Corruption allegations dog Blair allies
By DAVID STRINGER,
Associated Press Writer
LONDON - Nine years ago, Tony Blair swept to office on a promise to drive sleaze from British politics, declaring his Labour Party would be the untainted standard bearer of honesty in government.
But allegations of corruption now shadow his administration, with key allies mired in accusations of financial and sexual impropriety and his longtime tennis partner being investigated in an inquiry into allegations that political honors were traded for loans.
The troubles are edging ever closer to the prime minister's office — and providing fodder for the political foes of a Labour government also weakened by internal fighting over Britain's unpopular participation in the Iraq war.
"Blair is the spider at the center of this whole sorry web," lawmaker Norman Baker of the opposition Liberal Democrat party told The Associated Press. "He's the leader of the Labour Party and the head of the government — any investigation that doesn't question him would be incomplete."
Detectives investigating claims Blair improperly nominated his party's financial backers for seats in the House of Lords said Thursday that they expect to file a report to prosecutors by autumn.
Blair has denied any impropriety, and insists his nominations for Parliament's unelected upper chamber have been made only on merit.
Despite the mutinous mood among some Labour lawmakers, the party is putting on a united front in support of Blair. "The Labour Party is cooperating with these inquiries and is confident it has acted in full accordance with the law," a statement said.
Police have interviewed 48 people from various parties over allegations that laws barring corruption in the awarding of honors such as lordships and knighthoods were broken.
Investigators have declined to say if Blair has been questioned, but the prime minister's office insists he has not.
The Labour Party has said it accepted, but did not disclose, loans of almost $25 million from 12 supporters. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties also have had to acknowledge they receiving secret loans.
Campaign funding rules allow those who offer loans to political parties — but not donations — to remain anonymous. But Blair has been forced to concede that some supporters who offered loans were later nominated for seats in the House of Lords.
"This whiff of scandal is nothing new. It's been there right from the start of Blair's government," said Iain Dale, a center-right commentator and author of "The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze."
In 1997, as Blair's government argued that auto racing should be exempted from a ban on tobacco advertising, it was disclosed that Labour accepted a nearly $2 million donation — later repaid — from Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of the Formula One race circuit.
Blair confidant Peter Mandelson resigned as trade minister following allegations that he received a loan from an Indian billionaire, whose application for British citizenship was aided by Mandelson.
David Blunkett, a Blair loyalist, resigned as home secretary in 2004 after revelations of an affair with a married American publisher, Kimberly Quinn. The following year, after being appointed work and pensions secretary, Blunkett again had to leave office, over a failure to declare a directorship at a DNA-testing company.
In April, Blair deputy John Prescott acknowledged having office trysts with a secretary, and this month acknowledged he initially failed to declare meetings with Philip Anschutz, an American billionaire seeking to transform London's Millennium Dome into a casino.
Blair has answered calls for him to step down by saying it is too soon, but he has promised to give up the prime minister's post before the next national elections, expected by 2009. |
