Posted on 02/01/2007 7:28:11 PM PST by freedomdefender
Tony Blair was last night struggling to prevent a collapse of his authority and being forced to stand down within weeks after it was disclosed that he had been interviewed for a second time by police in the cash for honours affair.
Tony Blair was questioned as a witness, not as a suspect
A six-day news blackout on the interview — demanded by Scotland Yard — fuelled concerns among Labour MPs and ministers that the inquiry was moving closer to the heart of No 10.
Cabinet ministers fear that Mr Blair's authority is draining away and the Government is appearing increasingly paralysed as he is assailed almost daily by damaging disclosures about allegations that Labour "sold" peerages.
The Prime Minister was questioned in No 10 last Friday — before flying to Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum — "to clarify points emerging from the ongoing investigation".
Scotland Yard said the news blackout was requested for "operational reasons", but gave no further details of why it was not made public.
Mr Blair was interviewed briefly as a witness, not as a suspect, to "clarify points emerging from the ongoing investigation". He co-operated fully, the police said.
Downing Street said he was accompanied by a note-taker, but did not have a lawyer with him during the interview, which lasted less than an hour. Officials said they did not know whether he would be questioned for a third time, saying it was a matter for police.
Mr Blair was originally interviewed before Christmas — the first time a serving prime minister had been questioned by police as part of a criminal investigation.
The second, secret interview came a week after the arrest on Jan 19 of his close aide Ruth Turner and days before Lord Levy, his chief fund-raiser, was arrested on Tuesday.
Downing Street said that only a "very tight group" of people knew about the second interview, but declined to identify who was aware that Mr Blair had been questioned.
There were strong indications last night that the police did not want Lord Levy to know about the second interview before he was re-arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The BBC claimed that Lord Levy was asked by police about notes of meetings at which he is believed to have discussed honours with senior Downing Street staff.
The Daily Telegraph understands that police are looking at the claim that Lord Levy had "lists" of people who were being lined up for peerages.
The 10-month police investigation is now dominating Westminster and overshadowing the rest of government, with ministers increasingly defying what they see as a weakened and wounded Mr Blair.
Some Labour MPs believe the Prime Minister will now have no option but to bring forward the date of his departure, which is set for July, to spare the party further damage. However, there is no sign yet of a co-ordinated Cabinet or back-bench plot to oust him from No 10.
Unlike the US President, the British Prime Minister is not immune from criminal prosecution.
On the other hand, the prisons are so full there's no room for any more prisoners, thanks to Blair's disjointed policies.
Tony Blair is a true friend of the United States, and a man who sees the threat posed by the fascist Islamics clearly. I will hate to see him taken down by pygmies.
BTW, Blair was up Clinton's arse on every occasion about the moooslim terrorist types but could not budge Clinton to action.
BTTT
Very curious that this Blair story is big on all the wires, and on Drudge, but freepers don't seem interested. can you say Denial?
Why? He's a liberal who is subverting Britain's social fabric and its Christian faith. His new gay-rights law could end up imprisoning faithful Christian ministers.
Blair is a man who is pushing "gay rights" on Britain with a vengeance. His "gay rights" law will force Catholic adoption services to hand orphans over to homosexual couples. that's perverted. it's one area where the Muslims are more civilized. Don't talk to me about Blair seeing "threats" -- he's a massive threat to civilization himself.
Interesting choice of words, when you consider that Blair has enacted a radical "gay rights" law that will force Christian adoption services to turn innocent orphans over to homo perverts. Who needs Muslims with "friends" like Blair? At least Islam doesn't give adoption "rights" to perverts.
So? We are not British. He is an asseet to the Western Civilization, one of the few leaders (along with President Bush) to stand up against Islamofascists.
Wrong. Gay rights will be the death of our civilization. He's at the front of that parade, and his law will imprison Christian leaders who stand by the Gospel and the moral principles that have upheld the West for 20 centuries and more. Tony Blais is an enemy of Western Civilization, not its friend. If it turns out that he is financially corrupt - which is the focus of the highly publicized investigation that freepers seem to be so studiously ignoring - I won't be surprised.
he's giving into the homo-facsists - no, he's taking up their crusade to criminalize traditional morality -- and that's as bad as Islamic fascism.
This is the number one story on many news wires, the top story on Drudge - yet freepers don't want to talk about it. Strange. Strange.
That's your opinion. However, the gays are unlikely to cut off our heads anytime soon or blowing us up to bits.
Let's see, you have the choice of an imprisoned minister and a beheaded minister.
I don't like the choices..can we start over? :)~
They want to imprison people who uphold traditional morality. And who knows what they want to do to them in prison. You may be ok with that. Tony Blair may be ok with that. i'm not - and on this issue, it's my side, not yours or Blair's, that's defending "Western Civilization."
Politics is the art of compromise.
Tony Blair is the best that Great Britain has at the moment.
Just wait a few months when he's replaced and you'll wish we still have Tony Blair in charge.
Just curious.
False choice and a ridiculous question. Let's say a known child molestor is strongly opposed to fundamentalist Islam. Does that mean you'll let your children near him? I judge people - politicians included - by a number of factors, only one of which is their stand on the WOT. Blair is abetting child molestors by telling adoption agencies (including Church groups) that they must turn over kids to homo "couples." Because of that, I don't give a d-mn about his position on WOT or anything else. There are enough politicians out there who stand up against terroristm without standing in league with homo fascists, that I don't need to applaud a homo-loving Blair.
What IS "Western Civilization," anyway? It sure as hell isn't homosexual marriage and homosexual adoption. that's pre-christian paganism. And that - pansexual paganism, with a large dollop of pedaphelia thrown in for good measure - is what Tony Blair is promoting. He's an enemy of Western Civilization, no matter that he's sent a token force to Iraq.
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