On Blair's Last Day Met Police Fly Courtney Coventry to London to take Statement In Cash for Honours Scandal

On Blair's last full day in office the Met Police attempted to secretly fly the Beautiful American girl Courtney Coventry into London to take her statement in the Cash for Honours Inquiry.

From the Sun:

"A STUNNING American was flown by cops to Britain yesterday to be quizzed in the cash for honours probe. Californian actress Courtney Coventry, 25, was grilled over her links to Labour’s chief fundraiser Lord Levy. Lord Levy introduced Courtney to Tony Blair and Labour’s high command at a swanky fundraising bash.They were invited for tea at No10 the next day and taken on a tour of the House of Commons and House of Lords where Lord Levy — dubbed Lord Cashpoint — wooed them.

Courtney flew to Heathrow yesterday morning( flights arranged by the met police at the expense of the British taxpayer) from Nice to meet cops investigating allegations peerages were awarded for £14million in cash loans used to fund Labour’s 2005 general election campaign.She was met from her British Airways flight at the arrivals lounge in Terminal 1 and whisked away in an unmarked car.

Courtney, wearing a calf- length emerald green dress with plunging neckline, covered her face when The Sun asked her what help she could be to the police. Her reply was: “No comment”. She was hustled away clutching her Louis Vuitton handbag by a plain clothes woman officer with two uniformed cops in tow.

The actress was driven to the Hilton Hotel in Green Park, around the corner from the chain’s flagship Park Lane Hotel — where she was photographed with Mr Blair three years ago at the gala for rich donors. Later last night, Courtney told The Sun at the hotel: “I have spoken to the police. They flew me in. I cannot say anything else.” Asked if she had been of use to the inquiry, she replied: “That’s up to them to determine.”

The Met refused to discuss her interview yesterday. "There was no intention to cause the Prime Minister any embarrassment on his last day."

The mail apparently was given a different comment by the police. According to the mail the police source said: "We spoke to her in person but we decided she did not have anything of interest to say so she was not formally interviewed. In effect, she was time wasting."

So let me get this correct. The police fly her to London, meet her at Heathrow and give her a police escort and driver to her hotel with no knowledge of what she was going to tell them? From the sound of it they attempted to secretly bring her into the country to formally take her statement and have her out again before anyone was the wiser but it didn't quite work out that way. From the photos in the Sun in seems the press were not only at the airport waiting but also sitting outside her hotel room. Far more likely is that the police panicked when they saw the press as they have done everything in their power to keep the details of the case and witnesses underwraps. It was a nice try but I don't think anyone would believe they had no idea what she was going to say. I would bet money that they knew exactly what she was going to say , had evidence to corroborate it and that it was very damning. Otherwise why go to the trouble and expense to fly her into the country? I am certain that we will find she is interviewed but without the knowledge of the press. If not and the police are giving away free flights and drivers if you call and say I have information on xyz I'm sure there will be a line around the block and a lot of angry taxpayers.

"They did not intend to cause Blair any embarrassment on his last day in office" - Of course they didn't as nobody was supposed to know she was there.

Blair and Labour Party Waste Another £750,000

If Blair's £1m farewell tour wasn't enough money wasted, according to Scotland Yard the police probe into the cash-for-honours affair has cost more than £750,000 so far it emerged today. And we wonder why there is a constant lack of funding for schools and health care.

If Blair, Levy etc are found guilty they should be made to foot the bill for the investigation. I don't see why it should come out of taxpayers pockets.

"Further Inquiries" Demanded in Cash for Honours Scandal

Despite receiving a 216 page file from Scotland Yard, the Crown Prosecution Service has demanded additional evidence from the police and that they "undertake further inquiries" before deciding whether there should be criminal charges in the cash for honours investigation. It appears Prime Minister Blair may be interviewed by the police for a third time. This time however, it is highly possible that he will be interviewed under caution as detectives were ordered to again question the key players .

Although thus far Blair has only been interviewed as a witness, he was the first Prime Minister ever to be questioned by the police as part of a continuing criminal investigation. Once he leaves Downing Street at the end of the June if he is interviewed it could take place under caution, technically making him a suspect.

There were 2 comments left last week in the Herald relating to Cash for Honours which I posted previously. If you didn't get a chance to read them you may find them interesting. Whether they are accurate or not I don't know but in light of the CPS demanding further investigation it makes you think. Click HERE for the post and to read the comments.

Are Likely Charges in the "Cash for Honours" Scandal the Real Reason Levy is Standing Down?

I was reading the morning papers and came across this in The Herald... Interesting. The girl they are referring to, Courtney Coventry, is the one pictured with Blair in the Mail Article in March.

Posted by: Barry on 7:08am today
Lord Levy, a major contributor to labour sleaze, will be finally leaving! Was it "Anticipated?" - Only because CPS will likely be charging him in the Cash for honours scandal, especially as the American woman has implicated him to directly to police. Apparently, Levy bluntly offerred to arrange a peerage for her British husband for a large donation to the party. So much for Levy denying any wrongdoing.
Lord Levy, a major contributor to labour sleaze, will be finally leaving! Was it "Anticipated?" - Only because CPS will likely be charging him in the Cash for honours scandal, especially as the American woman has implicated him to directly to police. Apparently, Levy bluntly offerred to arrange a peerage for her British husband for a large donation to the party. So much for Levy denying any wrongdoing.

