Hain grilled by Tories in Commons

Peter Hain has faced MPs for the first time since news of his £103,000 undeclared donations broke.

Mr Brown has labelled Mr Hain's failure to register the money as "incompetent".

But during Prime Minister's Questions he insisted: "I have confidence in what he is doing."

Mr Hain - who appeared in the Commons to answer questions in his role as Welsh Secretary - faced an onslaught from the Conservative party.

They quizzed the embattled Cabinet Minister over his support for Welsh demolition firm Cuddy Group after it emerged the company's head donated £10,000 to his campaign.

Mr Hain praised the company in a press release and posed for a photograph with the firm's boss Mike Cuddy four months before the donation.

Mr Hain insisted he had "no regrets" over his support for the Cuddy Group or any other firm he had backed.

When quizzed by Shadow Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan about the donations, Mr Hain asked why she was attacking him.

She said: "If you were doing my job, as you want to do, I would see it as your duty to accept invitations from successful Welsh businesses, manufacturing and others, to go and give them support.

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