-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: March 26, 2007 11:24:31 AM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Facing Arrest, Tony Blair Threatens to Resign
Police told Blair would resign if [questioned]
By Andrew Alderson and Patrick Hennessy
Sunday Telegraph, March 25, 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/25/
nhons25.xml
Police officers investigating the cash-for-honours scandal wanted
to interview Tony Blair under caution but backed off after being
warned that it could lead to his resignation, The Sunday Telegraph
can reveal.
Tony Blair was interviewed twice in six weeks
Allies of Mr Blair indicated to Scotland Yard that his position as
Prime Minister would become untenable if he were treated as a
suspect, rather than simply as a witness.
Detectives had hoped to question the Prime Minister under caution
during the second of two interviews at No 10. It is understood that
they wanted Mr Blair to clarify comments he had made during his
first interview about an alleged cover-up by his senior aides.
Sources close to the inquiry said that there were difficult
discussions before a political intermediary made senior detectives
aware of the serious implications of treating the Prime Minister as
a suspect.
"Make no mistake, Scotland Yard was informed that Mr Blair would
resign as Prime Minister if he was interviewed under caution," said
a source. "They were placed in a very difficult position indeed."
Eventually, Downing Street won the battle of wills: when two
officers saw the Prime Minister for a second time, on January 26,
he was again not interviewed under caution. A news black-out was
placed on the interview for "operational reasons" at the request of
the police, but this was lifted after six days.
Scotland Yard has, however, not ruled out interviewing Mr Blair for
a third time if there is important new evidence to put to him. It
is even possible that, as the inquiry drags on, Mr Blair could be
interviewed - possibly as a suspect - after he steps down as Prime
Minister in some three months.
Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who heads the cash-for-honours
inquiry, told MPs this month that it would be "unrealistic" to set
a deadline for completing the investigation. He said that he could
not be rushed because some evidence raised "complex and challenging
legal issues".
It can also be revealed that relations between Scotland Yard and
Downing Street remain deeply strained. There were tensions over the
first police interview with Mr Blair on December 14, which -
unusually for a meeting not under caution - was tape recorded. Some
days later, detectives sent minutes of the interview to Mr Blair's
office to be "signed off" - for Downing Street to agree the typed
notes were an accurate reflection of what had taken place.
Downing Street refused to sign them off even when detectives
reminded political aides that the interview had been recorded and
they were merely supplying a transcript of events. More than three
months after the interview, the issue remains unresolved.
The restricted conditions of Mr Blair's second interview enabled No
10 to play down the significance of the police seeing him for the
second time in only six weeks. A spokesman said at the time: "The
Prime Minister has been interviewed briefly to clarify points
emerging from the ongoing investigation. He was interviewed as a
witness, not as a suspect and co-operated fully."
The fact that Mr Blair has not been interviewed under caution means
it is unlikely any of the answers he has given so far could be used
against him to bring charges. Legal experts say any solicitor is
likely to argue that evidence from a routine interview - not
treating someone as a suspect - should be declared inadmissible by
a judge.
Detectives have spent a year looking into allegations that Labour
promised peerages in return for £14 million in secret loans to
fight the 2005 general election. The inquiry has widened to
investigate claims that senior aides were involved in a cover-up in
which they sought to pervert the course of justice.
Officers have interviewed more than 100 people and arrested four,
including two senior party aides: Lord Levy, Labour's chief fund-
raiser, and Ruth Turner, the head of government relations.
The Sunday Telegraph has also learnt that the police are "highly
surprised" that neither Miss Turner, 36, nor Lord Levy, 62, has
been suspended from their positions given the seriousness of the
cover-up accusations against them - even though they deny any
wrongdoing, and no charges have been brought.
Last night a spokesman for Mr Blair denied that he had been "going
around saying he will resign if that happened [being interviewed
under caution]. It is not true that such a message was conveyed to
the police." He said of the delay in No 10's "signing off" the
minutes of Mr Blair's interview: "Witness statements are being
drawn up in the usual way."
