Cash for honours - Questions need to be asked

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen will be this week be part of the team questioning Assistant Commissioner John Yates over the Cash for Honour's affair. Mr Rowen is a member of the all-party Public Administration Select Committee that will be continuing their enquiry into cash for honours. Their enquiry was put on hold because of the police investigation.

Mr Rowen said: "There are plenty of questions that need to be answered. I want to know whether Assistant Commissioner Yates and his team got all the co-operation they were entitled to during their investigation. Was there obstruction from Downing Street or Mr Blair and why at the end of the day, when it was clear that Mr Blair had driven a coach and horses through the honours regulations, were they not able to do anything about it? The public has a right to know!

"Tony Blair has made a mockery of public life. We have heard allegations that he even threatened to resign if he was forced to answer questions under caution. These are the things we need to ask and we are going to be asking - what pressures were put on, how cooperative was Downing Street and why did it take so long to get nowhere?"