Ealing Central and Acton MP Angie Bray has refuted claims that she is "embroiled in controversial donations" after being accused in an open letter.

Labour candidate for Ms Bray’s seat, Rupa Huq, has written an open letter in which she accuses her rival of accepting a £10,000 donation from Sloane Robinson, a firm which has since been accused of tax evasion.

She goes on to call on the Tory MP to "pay back" the "controversial donation".

Ms Bray, however, has fought back clarifying that she accepted £5,000 from Mr Sloane and that it was "entirely permissible under the terms of the electoral commission and to suggest otherwise is defamatory".

Ms Huq’s letter read: “It has been revealed that since December you have accepted £10,000 in donations from the co-founder of investment firm Sloane Robinson. As you know, in 2012 this company was ordered to pay £13m in unpaid tax and national insurance contributions.

“Together with many other voters in Ealing Central and Acton, I am disappointed to see that you have become embroiled in controversial donations.

“Many voters find it hard to trust their elected politicians and your actions only result in making this worse. Being open and transparent shouldn’t be an afterthought. People in Ealing deserve better.”

Labour candidate for Ealing Central and Acton, Rupa Huq

But Angie Bray countered by saying: “It is extraordinary that in a week where the hypocrisy of Labour on donations has been exposed, Rupa Huq has written about being open and transparent. Details of donations received are all available on the Members’ Register of Interests.

“To correct the record, I received one donation of £5,000 from Mr Sloane and the register will shortly be corrected to reflect that. The donation itself was entirely permissible under the terms of the electoral commission and to suggest otherwise is defamatory. Neither Mr Sloane nor his company owe any outstanding tax or has been prosecuted for tax evasion.

“Between them, the Labour-affiliated unions Unite, UNISON, GMB and USDAW made nearly £15m on investments worth a total of £223m last year. Using a tax loophole none of them pay any corporation tax. The Trade Unions now effectively pick the candidates and policies of the Labour party in return for their funding.

“I am also surprised to see that Rupa Huq labels herself a voter in Ealing Central and Acton as she is registered to vote in Ealing Southall. Also whilst on the subject of openness, could Rupa Huq confirm that her doctorate is in cultural studies rather than medicine?”