The Conservatives could lose a vital state subsidy of £4 million a year for the party's "war room" at Central Office. At Wednesday's meeting of the Commons Public Administration committee, Tory deputy chairman, David Prior, acknowledged that £3.8 million of public money - earmarked for parliamentary research and William Hague's office - was used for purposes of political campaigning. MPs could be given a vote on whether this constitutes a misuse of the funds and comes at a time when the Conservatives face a potential funding crisis.