Brown appoints ex-Tory donor as green adviser

LONDON, Sep 7 (Reuters) A million-pound donor to the Conservative party has switched sides to advise Prime Minister Gordon Brown on green issues, the Conservative Party said today.

Johan Eliasch, who recently resigned from his post as Conservative party deputy treasurer, will carry out a review into environmental issues such as deforestation and green energy, according to reports on BBC radio.

A spokesman for the Conservative party confirmed Eliasch would not renew his membership.

''In order to take up his role of advising the government, he won't be renewing his party membership when it comes up,'' the spokesman said.

The BBC reported that Eliasch had loaned 2.6 million pounds to the Conservatives and expected his loan to be repaid. The Swedish businessman has also spent millions of pounds to help preserve part of the Amazon rainforest, it said.

Downing Street officials were not immediately available for comment.

Brown took over from Tony Blair as prime minister in June declaring that he intended to form a government of ''all the talents.'' Since then he has repeated his aim to move away from old-style factional politics in order to seek broad support from all sections of Britain and has enlisted advisers from across the political spectrum.

Brown has already established commissions to look at issues such as security and sustainable rural communities -- two of which will be run by Conservative lawmakers and a third by a Liberal Democrat member of parliament.

Reuters ARB DB1258