Sir Noon's nomination for peerage unlikely: Report

The nomination of non-resident Indian entrepreneur Sir Gulam Noon for a peerage is likely to be blocked following allegations that he gave a secret loan to Britain's ruling Labour party, according to a media report.

Sir Noon, the curry magnate nominated to become a lord by Prime Minister Tony Blair, is the latest name to be dragged into the scandal surrounding Labour's covert loans, The Sunday Times claimed.

Quoting sources close to the Appointments Commission, the body that vets potential peerages, the paper reported that the Commission is withdrawing its previous endorsement of Noon as neither he nor the party disclosed his loan of up to £ 250,000.

Downing Street was also under pressure to say whether Lord Sainsbury, the government minister, gave a multi-million pound loan to the party. Both Downing Street and Sainsbury refused to confirm or deny it, but senior Labour sources claimed that the minister was also a lender, the report said.

Three other Labour donors, including NRI entrepreneur Chai Patel who secretly loaned the party £ 4.5 million, have already been blocked by the Commission after being nominated as peers by Downing Street.