The Labour Party this evening confirmed that David Abrahams, the north east property developer at the heart of the latest funding crisis, attended at least one Labour fundraising gala dinner. He also received accreditation for at least one Labour Party conference.
The revelations followed inquiries from the New Statesman after a former party fundraiser told me it was inconceivable that Abrahams was unknown to Labour officials. The insider was convinced Abrahams had been present at a gala dinner at which donors mix with ministers and other high-ranking Labour figures.
Labour's fundraising dinners do not guarantee access to politicians, but the party will now face questions about whose table Abrahams was sitting on and what level of accreditation he was granted. The suggestion that he was an anonymous character unknown to senior figures is now completely shot.