Attorney General Blocks Sun, BBC Reports on Cash-for-Honors Probe (Correct)

By Kitty Donaldson

 

(Corrects to show Sun told not to publish, not injuncted.)

 

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Britain's Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith blocked the Sun from reporting details of an e-mail between two of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest aides as police investigate a political funding scandal.

 

Goldsmith, acting on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, obtained a court order last week to prevent the British Broadcasting Corp. from publishing contents of the e-mail, his office said today. Lawyers for the Sun were told by the attorney general's office yesterday not to publish details of the e-mail.

 

Police began an inquiry a year ago into whether Blair's office improperly recommended people to seats in the House of Lords in exchange for donations to the ruling Labour Party. The probe began after Labour disclosed that it had received 14 million pounds ($27 million) in undisclosed loans from 12 supporters, four of whom were later offered seats in the Lords.

 

The Sun today reported that it had the contents of an e-mail sent from an aide, Ruth Turner, to Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell.

 

The BBC reported today that it had successfully appealed part of the injunction and was allowed to say the e-mail concerned Lord Michael Levy, who has acted as a fundraiser for Labour. He and Turner have been arrested and questioned under caution, meaning police are treating them as suspects.

 

Both Turner and Levy deny wrongdoing. Blair already has been questioned twice in connection with the probe. Blair's office today denied that it leaked details of the e-mail to the BBC.

 

``This assertion was not based on a personal hunch,'' said Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Blair. ``There are inaccuracies in the reports which means it couldn't have come from No 10.''

 

Britain's political parties had debts of 60.7 million pounds on Dec. 31, according to the Electoral Commission. Labour owed 23.4 million pounds. The main opposition Conservative Party owed the most, 35.3 million pounds. Most of that debt will be cleared by the sale of Smith Square, the party's old headquarters, for 30.5 million pounds, earlier this month.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected] .

Cash for Honours has been going on for ages, well before Blair came into power.

 

If you watch old episodes of HIGNFY from 2002/03, they have a part of cash for honours in the opening titles. It's only now they are doing something about it.

Honours gag e-mail was about Levy

 

The e-mail was sent from No 10 aide Ruth Turner to Jonathan Powell

 

The e-mail which triggered the probe into an alleged Downing Street cover-up was sent by Number 10 aide Ruth Turner.

It was sent to Tony Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, and concerned Labour's chief fundraiser Lord Levy.

The injunction barring reporting of any details of the e-mail was amended on Monday so the BBC could say who sent the e-mail but not its full contents.

In response to the BBC report, Downing Street said: "This story is inaccurate, we dispute this version of events."

The Downing Street spokesman would not specify what part or parts of the BBC report is disputed.

The cash-for-honours probe began a year ago. All involved deny wrongdoing.

The amendment to the injunction on Monday was made after a request from the BBC to the attorney general.

Police are investigating allegations that honours were exchanged for loans to the Labour Party. It began about a year ago, and switched its focus recently from the question of cash-for-peerages to allegations of a cover-up. No-one has been charged with any offence in connection with the probe.