Attorney General agrees to publish key documents in cash for honours affair

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In a dramatic climbdown he said he would release the advice he is given by an independent lawyer about whether Downing Street officials should be charged so the public can see how the decision was reached.

Lord Goldsmith made the concession as he came under fire from MPs on the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, who voiced growing public concern that it is inappropriate for a man given a peerage and a cabinet post by Mr Blair to decide whether he should face prosecution.

The decision to publish the advice stands in stark contrast to his refusal, in the build up to the Iraq War, to reveal his advice to Mr Blair on the legality of the war.

The Attorney General also caved in yesterday to demands by the Tories that he let opposition politicians help to chose an independent lawyer to advise him in the event that the Crown Prosecution wants to bring charges against Downing Street aides.

Ruth Turner, Tony Blair's director of government relations and Lord Levy, his chief fundraiser, have both been arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In the past Lord Goldsmith has only pledged to make public the broad conclusions of legal advice if his office decides not to press ahead with the cash for honours charges.

But that has angered some MPs who were furious that members of the Cabinet were only given a brief summary of his views on the Iraq War before they were asked to support the invasion.

It later transpired that he had changed his mind under pressure from the Prime Minister.

Confronted with claims that he has lost public and is suffering from a conflict of interest, a visibly angry Lord Goldsmith said: "I absolutely resist the suggestion that I'm outside the rule of law. My duty is to the law and not to party politics and party loyalties."

On cash for honours, he said: "I've been clear as to what would happen if questions were referred to me. My office will appoint an independent counsel to give advice.

"In the event that there was no prosecution I would make public that advice. It would be transparent. People would know what the reasons were and why."

Asked to clarify whether he mean the whole of that advice or just a general conclusion, he added: "The whole of the advice that relates to the decision not to prosecute."

He made clear that the only material that would be omitted from the published document would be material relating to other individuals who might still face charges.

He added: "I would be happy to consult the opposition in relation to the choice of counsel."

Tory MP Andrew Tyrie, said: "I would say that that was a great advance and we welcome it.

"The current controversy that is raging where all public confidence has seeped out of the idea that an individual appointed by the Prime Minister can have a say on whether members of the Government can be prosecuted."

The Justice Minister Harriet Harman - formerly Lord Goldsmith's deputy when she was Solicitor General - has already called for the Attorney General's future legal advice to be made public on the grounds that "secrecy must be minimised" if "public trust is to be maximised".

But Lord Goldsmith claimed he was not frightened of upsetting fellow ministers or acting against the interests of the Labour Party.

"I make decisions which my colleagues don't agree with," he said. "I tell them there are things they cannot do. They accept them even though it might be disadvantageous to them and to the party."

He is also facing criticism over his role in the decision to drop a Serious Fraud Office inquiry into an arms deal with Saudi Arabia on grounds of national security after claims that the Saudis would abandon anti-terrorist cooperation.

Yesterday the Liberal Democrats used a Commons debate to say that the decision to halt the investigation, which was probing whether BAE Systems paid millions into a Saudi slush fund to secure the contract, has done "enormous damage" to the UK's reputation.

He claimed that BAE "jobs were very heavily subsidised and underwritten by the taxpayer, which were underpinned by corruption and have eventually made us subject to blackmail."

Solicitor General Mike O'Brien, Lord Goldmsith's deputy, angrily defended the actions of the Government and SFO in deciding to drop the investigation.

He said: "The Liberal Democrats may well use innuendo to say there was something wrong with the decision to discontinue this investigation, but the fact is the investigation into BAE and the Al Yamamah deal was discontinued by the Director of the SFO according to the rule of law.

"The decision was accepted by the Attorney General, according to the rule of law."