Honours evidence 'not revealed'

The "most significant" evidence from the 'cash-for-honours' investigation has not been made public, according to a Metropolitan Police document.

A report on 'Operation Ribble', the 19-month Scotland Yard inquiry into claims honours had been traded for donations to political parties, said it had acquired "considerable evidence".

The Crown Prosecution Service decided this summer not to bring any charges over the allegations.

The report by Detective Inspector David Jones was leaked to the Press Association in advance of its delivery to the Metropolitan Police Authority next week.

It dismissed allegations of leaks from the £1.43m inquiry, saying: "The Metropolitan Police Service remains very strongly of the view that, despite some media comment to the contrary, no material was leaked to the press from within the investigative team.

"This view is further confirmed by the fact that the most significant evidence obtained by the investigation has never appeared in the public domain."

The document appears to support reports that the inquiry foundered on the legal question of what constituted a commercial loan, saying the lack of a definition made the police's work "particularly difficult".

It points out that the Electoral Commission failed to produce written guidance as to the meaning of "commercial" until March 2006, after the loans in question had been made.

"The lack of robust oversight by the Electoral Commission in respect of PPERA [the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000] resulted in a lack of clarity for political parties and police alike during the investigation," the report said.

It also said that police requested "a forensic image of the Number 10 computer server", apparently confirming a number of reports suggesting that police were attempting to establish if some emails had been concealed.

The report said the investigation was originally projected to last between eight and 10 weeks.