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Peerage row: bar on BBC

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: The Blair Government has been accused of trying to gag the media over the cash-for-honours scandal after the BBC was on Friday banned from broadcasting a news item relating to it on grounds that it was likely to "impede'' the police investigation.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, his close friend and Labour fundraiser Lord Levy, and two senior Downing Street officials are being investigated over allegations that honours were traded for secret loans to the party in the run-up to the 2005 general election.

The ban on BBC came minutes before its 10, O'clock news bulletin was to go on air on Friday. In a surprise move, Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith got an injunction from the High Court arguing that any further disclosure was not in public interest.

The BBC protested that it had been prevented from reporting a story which, it believed, was a "legitimate matter of public interest.'' It was the first time that such an injunction was brought in connection with the scandal which has deeply damaged Mr. Blair's image.

The Attorney-General's office said he had acted "completely independently of Government.''

The scandal broke last year after the House of Lords committee on peerages rejected nominations of four businessmen when it emerged that they had given loans to the Labour party's election fund. They included the "curry King'' Ghulam Noon and Chai Patel, owner of a chain of upmarket clinics. Both have denied the charges. Mr. Blair has been questioned twice by the police, and four persons have been arrested in connection with the affair.

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