Drunken hellraising: how Osborne met Rothschild

George Osborne has rejected accusations that he either asked for, solicited or received a donation from billionaire Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

But in his first appearance since this morning's revelations in The Times, the Shadow Chancellor was unable to deny that the issue of a £50,000 donation was discussed. It is illegal to receive donations from foreign nationals.

In a letter to the newspaper today, the financier Nathaniel Rothschild, said that Mr Osborne and the Andrew Feldman, the Conservative chief executive, discussed a donation from Mr Deripaska for Tory coffers on board the Russian’s yacht, the Queen K.

Mr Rothschild also said that Mr Feldman suggested that Mr Deripaska might channel the money through one of his British companies.

The furore comes in the wake of the revelation that Lord Mandelson, the new Business Secretary, stayed on the same yacht.

Speaking outside Conservative HQ on London’s Millbank, Mr Osborne said: “A very specific allegation has been made that we solicited a donation from Mr Deripaska and I want to make it absolutely clear that we neither asked for money nor did we receive money.

"People make suggestions about donations all the time... We are not going to give a running commentary," he added.

Earlier, the Tory party said that Mr Rothschild told Mr Feldman in September that Mr Deripaska wanted to make a donation to the party through his British company, Leyland Daf. A spokesman said that the offer was not taken up.

But sources close to Mr Deripaska have told The Times that he did not initiate a conversation about making a donation to the Conservatives.

The sources said he has never donated to any political party, and he has no intention of doing so. They added that he could not understand why the Tories were suggesting the idea came from him. "He is not interested in getting involved in UK politics," the source said.

Mr Osborne confirmed that he met Mr Deripaska on his yacht on two occasions, once with Lord Mandelson and then a second time with Mr Feldman.

Mr Osborne will be publishing a chronology of his meetings with Mr Deripaska later today, he said, inviting Lord Mandelson to do the same.

Mr Rothschild’s intervention is the latest extraordinary twist in the row over the Russian billionaire, which until today centred on his links with Lord Mandelson. It is also the latest in a series of hotly contested holiday tales that have placed the Greek island at the centre of Westminster politics.

In his letter to The Times, Mr Rothschild alleges that Mr Osborne and Mr Feldman went on board Mr Deripaska’s yacht “to solicit a donation”. The claim is all the more sensational because Mr Rothschild has been involved in fundraising for Mr Cameron’s Tories and has been a close friend of Mr Osborne since they were at Oxford together.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The allegations made in Mr Rothschild’s letter are completely untrue. Both Andrew Feldman and George Osborne deny absolutely that they attempted to solicit a donation from Oleg Deripaska. Nor did they suggest a method by which he could conceal a donation via a British company.

“They spent a short period of time on Mr Deripaska’s boat at the invitation of Mr Rothschild. Donations to the Conservative Party were not discussed with Mr Deripaska.”

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