The wife of one of ex prime minister Tony Blair's top aides accused British police who probed the "cash for honours" row of "Gestapo tactics" Sunday in the angry aftermath of the inquiry's end.
Prosecutors announced Friday that no one would face charges over the affair, which centred on claims that financial supporters of political parties were offered places in the unelected upper House of Lords.
But since then, several figures close to Blair or his inner circle have attacked the police handling of the row, which tarnished the former premier's final months in office. Blair himself has welcomed the end of the inquiry, saying many of those involved had been through "a terrible, even traumatic time" and that much of what was written about them was "deeply unfair".
Four people were arrested during the probe - Blair's former Middle East envoy and chief fundraiser for the ruling Labour party, Michael Levy; former director of government relations Ruth Turner; biotechnology entrepreneur Sir Christopher Evans; and headteacher Des Smith, who helped promote a government policy backing privately-financed, state-run schools.
In addition, Blair was questioned three times as a witness, not under caution, and became the first sitting premier to be quizzed by police. Sarah Helm, wife of former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell, singled out the decision to arrest Turner for particular criticism in an Observer article. "I know one shouldn't make these comparisons, but I was writing about Nazi Germany right then, and I couldn't help think: Gestapo tactics!" she wrote. "Pick on the vulnerable, preferably a single woman, living alone. "No matter that you may have nothing on her that will ultimately stand up in court, give her a scare."
She also accused the police of leaking information about the case to the press, which she said had printed some "cheap sensation and vindictive lies."
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