's director of communications.

Coulson is reported by the BBC's Robert Peston to have received his severance pay from News International in instalments which continued after he was appointed to Cameron's staff, as well as continued access to healthcare and a company car.

Labour MP Tom Watson, who has played a key part in parliamentary investigations into the phone-hacking scandal, has written to the commission to ask whether the alleged payments and benefits could be considered a political donation and to have therefore broken the law in not having been declared.

According to the rules governing donations to political parties, members of staff are not regulated donees unless also members of the party and so payments to them are not necessarily donations. Coulson's access to benefits could complicate matters however, because if they saved the Conservative Party from paying for the same items they could qualify as a political donation.

Watson's letter to the Electoral Commission states: "I am concerned that potential breaches of the 'sponsorship' rules set out in Clause 50 and 51 of the Act have been breached. If they were, and in light of Mr Whittingdale's comments at the time, there may also have been breaches of Clauses 60 and 61 of the Act that are concerned with the obligation to report donations."

A Conservative Party spokesperson said today (23 August) that senior party officials had "no knowledge of Andy Coulson's severance arrangements".

Appearing before the Commons culture, media, and sport select committee in 2009, Coulson told Watson that he was not receiving a secondary income during his employment by the Conservative Party.

Watson asked: "And you have not got any secondary income other than [from the Conservative Party] have you?" To which Coulson replied: "No."

Watson then asked: "So your sole income was News International and then your sole income was the Conservative Party?", and Coulson replied: "Yes."

The Electoral Commission said today that it was aware of Watson's letter but had not yet received it and could not comment until it did.

A Labour party spokesperson said earlier today that Cameron "needs to immediately make clear" whether the allegations over payments and benefits are true.

"There are serious questions to answer about Mr Coulson's employment in Downing Street and the country should not have to wait for full transparency."

Watson has also published an email, which he says was sent to him by a former member of staff at the News of the World, alleging that News International is "playing fast and loose with employment law to avoid paying fair severance" to those made redundant when the tabloid closed in June.

The author of the email claims the publisher is attempting to "dodge paying everyone the four weeks contractual severance", resulting in some staff "losing almost half their entitlement" and others "being cast adrift without a penny".

The terms of the redundancy package provided to News of the World staff were:

• Three months' notice pay.
• One month's salary per year of service, capped at 12 months.
• An ex-gratia payment of 25 per cent of the redundancy package or £5,000, whichever is the greatest.
• All staff to have their final pay on which the package is based increased by 2.5 per cent.
• A performance-related pay bonus of between £1,000 and £1,400.
• A £1,000 training allowance which can be used on training courses or cashed in.

A News International spokesperson said today that "nothing had changed with regard to the terms already set out".

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