Conspiracy Theory Of The Afternoon

From the FT:

The Labour party has been the surprise recipient of a £4.6m pre-election boost after a successful claim for past overpayments of value added tax. The news came yesterday just hours after Revenue & Customs admitted that it had set aside almost £5bn to pay claimants after a landmark legal ruling last year.

The party successfully claimed £2.15m and will also receive £2.45m of interest. The windfall is a welcome fillip for Labour at a time of dwindling private donations and has put it on a slightly more stable financial footing, enabling it to cut its net debt from £19m to £17.5m during 2008. The figures emerged in accounts released last night after they were signed off by the party's ruling National Executive Committee*. Labour saw a drop in income, however, with donations down from £11.2m to £9.5m and membership fees dropping from £4.4m to £3.9m...

Party sources stressed that a number of other large charities and firms had also benefited from the Lords ruling.

What a coincidence, eh?

* Bastards! We at UKIP always do our best to get our accounts in to El Comm before the submission deadline of 7 July.