Labour's secret hedge fund donor and the words that may come back to haunt Ed Miliband

A multi-million pound hedge fund manager whose identity Labour tried to keep secret has been revealed as the party's fourth largest donor.

Martin Taylor has given Labour nearly £600,000 since 2012 and has had at least one meeting with leader Ed Miliband, the i paper has revealed.

The revelation highlights the continuing lack of transparency surrounding party finance and is also embarrassing for Mr Miliband who has been a frequent critic of the Conservatives' reliance on money from hedge funds to pay for their campaigning.

A bit rich: Words that could come back to haunt him

This is the difference: this is a PM who won’t tackle tax avoidance for the simple reason that too many of his friends would get caught in the net. They’re the party of Mayfair hedge funds and Monaco tax avoiders.

• Ed Miliband, Hansard, co.267, 4 February 2015

If the Prime Minister wants to talk about party funding, let us talk about a party bought and sold by the hedge funds and a man who appointed a self-declared tax avoider as his treasurer.

• Ed Miliband, Hansard, co.267, 25 February 2015

The current [Tory] leadership have become the political wing of offshore hedge funds.

• Ed Miliband, Western Morning News, 7 February 2015

More: Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary actually said this about unemployed people

Comment by Martin Taylor: Some Hedge Fund Managers do support the Labour Party