-----------
Cash for honours 'cover-up' email sparked Goldsmith gag
By Andrew Alderson, Melissa Kite and Jasper Copping
Sunday Telegraph,
Last Updated: 1:38am GMT 05/03/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
main.jhtml;jsessionid=JCF5GALVJT4SDQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/
2007/03/04/nhons04.xml
A confidential Downing Street email was at the centre of the
dramatic intervention by the Attorney General into the cash-for-
honours investigation, it can be revealed.
Details of the email relating to one of Tony Blair's closest aides
and a senior Labour Party fund-raiser had been obtained by the BBC
which was preparing to read excerpts on air as evidence of a
Downing Street "cover-up".
The email is understood to relate to Ruth Turner, the head of
government relations, and Lord Levy, Labour's chief fund-raiser,
who have both been arrested over the alleged awarding of honours in
return for big loans to the party.
Scotland Yard sought the 11th-hour assistance of Lord Goldsmith,
the Attorney General, amid fears that its year-long investigation
was about to be undermined by the television broadcast. A judge
granted the Government's most senior legal adviser an injunction to
prevent the corporation from revealing its evidence. Informed
sources say that Scotland Yard resorted to legal action because the
investigation was entering its most crucial phase.
Only a few people are left to be questioned in the coming days
before detectives submit their final report - which is expected to
push for several criminal charges - to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Detectives were believed to have become alarmed that disclosures
from the BBC could have alerted a suspect to a key line of
questioning. When the Prime Minister was questioned for a second
time in January, a news black-out was put on the interview for
similar reasons.
The Sunday Telegraph revealed in January that the police had to
hack into Downing Street computers after they became convinced that
key aides were withholding evidence. Later they launched an
investigation into allegations that Labour officials had sought to
pervert the course of justice.
The Government's most senior legal adviser
BBC chiefs were shocked at the Draconian nature of the injunction
won by Lord Goldsmith on Friday night. The 10 O'Clock News was at
first told that it could not even mention the fact that the
injunction had been served, and was only able to report the gag
after hours of legal argument. Staff at the BBC's political unit in
Millbank have been ordered not to discuss the legal action.
Police feared the BBC story would prejudice any future trial if
charges are brought but, even more crucially, could impede the
questioning of suspects and witnesses.
Angus MacNeil, the Scottish National Party MP whose complaint
triggered the police investigation, said: "The gravity of this
investigation is clear for all to see. Labour is facing an
unprecedented political crisis. It would appear that the police may
have significant information that they don't want to be made public
at this stage."
Mark Stephens, a media lawyer, said that for the police to take out
such an injunction was "almost unprecedented". But he added: "If,
however, they have a genuine piece of information clearly to 'blow
the gaff' on the development they're investigating, that's another
thing - one can understand a temporary restraining order would be
necessary in those circumstances."
Scotland Yard began an investigation into the alleged sale of
honours last March after it was revealed that 12 wealthy supporters
had secretly lent the Labour Party almost £14 million. Of the 12,
four were proposed for peerages by Mr Blair, but these were later
blocked.
Demands grew last night for an urgent debate on the role of the
Attorney General following Lord Goldsmith's intervention. Many
senior legal and political figures believe it untenable for any
attorney general to combine legal and political roles because
inevitably it leads to a conflict of interest in cases involving
the Government.
The Attorney General is the Government's most senior legal adviser.
Yet Lord Goldsmith is a close political ally of the Prime Minister.
He was made a life peer by Mr Blair in 1999 and was appointed
Attorney General by him in 2001.
Elfyn Llwyd, the Plaid Cymru leader and the second MP to lodge a
complaint that led to the police inquiry, said yesterday that Lord
Goldsmith's involvement in the injunction had been unfortunate.
"His office should not be involved in this inquiry. We need to
review the role of the Attorney General - it is clear his political
role and legal roles cannot work well together in a case like this."
All those questioned, including Miss Turner and Lord Levy, deny
wrongdoing.
AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's
free from AOL at AOL.com.
www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/
<A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
