Theresa May insists donations to Scottish Tories within law

Theresa May has defended donations made to the Scottish Conservatives after it emerged the Electoral Commission is investigating whether one donor is permissible.

May was challenged on the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions after an investigation by the Ferret revealed an unregistered trust fund donated £318,876 to the Scottish Conservatives between April 2001 and February 2018.

Regulations dictate donations over £250,000 must be registered with the Electoral Commission.

Recipients of donations from the Scottish Unionist Association Trust include Jackson Carlaw MSP, David Duguid MP and Douglas Ross MP.

Responding to SNP Commons leader Ian Blackford, May said: “All donations to the Scottish Conservative Party are accepted and declared in accordance with the law, and the Scottish Conservative Party works in accordance with the Electoral Commission to make sure that is all done properly.”

Banff and Buchan MP Duguid told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland the donations to his 2017 campaign "went through the appropriate process and approvals".

Blackford said: “There’s no information available about the people who currently manage the trust, no public accounts to indicate who its donors are, or what assets it holds.”