Cash-for-honours trail that leads to Number 10
The news that Lord Levy has been arrested for a second time (on this occasion to be questioned over obstructing the course of justice) takes the Cash for Honours enquiry into the territory of cover up for the second time, coming hot on the heels of police questioning of Ruth Turner, Blair's senior aide, who was arrested on the same grounds less than a fortnight ago.
It is obviously impossible to know what evidence of cover up the police may have, however, the arrest of two people on the possible charge of obstructing the course of justice certainly implies that they feel that they may have been misled.
The Tories are certainly wasting no time in comparing the affair to the cover-up after the Watergate crisis, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 and there are calls from Labour backbenchers for Blair to consider his position.
No 10 has insisted that it has co-operated fully with the Metropolitan Police during its investigation into claims that four businessmen who had lent money to Labour were in turn nominated for peerages by Mr Blair. It has denied reports that there is a second computer system at Downing Street, available to Labour Party staff, from which crucial e-mails may have been deleted.
Nobody has yet been charged. But the latest developments fuelled speculation at Westminster that charges may be brought over the more serious offence of conspiring to pervert the course of justice - which carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison - rather than the laws covering the sale of honours and the disclosure of party donors.
Lord Levy, who was first arrested in July, insisted again last night that he had done nothing wrong. "Lord Levy went to the police station today as asked," his spokesman said. "He was interviewed again. He completely denies any allegations of wrongdoing whatsoever. He left the police station in the early afternoon and since there is a continuing investigation he will not make any further comments at this time."
Angus MacNeil, the Scottish National Party MP whose complaint sparked the police investigation, said Westminster was "agog" at the latest development, which was "very serious indeed" for Downing Street. He added that the pace of the "crisis" appeared to be quickening. He said of Lord Levy: "This of course is the man who's been closest to Tony Blair in the whole fundraising escapade for Labour. And it really doesn't look good for Labour at all."
Ed Davey, the chief of staff to the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: "Increasingly this sorry affair has the whiff of Watergate about it. For Nixon the crime was the cover-up, but we must await the result of the police investigation to see whether something similar is now happening in Downing Street. A key question is whether this can be sorted out before the Prime Minister leaves No 10 or whether this saga will dog him into his retirement."
Elfyn Llwyd, parliamentary leader of Plaid Cymru, who also lodged a complaint, said: "The net is tightening, and there will be further interviews and arrests. In my view the Prime Minister will be questioned again - possibly under caution." In December, Mr Blair became the first serving Prime Minister to be questioned during a criminal investigation.
This is an astonishing turn of events, especially considering that in the early days of the investigation the Labour Party sought to argue that the police were misinterpreting the law. Now we have a senior Labour spokesman hinting that the police are conducting a smear campaign against them and implying that leaks regarding second email systems are all coming from police briefings and are all untrue.
However, what is undeniable is that Blair's power will be eroded the longer this investigation goes on. He is already greatly undermined by the fact that he is soon to leave office - the effects of which were witnessed when he had to back down over the Catholic gay adoption compromise - but, the idea of a criminal investigation lapping around Downing Street can only heighten the tensions of backbenchers and increase calls for him to go sonner rather than later for the sake of the party.
Conservative MP Nigel Evans said the arrest was a "seismic" development, adding: "It is important, we have to realise that the allegations are very serious indeed. "
"Nobody is above the law, not the prime minister and not Lord Levy either, and this is something I think that we all have to learn."
I have no idea where this will end, but with each arrest it looks increasingly unlikely that this investigation is going to go away.
Here's the timeline of how it's all played out so far:
8 March 2006 Chai Patel, the healthcare entrepreneur, protests to the vetting committee for Lords appointments after his nomination for a peerage is blocked. It emerges he lent Labour £1.5m.
16 March 2006 Jack Dromey, Labour's treasurer, reveals he was unaware of loans to the party, and rebukes Downing Street. The furore centres on four businessmen who gave Labour £4.5m in loans and were nominated for peerages.
21 March 2006 Scotland Yard says it is investigating cash-for-honours allegations. Labour says the loans were provided on a commercial basis, thus outside disclosure rules. Other loans, like donations, do have to be declared.
13 April 2006 Des Smith, a headteacher involved in finding sponsors for Tony Blair's city academies project, is arrested after reports that he linked investment with honours. He is the first of four people to be arrested.
22 June 2006 Lord Levy appears before MPs investigating party funding. It emerges he told Sir Gulam Noon that he need not disclose his loan on his Lords' nomination form. Sir Gulam retrieved the form because he had declared the payment as a gift.
23 July 2006 Lord Levy, Labour's chief fundraiser, is arrested for the first time. He says his arrest was "totally unnecessary". Two ministers, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, left, a party donor, and Ian McCartney, a former party chairman, are interviewed.
21 September 2006 The biotechnology boss Sir Christopher Evans, who lent Labour £1m, is the third person arrested. His £1bn business is linked to government initiatives.
14 December 2006 Tony Blair is interviewed, a month after Assistant Commissioner John Yates of the Metropolitan Police says he has 'significant and valuable' material from interviewing 90 people. He is questioned as a witness.
19 January 2007 Ruth Turner, director of government relations, is arrested on suspicion of offences under the Honours Act AND on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
Yesterday Lord Levy is arrested again. And this time, he too is held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, a much more serious issue as it relates to the question of a cover-up. It follows a spate of lurid stories, including suggestions of the discovery of a "parallel" Downing Street e-mail system. Levy is again released without charge, and again rejects any wrongdoing.
The Future? Weekend reports suggest detectives discovered a note handwritten by Blair pertinent to the inquiries. It is denied, but the controversy is inside the heart of No 10, and shows no sign of abating. Any charges would no doubt hasten the PM's exit.
The men behind the investigation
John Yates Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police
The police officer at the head of the inquiry is rapidly gaining a reputation as a fearless investigator and chief troublemaker for the Prime Minister.
An immensely experienced detective, the 47-year-old has been asked to handle some of the most difficult cases in modern policing, including the UK police's response to the Asian tsunami; the aftermath of the shooting dead of Jean Charles de Menezes; and a major police corruption inquiry.
In an apparent rebuff to government sources who accused him of being over-zealous, he was promoted to an assistant commissioner in December. He realises, as he is working under unprecedented scrutiny, he cannot afford to miss anything when he delivers his evidence file to the Crown Prosecution Service - expected in about a month.
Angus MacNeil SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Lar
Before 21 March last year, when the Scottish National Party MP Angus Brendan MacNeil, 36, complained to police that the Labour Party had contravened the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, little was known outside Scotland about the Gaelic-speaking backbench MP from the Hebridean island of Barra.
The former teacher who became the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) on 5 May 2005, has risen to prominence because of his honest belief that it is illegal to sell honours.
But another factor was that he found himself out of pocket to the tune of £31,000 a year because he often had to stay overnight in a London hotel when his flights home to Barra were delayed. The rules prevent him from claiming a room on his MP's expenses.
Click title for full article.
2 comments:
This is fascinating. I hope Blair won't escape this one. He is good at lecturing others on what they should do, as he did in his last speech at Davos, analysed with a hint of humour by the Post's David Ignatius. The problem with Blair is that his deeds do not match his rethoric. There is a huge gap there...
A huge gap. And the irony is that the man with an aswer for everything seems to have tripped himself up on his own cleverness here.
His every answer, whilst appearing clever at first, have actually limited his defence options.
And Blair's deeds have never matched his rhetoric. He always passionately believes in whatever is politically expedient at the time.
With the exception of Iraq. And we know how that's gone for him.
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