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LONDON - Police have questioned Prime Minister Tony Blair for a second time in an investigation into political party funding, further tarnishing his image as he prepares to step down after a decade in power.
Blair was questioned as a witness at his Downing Street office last Saturday, Blair's spokesman said.
Whether or not charges are ever laid, Labour Party members said the expanding probe was eroding public support for a party that is already bruised by the Iraq war.
One Labour MP said the persistent headlines about the inquiry were "completely horrifying".
"It's causing enormous damage to the party," said the politician, who declined to be named.
Analysts said the probe gave a general air of sleaze to a party that came to office pledging to eradicate corruption.
"Slowly but surely it just discredits the government," said David Denver, politics professor at Lancaster University.
In December, Blair became the first serving prime minister to be questioned by police in a criminal investigation.
Police are probing whether Labour and other parties promised lordships -- state honours that come with seats in the unelected upper house of parliament -- in return for loans.
"The prime minister has been interviewed briefly to clarify points emerging from the ongoing investigation," a police statement said. "He was interviewed as a witness, not as a suspect, and cooperated fully."
Blair spoke to police last Friday, just before joining business and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. Police asked for the meeting to be kept confidential until now, Blair's spokesman said.
Blair was not under police caution during the interview, which lasted under an hour, the spokesman said.
Cabinet minister Jack Straw said Blair was "energised and focussed" on his work despite the probe. He said Blair's office had acted appropriately by agreeing to the police request to withhold, for six days, news that Blair had been quizzed again.
'Extraordinary development'
The police probe began in March, sparked by a complaint by the Scottish National Party (SNP).
"It's another extraordinary development -- we're in uncharted political waters. It looks as though Blair's house of cards is coming tumbling down," SNP leader Alex Salmond said.
Labour's top fundraiser and a close Blair aide have been arrested in past weeks on suspicion of obstructing justice, leading opposition politicians to draw parallels with Watergate, the scandal that forced former US President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974.
Police have questioned at least 90 people in the inquiry. All those interrogated have denied any wrongdoing.
Labour politicians said they did not expect the inquiry to force Blair from office sooner than planned. Most expect him to hand over power in July to his presumed successor, Chancellor Gordon Brown, unless close allies are charged.
In another blow to the government's image, the body overseeing charities said it had begun an inquiry into The Smith Institute, a think-tank reported to have close ties to Brown.
Charities receive tax breaks if they remain non-partisan. The Conservatives had called for a probe, saying the institute was helping Brown prepare for power.
The Smith Institute said it operated as a charity.
- REUTERS
