Blair with wallet, for honour in the study

Senior Labour figures fear the Crown Prosecution Service will be under intense pressure to bring criminal charges over the cash for honours scandal because of the fevered atmosphere surrounding the long-running police investigation.

The prime minister, who has been interviewed as a witness for a second time, is said to be confident that he will not face prosecution despite the dramatic events over the last week which saw two of the key figures, Lord Levy, his full-time fundraiser, and his political gatekeeper, Ruth Turner, arrested under suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.



No 10 is still confident that police do not have evidence that could prove the sale of honours for political purposes. But the arrest of Lord Levy and Ms Turner has raised the prospect that police are investigating a cover-up, and some Labour sources fear charges could follow.




The Guardian has learned that the police investigation took a dramatic turn because of a surprise discovery of additional information previously unknown to the police. It is understood that a senior figure in No 10 subject to a series of interviews revealed some fresh information.