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Blair defends Hinduja
donation to Millennium Dome

Participating in British Broadcasting Corporation's Breakfast with Frost programme, Blair insisted that the brothers had been entitled to give money to the dome from their foundation, "which gives money to vast numbers of different things".

Blair was responding to a question about reports that the Prince's Trust had turned down money from the brothers after advice from the intelligence services.

He also defended Vaz, the only Indian-origin minister in the cabinet, linked to the Hindujas' application for British citizenship.

Blair said that every allegation against Vaz had been disproved. "I keep saying to people, if you provide evidence that he has done something wrong, then we look at it. The Hammond inquiry looked into it and cleared him completely," he said.

A report in The Times daily on Monday said the Labour Party high command was uneasy about the prospect of the Hinduja brothers returning into the heat of the general election battle, where ministers will inevitably face questioning over the financing of the Millennium Dome.

The Hindujas reportedly refused to comment on the controversy -- their degree of access to Blair -- which emerged when letters were leaked to Andrew Tyrie, a conservative MP. S P Hinduja "bridled" when asked if he had given Tyrie the letters, saying: "Am I a fool? How does it help me?"

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