David Cameron has rejected claims that he has mishandled the Lord Ashcroft tax row, saying he had clearly acted to settle the matter before the election. Asked whether Lord Ashcroft would have a role to play in a future Conservative government should it win power, Mr Cameron said he believed the peer's interests lay primarily in "building up the Conservative party". Mr Cameron said he learned last month about Lord Ashcroft's tax status, leading Labour to say he had ducked the issue since becoming leader in 2005 and that it had "cast doubt" on his judgement. In an interview with the BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson, Mr Cameron claimed credit for the fact that Lord Ashcroft had answered questions about his "non-dom" tax status and the undertakings given in 2000.
"What people have seen from me over the past week is answers to the questions that need answering," he said. "Where does this man pay tax, what undertakings did he give and are his donations entirely legal? The fact is some time before the election has answered the questions. It has been done. And it was done by me - right?"
Mr Cameron said he had transformed the party's financial position since taking over as leader. "I have sorted out the funding of the Conservative Party. I have made it a lot less reliant on a few wealthy people. I've broadened its base. I've paid off loans, including a very large loan to Michael Ashcroft so the party is not in his debt one piece."
Labour says Lord Ashcroft is helping to bankroll the Tories' campaign in marginal seats. It argues that Lord Ashcroft is different from other wealthy non-dom donors - including prominent Labour supporters - because of the question marks over his position prior to his entering the House of Lords and the assurances he had given over his tax affairs at the time.
