Goldsmith Should Stand Aside from Cash for Honours Decision

Very few political journalists write blogs worth reading. Ben Brogan, political editor of the Daily Mail, is an exception. In his blog today he reports that the CPS have received a recommendation from the Met to charge three people in relation to the Cash for Honours Inquiry. Well, he's nailed his colours well and truly to the mast. There's not a lot one can add to this apart from to express the hope that the CPS do their work quickly. I see no reason why it need take them very long to assess what the Met have given them. Blair will hope that it drags out until he has left office, but I can't see why it should take longer than a few weeks for a decision to be made.

It is appalling that the final decision may be taken by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith. Not many people know that Goldsmith was a donor to New Labour before he was granted his peerage by.... you guessed it, Tony Blair, the man on whom he will now sit in judgement. He should stand aside and allow the decision to be made by the CPS without any reference to him at all. If he makes a decision that pursuing this case is not conducive to the public interest I very much hope that the Great British Public won't stand for it.

EXCLUSIVE: Dirty Tricks Details Emerge Against SNP MP

Further inquiries with Inspector McKnacker have confirmed a concerted dirty tricks campaign against "Cash for Peerages" MP Angus MacNeil.

Three forces have been investigating a sustained operation to smear the Scot Nat who has caused consternation at the heart of the Labour government. While the Special Branch in London has been looking into the possible bugging of an SNP office at Westminster, Glasgow CID are investigating a much witnessed following operation against MacNeil and Northern Constabulary have been concerned about suspicious calls to his home on the Western Isles.
All of this comes on the same day as the Labour supporting Sunday Mail newspaper has splashed a two year old "Kiss and Cuddle" story about MacNeil.

Would this be an attempt to undermine the MP who exposed the "Cash for Peerages" morass or does it have anything to do with the latest opinion poll in Scotland which puts the SNP 12 points ahead of Labour?

Blair IS a Suspect in Cash for Honours

I know I am a bit late with this, but the Sunday Telegraph's main front page article this morning was astonishing. HONOURS POLICE TOLD BLAIR WOULD RESIGN IF CAUTIONED screamed the headline. The Sunday Telegraph has a record of exclusives on the Cash for Honours inquiry and the story certainly has the ring of truth about it.

If it is indeed true that the Prime Minister effectively threatened to blackmail the Police - for that's what it amounts to - he has scarred his office. The Police, of course, should have called his bluff.

But beyond the political theatrics here, we mustn't miss the point - and the point is that the Police are clearly treating Tony Blair as a suspect in the inquiry. Downing Street keep briefing that he is being interviewed as a witness rather than a suspectm but this blows that statement apart.

What does it all mean? I suspect it means that no charges will be laid until the PM has departed ths scene. Perhaps he might now try to elongate his departure! A couple of days ago I watched Alastair Beaton's THE TRIAL OF TONY BLAIR. It no longer seems so fanciful, all of a sudden.

Lord Levy Oozes Hypocrisy

Some chicken, some neck, said Winston Churchill. In the case of Lord Levy, it's a brass neck. He today denounced the "prejudiced and distorted view" of the cash-for-honours affair presented by leaks to the media and asked for public sympathy. Get that onion out your pocket before you read this from PA...

A statement from his solicitor said the "current round of articles in the
media... are partial, contradictory, confused and inaccurate". Neil O'May, of
Bindman and Partners, stressed that Lord Levy, Labour's chief fundraiser who has
been questioned by police on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of
justice as well as about possible breaches of honours regulations,
"categorically denies any wrongdoing whatsoever". The statement from Lord Levy's
solicitor also said the "media-style trial" was placing "an intolerable burden"
on the peer and his family. Mr O'May said in his statement: "Lord Levy
categorically denies any wrong-doing whatsoever, as he has throughout this
lengthy police investigation. The current round of articles in the media, which
are said to be based on leaked material under consideration by the police, are
partial, contradictory, confused and inaccurate. There has been a regular stream
of leaks to the media during this year-long investigation, all of which have
presented a prejudiced and distorted view. Cumulatively, these leaks and reports
have created a climate which does not allow for any fair assessment of the
investigation. Any fair-minded person must realise the intolerable burden that
is placed on Lord Levy and his family by this media-style trial when Lord Levy
is unable to defend himself on these matters whilst the police investigation
continues. Lord Levy respects the importance of maintaining the integrity of the
police inquiry and so is unable to comment further at this time."

I think I'll put that onion back in my pocket. I know for a fact that Lord Levy himself briefs various political editors on national newspapers. Like Guido I would caution you to interpret the phrase "friends of Lord Levy" to mean "Lord Levy himself". So in this regard he is being a complete, total and utter hypocrite. I suppose I should not be surprised.

Levy Named in Cash for Honours Memo

Shocking revelations HERE in tomorrow's Guardian. Ruth Turner is alleging that Lord Levy asked her to change her evidence to the Police Inquiry. This is at the heart of the document (not email) which the Police are investigating. The fact that this is appearing in The Guardian will lend more weight to those who believe it is in Downing Street's interest for this to be in the public domain.

Downing Street Doth Protest Too Much

The BBC injuntion story doesn't appear to have moved on very much. I did have to laugh when I read this paragraph on Telegraph Online...

A Downing Street source said the first No 10 knew that an injunction
had either been sought or granted was when they saw the 10 O'Clock
News.

Yeah, right. Believe that and you'll believe anything. Even if they didn't hear it from the Attoryney General's Office, they would surely have been contacted by Nick Robinson for a comment before then. And judging from the traffic to my blog from government IP addresses last night I just don't believe they knew nothing of it before 10pm.

Now to the substance of the matter. It seems that it was the Police who asked the AG for the injunction on the BBC. If so, this indicates that serious charges are about to be laid and the Police are fearful of anything that might jeopardise a successful prosecution. In turn, I believe they also fear that the CPS are looking for any excuse to say that a prosecution would not be in the public interest.

That's why everyone, including bloggers, has got to be incredibly careful now not to anything which might prejudice the Police case.

UPDATE 2.51pm: One of my readers, who works for the BBC, has just left this comment:

By the way, most BBC people were told about this story at around 4pm yesterday.
The injunction arrived about an hour later. Nick Robinson and another BBC
journalist got the same story at about the same time. I've probably told you too
much -- but I'm glad it's shut the "Robinson is Blair's Poodle" crowd up for the
time being.

Some of us have never subscribed to that theory anyway!

EXCLUSIVE: Has the Government Gagged the Beeb?

There is a strong rumour tonight that the government (or maybe it's the Labour Party) has tonight taken out an injunction against the BBC to prevent the reporting of something substantive regarding the Cash for Honours Inquiry. As I am in Washington I cannot take advice on what I am able to say about this or not. But something is going on. I will put comment moderation back on. If anyone has any info, please leave a comment or email me privately.