Labour risks being forced to repay almost £400,000 in donations after it emerged on Sunday that a wealthy north east property developer had given the money to two “friends and colleagues” to donate to the party on his behalf.

David Abrahams said he gave the money to Janet Kidd and Ray Ruddick to give to Labour because he was a “very private person” who “did not seek publicity”. The property developer, who is a long-standing Labour supporter, said he had “gifted money to my friends and colleagues so they could make perfectly legal donations on my behalf”.