George Osborne and the Conservative Party should halt their attempts to “rubbish” Nat Rothschild, or risk the Shadow Chancellor being brought down, friends of the financier warned.

Andrew Porter - 23 Oct 2008

In a sign that the dispute involving the two old friends is far from over, Mr Rothschild’s allies also indicated that Oleg Deripaska, the Russian billionaire at the centre of the donations row, would consider signing an affidavit backing Mr Rothschild’s version of events.

Gordon Brown also increased the pressure on Mr Osborne by calling for an investigation into the shadow chancellor’s dealings with the oligarch.

Mr Osborne and Andrew Feldman, the Tory party chief executive, have admitted meeting Mr Deripaska on his yacht off Corfu this summer. Subsequently, Mr Rothschild told the two that Mr Deripaska was willing to donate £50,000 to the Conservative Party through Leyland Daf, the UK company he owns.

Mr Rothschild said that Mr Osborne initiated the discussion about donations, but the Shadow Chancellor vehemently denies this and said in a statement that he did not ask for the money or take any.

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Tags: Nat Rothschild, Rothschild

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