Donations to Liberal Democrats permissible - Electoral Commission

11.38.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 9th Oct 2005

Commenting on the response from the Electoral Commission concerning the donation to the Liberal Democrats of £2.4 million from Fifth Avenue Partners, the Party's Chief Executive Lord Rennard said:

"The Electoral Commission has now been in touch with us concerning the donations to our General Election campaign from Fifth Avenue Partners.

"They have informed us of their conclusion that "on the basis of the information now available it is reasonable for the party to regard the donations as having been permissible."

"The law requires all parties to take steps to ensure that all donations are legally permissible. We believe that all donations that we have accepted are from permissible sources and that we have acted properly in relation to the requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act.

"We are grateful to the Electoral Commission for their statement in relation to the donations from Fifth Avenue partners."