London, November 8
Chancellor Gordon Brown and other leading Cabinet ministers are to be questioned by the police for the first time over whether they knew that four Labour businessmen who secretly loaned the party millions of pounds had been put forward for peerages by Tony Blair.
John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, is also likely to be questioned by detectives conducting the first major political corruption inquiry for more than 70 years. The ministers will be interviewed as witnesses but not as suspects.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, will be questioned by detectives within weeks, possibly under caution, becoming the first serving Prime Minister since Lloyd George to be interviewed in an honours-for-sale investigation.
Mr Brown has distanced himself from the controversy by publicly denying all knowledge of the £14 million loans from 12 benefactors.
Other ministers and leading members of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, who were closely involved in the election planning, may also be questioned by the detectives. They will be asked if they knew that the Prime Minister had nominated Sir David Garrard, a property developer, who secretly loaned £2.3 million before the last general election, Barry Townsley, a stockbroker, who loaned £1 million, Dr Chai Patel, founder of the Priory Clinic, £1.5 million and Sir Gulam Noon, the curry magnate, £250,000.
Sir David and Mr Townsley also made donations of more than £3 million to the Prime Minister’s flagship city academy education schemes.
— UNI
