Hague under new pressure over Ashcroft was the front-page headline in last night's London Evening Standard

"Hague under new pressure over Ashcroft" was the front-page headline in last night's London Evening Standard."The reaction of those running the party's organisation seems to be almost verging now on the hysterical," said John Strafford, chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, which wants the Tory treasurer to be elected rather than appointed by the leader. A Hague aide added: "What were supposed to do - roll over and play dead?"Officially the Tories say they "turned the story round" and diverted attention from the allegations. Timed deliberately as their first editions went to press, Michael Ancram, Tory chairman, issued a statement claiming the reports were part of a long-running "dirty tricks" operation against Mr Ashcroft by Labour. He astonished journalists on other papers by announcing that the party had called in Scotland Yard as the information about the donations from Belize had been obtained from the party's Bank of Scotland account when it was "hacked into"."We decided that attack was the best form of defence," a Tory insider said. Coming so soon after the disgraced exit of Jeffrey Archer as the party's candidate for mayor of London, spin-doctors knew that suggestions of "Tory sleaze" would be extremely damaging.In line with Mr Hague's demand to copy Labour's "pro- active" media policy, the Tories decided to launch an extraordinary pre- emptive strike against the two papers. Far from dousing claims that Mr Hague had broken his pledge to end the Tories' foreign donations, the party's counter-attack merely fuelled the fire. Some Tory MPs were wondering last night whether officials had just "poured petrol on the flames". Tory officials were horrifiedon Tuesday when The Independent and The Times asked them to comment on information leaked separately to both newspapers that more than pounds 600,000 had been channelled into party funds in recent months by the Belize Bank Trust Company, owned by the billionaire Mr Ashcroft.At first it was the timing that most worried officials.

I'm not really competent to judge on that."But then, while drawing parallels with the Labour Party's own difficulties with donations from Geoffrey Robinson, he coined a pragmatic answer which had the ring of truth about it: "All the political parties are strapped for cash, and I suppose they take it from wherever they can.". AN ATTEMPT by Tory high command to discredit new allegations about Michael Ashcroft, the party's controversial treasurer, backfired yesterday as the problems facing William Hague deepened. Its impressive list of achievements in the Britain In Bloom and Best Kept Village competitions is proudly displayed on the village green.Back at the Maidenhead club, there remains some confusion as to what exactly the latest fuss was all about, even from those who might be expected to know."The question is, is this money from abroad or not?" said Jon Chapman, a retired chartered accountant and party member since 1959."As a British subject, I suppose you are entitled to regard any money you make as being British, but if you are not paying tax on it the situation gets very complicated. The current owners said they had seen him as a customer three or four times in the last four years.But then this is a quintessentially English, Tory heartland pub, complete with low beams, log fire and a sizeable group of ladies lunching. The village is also home to a surprising number of celebrities - ranging from Des O'Connor, Michael Parkinson and Ronnie Corbett to Chris Rea and Bill Wyman. "I can honestly say no," said Mrs Porter, who has held her position since 1990. "But then I don't expect we would if he lives in Belize."There was some more luck in Bray itself, where Mr Ashcroft used to co- own the Crown Inn on the high street.

Mr Ashcroft used to live in the nearby village of Bray, which was why he remained registered in Maidenhead, she said.However, there was another amused response when she was asked if she had seen him about much at local party functions. They were only separated in the boundary changes that took effect before the last general election.People have to register in their last place of residence in Britain and then are entitled to keep voting for 25 years, subject to filling in the annual electoral return for the local town hall. "It's a pretty wealthy area, people move abroad a lot, ex-pats and that kind of thing."She recalled Mr Ashcroft registering there in 1985, when Windsor and Maidenhead were part of the same parliamentary constituency. Jackie Porter, party agent for the neighbouring Windsor constituency, said that she had "several hundred" Tory voters on her books who were registered from abroad."It's that sort of area, " she said. Another member of "some 50 years" standing also agreed that Mr Ashcroft just didn't get in.It seems, however, that he is not on his own in this part of the world. If not bingo, then perhaps the Thursday night line-dancing sessions, at only pounds 3 a time? Or the regular Saturday meat raffle? Apparently not.

As they were absorbing the latest twist in the Tories' financial misfortunes, all were agreed that their peace was unlikely to be disturbed by the man who is again at the centre of controversy - Michael Ashcroft, the party treasurer, who, it was revealed by his spokesman amid yesterday's row, has registered to vote in the constituency, despite living in Belize. As a registered British voter he would be entitled to donate to the Tory party. "He wouldn't come in here," was the straightforward, amused response from one member, who said he hadn't seen the multi-millionaire businessman for at least 20 years.Don Harris, a committee member for the last five years, confirmed that he was not aware of a visit from Mr Ashcroft during that whole period, although he also seemed less than sure that he would recognise him if he had."This is just a social club, and I can't see him playing bingo," said Mr Harris, who is the club's social secretary. He is believed to have told friends that he pressed Tory ministers during the early 1990s on a number of issues, including moves to change the banking regulatory regime in Belize.. IT WAS a quiet lunchtime at the Maidenhead Conservative Club yesterday, with several groups of senior members sitting around the edge of the main function room and some of the slightly younger party faithful enjoying a pint and sandwiches at the bar. He resigned that post a year later saying he wanted to avoid a conflict.In the meantime, though, his committee had been involved in discussions on the Lome convention and its effect on the Caribbean banana trade.Mr Wells has confirmed that he made representations to the Foreign Office on behalf of Mr Ashcroft.

It is to do with the Belize Bank and Michael Ashcroft personally as the trade representative of Belize in this country and Europe," he said in an interview at the time.In 1992, while acting as a consultant for Geest, he argued the case of Caribbean banana growers at a lunch in London where farmers' difficulties were being highlighted.Although Mr Wells resigned his consultancies after becoming a government whip in 1994, he took up a non-executive directorship in 1997 with the BHI Corporation, the holding company for Mr Ashcroft's Belize Bank. And it was bananas which finally led to today's humiliation.In 1991 Mr Wells sought to clarify his relationship with the controversial businessman "I was never a consultant to ADT as a whole. And with 12 years' experience as a senior executive at the Commonwealth Development Corporation in the 1960s and early 1970s, most members believe he has a genuine interest in the Caribbean and development issues. But as far back as the mid-1980s Mr Wells, who became an MP in 1979, noted in the register of members' interests that he was a "consultant" first to Michael Ashcroft's Hawley Group and later to his ADT company He was also an adviser to Geest, the banana company. While there have been many occasions when the International Development Secretary, Clare Short, may have cursed the MP for Hertford and Stortford for his robust stance on a variety of issues, most regard him as an even- handed politician. BOWEN WELLS is an MP who is held in respect by his colleagues, with praise coming from all parties for his work as chairman of the International Development select committee.