Lord Sugar has announced that he has donated £400,000 to the Labour Party.

The star of The Apprentice - who was given a peerage last year by Gordon Brown - said that the donation would help Labour with their campaign costs.

Sugar's latest payment was welcomed by the Labour Party, which is having difficulty paying for its general election campaign. It is estimated that the Conservatives are spending at least £18m on their campaign, with Labour spending less than £10m.

Lord Sugar's latest donation brings his total payments to the party to £750,000. He gave Labour £150,000 before the 1997 general election and four years later donated £200,000.

"When I have made political donations in the past, I have always done so at the time of a general election to assist in campaign running costs," said Lord Sugar.