If Gaddafi rumours are true, Plaid must pay the money back to the people of Libya

Allegations have surfaced today that Plaid Cymru once received a £25,000 donation from former Libyan dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The donation is said to have taken place in 1976, and is reported by the BBC online.

Commenting for the Welsh Conservatives, the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives – Andrew RT Davies – called for an investigation and urged the party to pay the money back to the people of Libya if true.

Mr Davies said:

“These allegations from a senior party activist are by far the most detailed relating to long-suspected links with a Libyan regime who supplied arms to the Irish Republican Army.

“The £25,000 donation that the party allegedly received would now equate to over £160,000 in modern money – and there is no record of such a donation ever being declared properly.

“Former party leader Elfyn Llwyd once called for Tony Blair’s financial dealings with the Gaddafi regime to be subjected to a full inquiry. Will Plaid now commit the same level of transparency to their own financial affairs and hold an independent inquiry?

“Ultimately, if the rumours are found to be true then I’m sure the party will be keen to return this money to the people of Libya.”