Bob Laxton was involved in early stages of £38m Derby College job, which Derbyshire-based contractor won in 2007

Contractor Bowmer and Kirkland has donated thousands of pounds to a Derby MP.

The Derbyshire-based contractor has given about £34,000 to former Derby North Labour party MP Bob Laxton over the past decade, according to the Derby Telegraph. All the contributions were correctly recorded.

Laxton said: "The donations were given by the company towards helping open up my Derby office and pay the rent.”

In 2007 Bowmer and Kirkland won a £38m contract to redevelop the Roundhouse for Derby College. Laxton was involved in helping Derby College liaise with the East Midlands Development Agency and Derby council in the project's earlier stages.

The Conservative candidate for Derby North, Stephen Mold, said: "I don't think that anything improper has taken place here. But there might be questions that come up in people's minds and I don't think that helps the image of politics, given everything that we've been through recently.”

Laxton said he had no contact with Bowmer and Kirkland regarding the Roundhouse or any other scheme in the city.

A spokesman for Bowmer and Kirkland said: "The Roundhouse project was subject to a European Union procurement process. That means we are required to go through a pre-qualification process before we are invited to tender. We bid and won the contract for the scheme through a competitive tender. We bid to Derby College and its advisers."

The firm declined to comment on why it had made donations.

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