Guido understands that soon Detective Superintendent Graham McNulty is likely to be saying the words:

“Anthony Charles Lynton Blair you do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

UPDATE : A number of mongs seem to misunderstand. He is going to be interviewed under caution. Calm down.

The was a touching scene the night before last in Albert Square, Manchester. Lord Levy was consoling a very worried man. Sleazy Levy had one hand on the man’s shoulder and the other gripping his elbow as a taxi waited. They must have had the meter on the taxi running for ages since they were having a very animated discussion about something. Levy was quite chipper whereas his friend was disgruntled and worried. “Don’t worry; it’ll all be all right; don’t worry” Levy assured the troubled man.

So far nothing that you have not read already on Iain Dale’s blog earlier. Guido believes that the weepy man was none other than Nick Bowes, formerly the Labour Party’s Head of High Value Fundraising. Nick is a reader of this blog from his desk at the metal bashers and widget makers trade association the EEF, he is up in Manchester on their behalf.

Guido has emailed Nick to corroborate this piece but has as yet no reply to his questions. Let us hope the detectives got more answers out of him…

See also here and here.

According to an impeccable source the Scotland Yard investigation into Labour’s Loans for Lordships will not finish next month as Yates intimated to the Public Affairs Select Committee in July. It is set to drag on until the end of the year. The source emphasised that whether Blair is still in office or not is irrelevant, this is a criminal investigation.

The delay will not make the issue vanish for the Labour party, since on the eve of their conference Channel 4′s Dispatches will be broadcasting a documentary special on Levy’s shenanigans.

Those of you playing Sleazy Sweepstakes in Downing Street can sweat a bit longer. The rest of you playing should try to figure out who the chap is in the middle to the right of the already arrested Sleazy Levy and Des Smith. If you have drawn him you could be lucky next….

Email Guido for a PDF file to print out, then cut out and play Sleazy Sweepstakes in your office (Peerages not included.)

UPDATE : Guido stands by his story, despite the leaked Mark Townsend and Antony Barnett story in the Observer this morning. Guido’s source is adamant that the investigation will not be over by mid-October. This “leak” in itself has an air of wishful thinking about it bordering on spin. Reading between the lines of their story it looks like somebody either in the CPS or the Attorney-General’s office is their “leak” source. If it is either legal source somebody is improperly spinning the investigation for political purposes – the law is supposed to be above politics. When we are governed by sleazy law-breaking law-makers it is essential that the criminal justice system is not politicised.

UPDATE II : Oh look, Mark Townsend has also written a puff piece for the Attorney-General today, what a coincidence. No point really asking the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, to initiate a root and branch leak investigation is there?

Sources “close to” Lord Goldsmith wouldn’t be trying to pre-empt the investigating officers’ final report?

Guido hears that “friends” of Ruth Turner are claiming “it wasn’t me guv”. Wouldn’t it be fun if the PM has to do the perp walk. Downing Street is determined that the police should just drop by for a cup of tea and biscuit accompanied by the full Blair charm. The police think a statement under caution more appropiate in the circumstances. Don’t forget who did the negotiating directly with Lord Drayson…

If you have not already got one, email Guido for a PDF file to print out, then cut out and play Sleazy Sweepstakes in your office (Peerages not included.)

Des Smith hit the bottle hard last week under the pressure of the police inquiry into the cash for honours scam. He broke down in tears yesterday in court as he was sentenced for drink driving at Redbridge magistrates. The police evidence to the court was that he was three times over the maximum limit. Guido has a lot of empathy for a fellow hard-drinking Catholic. Will the school governors feel the same?

It can hardly be good for school discipline that the kids know the headmaster has been arrested in a corruption investigation and that he now has a criminal record as well. His involvement in fund raising for Sleazy Levy, who has also been arrested and is himself the primary target of the investigation, offers a way out. Clearly the Sleaze Master General is the one the police really want to nail.

Currently Des Smith is in denial and protesting his innocence. Guido’s advice, in the best of Catholic traditions, is that Des should make a full confession to Yates’ Operation Ribble.

“Michael Abraham Levy, I am arresting you under the terms of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 and the Political Parties, Election and Referendum Act 2000.”

Yesterday Putin relished taking the mick out of Blair (the mick of course being Lord Michael Levy). Asked what his message would be to Blair in view of implicit criticism by the British ambassador to Moscow of Putin’s governance, the authoritarian Russian leader started sly: “We carefully hear out all our partners,” he said. “We take into consideration their views on such issues but we take our decisions ourselves.” Putin then twisted the knife with a smile. “There are also other questions… Questions, let’s say, about the fight against corruption. We’d be interested in hearing your experience, including how it applies to Lord Levy.”

The Scotsman reports that there is panic in Downing Street as Levy puts Blair squarely in the frame. Guido has been merrily emailing the cut out ‘n play Sleazy Sweepstakes gamesheet to SpAds and civil servants in a tactic borrowed from U.S. Army’s Central Command in the run up to the liberation of Iraq.

Psy-Ops units waged online warfare by sending emails and text messages to Iraqi senior officers telling them to surrender in advance of the U.S. Army’s Rolling Thunder operation. The effect of these messages on morale was telling, it showed the Republican guard that the enemy knew them individually, knew where to get them and how. The Republican Guard consequently put up no defence when the U.S. Army arrived. In advance of Yates of the Yard’s detectives’ Operation Ribble, Guido has borrowed some of those psy-ops tactics, after all, as concerned citizens we must each do our little bit in the War on Sleaze.

Email Guido for a gamesheet to print out, then email it onwards as appropriate or just cut out and play Sleazy Sweepstakes in your office. (Peerages not included.)

Unlike the Sleaze-Master General, Guido’s files have not gone up in smoke. Here for the assistance of some surprised journalists, is the story so far as told on this blog.

Guido wrote back in March that Jane Hogarth was being set-up to take blame for some of Levy’s Loans for Lordships shenanigans. Much safer if she takes the flack because she worked for the Labour party not Downing Street. At all costs the blame must be kept well away from Tony, although as we all know in reality it was his fund-raising operation run out of Downing Street.

Is it really so surprising that she has taken “voluntary” redundancy now?

Guido understands that the Labour party is due to repay some £3 million over the next 3 months. Will these supposedly commercial loans be rolled over or written off? We were assured when the story first broke that they were to be repaid on a commercial basis. Whatever happens we will find out now that the Electoral Commission has belatedly got tough on loans. Lord Sainsbury may yet again be called upon to prop up the party which he has supported to the tune of £15 million, not counting the money he gives to New Labour supporting groups.

It is going to be a long, hot sweaty summer for a lot of Labour party apparachtiks. Yates of the Yard is conducting interviews with witnesses and suspects. Guido has received mixed messages about the timing of any action, some say it will be before the party conference, some say after. It willl overshadow September’s conference deliberations. C’mon coppers, give us the perp walk…

N.B. The above image of a handcuffed Levy doing the “perp walk” is, Guido has been advised by media lawyers and concerned journalists, potentially defamatory. Guido thinks not. Sleazy Levy would have to be innocent with a good reputation to damage.