Posted by: diana, london on 7:52am today
Referring to Barry's comment about an American girl, her name is Courtney Coventry. A good friend of mine worked on the Cash for Honours inquiry and she said Courtney Coventry (who is american) contacted them via email with a very damaging statement (and documents to support it) about Lord Levy which would on its own justify charges to be brought against him.
Referring to Barry's comment about an American girl, her name is Courtney Coventry. A good friend of mine worked on the Cash for Honours inquiry and she said Courtney Coventry (who is american) contacted them via email with a very damaging statement (and documents to support it) about Lord Levy which would on its own justify charges to be brought against him.

Cash For Access Memo Leaked Days After CPS is Handed 216 Page Cash for Honours File

A strategy to "sell" Downing Street access to wealthy party donors from the very beginning of the Blair years has been uncovered. A leaked internal memo places Tony Blair, his chief of staff Jonathan Powell and Labour's leading fundraiser Lord Levy at the centre of a "cash-for-access" policy to raise millions.

This leak comes days after police handed over a 216-page file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which is now deciding whether to press criminal charges over the cash-for-honours affair. The document was written by Amanda Delew, the former head of the High Value Fundraising Unit at Labour HQ, shortly after the party swept to power in 1997. It proposes that the prospect of access to Number 10 and Tony Blair could help raise more than £15million for party funds. The paper insists the Prime Minister 'must continue to have private meetings' with some donors while others 'would expect to be invited' to Downing Street.

A Labour spokesman insisted last night that the document was discarded before it reached
senior members of the party and that "no one who gave money to the party is given preferential treatment and no one can buy access to Downing Street".

But Angus MacNeil, the Scottish Nationalist MP who triggered the cash for honours police investigation, said: "This document is symptomatic of New Labour and its obsession with the rich and wealthy. It is not to me, or any other politician, they must answer. It is to the highest court in the land."

Lord Goldsmith , a Labour minister who once gave money to the party and who owes his job to Tony Blair, could end up making the final decision on whether charges are brought. Complaints have been made that the Attorney General is politically compromises however Lord Goldsmith insisted he would judge the case for a prosecution "objectively, on the evidence, independently from Government".

Opposition MPs questioned his impartiality. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "He is a politician and he is a peer - he was made a peer by Tony Blair. None of that is wrong but he should not be involved in this decision. It should be made independently by a members of the Crown Prosecution Service."


Yes, the decision should be made independently however I am certain that Mr. Blair will use all methods of persuasion available to him to encourage Lord Goldsmith to put a stop the the prosecution despite the fact sources close to the inquiry have described the police file as "very robust". If charges are brought, Mr Blair, who was interviewed twice by detectives, could be called to give evidence in court. That alone gives Blair motivation to pressure Lord Goldsmith.

It is quite obvious that honours were sold for donations to the party and even more obvious Levy tried to cover this up. The only remaining question is will Mr Blair's influence stop it from going to trial?

Met Police Hand "Cash for Honours" File Over To CPS

The Met Police have handed the "Cash for Honours" file over to the CPS to determine whether or not there is enough evidence to proceed.

A 216-page file was handed over by detectives from the Metropolitan Police to the CPS on Friday. Prosecutors will decide whether anyone should be charged over claims that honours were given in return for money

Although the police file amounts to an exoneration for Blair, confirming he will not be charged, the conclusions on Levy and Turner bring the affair close to his door. As would be expected, Levy, Turner and Evans all deny any wrongdoing.

It now appears the decision on whether anyone will face trial over the cash for honours scandal will be made before Tony Blair leaves office. Legal sources said they expected a decision in June on whether three key figures, fundraiser Lord Levy, Downing Street director of government relations Ruth Turner, and donor Sir Christopher Evans, should be formally charged.

A spokesman for Evans said last night: 'In the 2004-2005 discussions about giving a loan to the Labour Party, Sir Christopher is adamant that at no stage were there any talks about a peerage in relation to money.' Evans has repeatedly insisted he was never promised anything by Levy in return for giving money, but admitted earlier this year that the peer had often suggested over the years that he deserved an honour. Of course the two weren't connected. They just happened to be discussed during in same conversation at the same time but one clearly did not influence the other. Not very believable Mr. Evans.

As far as Ruth Turner goes its quite obvious she helped "cover up" the selling of honours at Levy's encouragement however the real culprit here is Lord "Cashpoint" Levy himself. Levy orchestrated and arranged the entire "loan scheme" (which I might add Blair went along with), then promptly pushed Blair to recommend the donors or "lenders" for honours. When challenged Levy conspired to cover the entire fiasco up.

Although it appears Blair is in the clear a decision to charge Ms Turner or Lord Levy would be "disastrous" for the prime minister, particularly if it was announced before he leaves office as expected later this year.

Labour sleaze strikes again. Surprising? No. What will be surprising is if Levy actually gets what he deserves and the case moves forward to trial.

Lord Sleazy Levy Demands Aide to Lie in "Cash for Honours" Scandal

Labour fundraiser Lord Levy (or Lord Cashpoint as he is commonly referred to) was accused of ‘bullying’ one of the Prime Minister’s top aides, Ruth Turner. It seems Ms. Turner was so concerned over a meeting last summer she went so far as to put her fears in writing. Unfortunately for labour and Sleazy Levy in particular, this document reached the police and has caused quite a stir. It was described how the meeting, which occurred around the first time Lord Levy was arrested, left her shaken and in tears. Ms. Turner, one of Blair's closest aides later went so far as to say Levy asked her to lie in the "cash for honours" investigation. "There is a document addressed to Johnathan Powell in the course of which she (Ruth Turner) alledges that Lord Levy had asked her to lie for him"

This man is despicable. Harrasing and bullying a, from all accounts, a well liked honest woman into lying for him. Does he know no shame? His nicknames... Sleazy Levy, Lord Cashpoint, how appropriate. I bet there are a lot more people involved that he has "bullied" and threatened into staying silent!