Ashcroft Documents: read the letters in full13: 46 22/03/2010, Ian Cobain, civil service, conservatives, guardian.co.uk, House of Lords, Michael Ashcr

Ashcroft Documents: read the letters in full13: 46 22/03/2010, Ian Cobain, civil service, conservatives, guardian.co.uk, House of Lords, Michael Ashcroft, news, party funding, politics, News, United Kingdom, William Hague, Guardian Unlimited

Timeline that shows the correspondence between the number of Whitehall, the government and the Conservatives and what that meant
Read all the letters in full

June 19, 1997
William Hague was appointed leader of the Conservative Party.

June 1998
Lord Ashcroft - who has been donating to the Conservatives since 1981 - was appointed treasurer of the party.

March 8, 1999
Ashcroft has appointed a peerage.

May 20, 1999
Tony Blair writes to The Hague, saying the media owner Conrad Black has been accepted for a peerage, but control the Political Committee has rejected Ashcroft honors.

May 23, 1999
Hague wrote to Blair, saying he has learned the reasons for rejection. The leader of the Conservative whip, James Arbuthnot, had spoken to Lord Hurd of Westwell, one of the three members of the supervisory committee, who said Ashcroft had been rejected, partly because he was a tax exile, and was " incompatible for someone who chose to be outside the country for most of the years to be a coworker.

The Hague confirmed that Ashcroft "is in fact non-resident for tax purposes, but has pledged to become residents for the year ahead, and adds:" This decision cost (and benefit the Treasury) tens of millions a year in taxes that he still considered worthwhile.

June 1999
The rejection of the nobility of Ashcroft is reported in the media, but the reason is unclear.

December 9, 1999
Ashcroft settles libel action against the Times. A joint statement published on the first page of the newspaper, said: "Mr Ashcroft has told the Times that recognizes the public concern about foreign funding of British politics, and that it intends to reorganize its affairs in order to return to live in Britain. "

February 29, 2000
With Hague about to make a second bid for a title for Ashcroft - is still a tax exile - Lawyers for billionaire Allen