Sunday Times claims'>
Lord Levy ‘asked advisers to lie’
Labour’s most senior fund raiser, Lord Levy, is thought to have asked some of the prime minister’s advisers to lie to police concerning his involvement in the honours system, the Sunday Times claims.
According to reports in the newspaper, senior No 10 aide Ruth Turner ruled out Lord Levy’s suggestion and instead said it would be more “credible” to tell police Lord Levy was used for “advice” and “character references” about potential peers.
Last week a memo thought to have been prepared by Ms Turner for Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff, was leaked to the press.
Ms Turner’s apparent failure to tell police about the existence of this document is believed to have been behind her arrest earlier this year.
The Sunday Times revealed yesterday the document was written following a meeting last summer which Lord Levy, Mr Powell, Ms Turner and John McTernan, Downing Street’s director of public relations, all attended.
This is the latest revelation in the cash-for-honours inquiry, which was begun last year and now seems to have developed into an investigation into whether the prime minister’s senior advisers attempted to pervert the course of justice.
There has been no official statement from the police on how much longer the inquiry will last, officials have suggested it may well continue into April.
