Three former Labour general secretaries face the prospect of charges after being named by detectives investigating hidden donations to the party.

The main file of evidence handed by the Metropolitan Police to the Crown Prosecution Service yesterday outlines allegations against Lord Triesman, Matt Carter and Peter Watt, The Times has learnt.

All three could be prosecuted under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for failing to stop David Abrahams, a businessman, using third parties to disguise donations totalling more than £650,000.

The prospect of a criminal trial over Labour donations will dismay Gordon Brown because there has been a dramatic drop in party donations during his first year in office.

A prosecution source said: “The file outlines evidence that all three failed to exercise due diligence in their roles as general secretaries. It recommends that all three could face further inquiries and possible charges, depending on what is decided by counsel.”

The Metropolitan Police were called in by the Electoral Commission in November after the illegal cash gifts - which date back to 2003 - were exposed. Mr Watt resigned as Labour’s general secretary after admitting that he had known about the arrangement to keep the donor’s identity secret.

Lord Triesman, the chairman of the Football Association, was Labour’s general secretary in 2003. In December, he wrote to the FA saying that he did not know of the controversial use of hidden donors after concerns that any involvement could damage the FA’s reputation.

Mr Carter, general secretary in 2004 and 2005, came to prominence after he was dragged into the “loans for peerages” investigation. He was interviewed by police a number of times.

Mr Watt, general secretary from January 2006 until November 2007, has told friends that he blames the Prime Minister for prompting the police investigation, after Mr Brown described the arrangement as illegal days after the story broke. He is known to have hired lawyers to prove that he inherited the arrangement.

In a statement, Scotland Yard said: “The Metropolitan Police Service have today passed to the CPS the main file of evidence in relation to the investigation into potential breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 as a result of donations made through intermediaries.

“We have had regular consultation with the CPS since the inquiry began on November 30, 2007, and it is now a matter for the CPS to consider the evidence, advise us on whether any further inquiries are necessary and whether any charges should be brought.”

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party has and will continue to cooperate fully with the police investigation into the matters referred to them by the Electoral Commission. We will not be providing a running commentary on these issues whilst the investigation is ongoing.”

Times Recommends

• Wartime couple are reunited 68 years on
• 50 People of the Decade
• Book round-ups. Turkeys tarted up. I feel sick