Blair in new Formula One sleaze row

Tony Blair is today fighting off fresh charges of sleaze, as details emerged of how one of his closest aides helped secure a £1million loan from Bernie Ecclestone.

It is claimed that Mr Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell approached the Formula One chief about becoming a donor, and then set up a meeting in Downing Street two years later to discuss making the sport exempt from a ban on tobacco advertising.

Yet Mr Powell, head of the Downing Street machine, is supposed to have relinquished his fund-raising role when he moved into No10 on Labour's election victory in May 1997.

The details were being published today by the International Automobile Federation, which oversees motor sports, in a bid to clear the sport's name over allegations that it sought to influence government policy on tobacco advertising.

They will come as a major embarrassment for Mr Blair, reviving memories of his administration's first serious scandal. The £1million was given back to Mr Ecclestone when the affair became public.

The revelations will add to suspicions over the way Labour woos businessmen, following allegations that a series of multi-million donations-from other benefactors has influenced decisions. The award of a £32million smallpox vaccine contract to the company of businessman Paul Drayson, who donated £50,000 to Labour last year, left Labour MPs warning the party was in danger of falling under suspicion.

It also emerged over the weekend that the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, founded by Science Minister Lord Sainsbury, has received more than £1million in grants. The minister, former director of the supermarket group, has donated £9million to the party over the years.

Some Labour backbenchers were expected to put down questions today over the decisions.