Electoral Commission's latest report on political donotions reveals £1m donation to Tories from JCB.

Joseph Cyril Bamford, the late founder of JCB, has been named on the Electoral Commission’s latest report on political donations as having given £1m to the Conservative Party.

Although Mr Bamford died in 2001, his estate was only settled early in 2005. Since the register began four years ago the Bamford family and JCB have donated £1.27m to the Tory party; the latest gift was the largest to the party for the three-month period covered by the report.

JCB’s political donations have stirred controversy in recent months. Local government watchdog the Standards Board for England investigated Tory members of the borough council after they overturned previous committee decisions, and the ruling of a government planning inspector, to retain an executive house JCB had built in Quixhill, near its Rocester headquarters. The Conservative councillors were cleared off any wrong doing by the Standards Board.