Perverting the course of justice: Neo-Labour

Her [Ruth Turner, the director of government relations inside Downing Street] arrest also raised fears in Labour circles that the police have found a "smoking gun" in the trail of e-mails and memos they have been pursuing in Downing Street. The Scotland Yard team, headed by Assistant Commissioner John Yates, questioned Mr Blair at Downing Street before Christmas over the offer of peerages to multi-millionaire businessmen in return for secret loans for the party before the 2005 general election.

The police closely questioned Mr Blair over apparent contradictions in the statements by some of his senior aides. Police have also recently questioned Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, for a second time and John McTernan, the director of political relations, in Downing Street.

Those arrested by Scotland Yard so far are Lord Levy, a close friends of Mr Blair and high-value fundraiser for the party; Des Smith, a teacher and fundraiser for city academies who boasted to an undercover newspaper reporter that big backers for the schools could get honours; and Sir Christopher Evans, the head of a biotech company, who loaned Labour 1m pounds before the last general election. Mr Blair was closely questioned about an alleged diary entry by Sir Christopher suggesting he had been offered a "K" (knighthood) or a big "P" peerage)'.

Scotland Yard said the arrest of Ms Turner was "in connection with alleged offenses under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 and also on suspicion of perverting the course of justice". Link