Decision imminent in cash-for-honours case

The revelation raises the prospect that some of Tony Blair's closest former aides could face court proceedings within weeks.

There is mounting expectation that the Crown Prosecution Service-will bring charges against Mr Blair's former fundraiser Lord Levy and former No 10 gatekeeper Ruth Turner. Businessman Sir Christopher Evans could also be charged.

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In April, the Daily Mail revealed that police had handed prosecutors a 216-page file calling for Lord Levy and Miss Turner to be charged.

Prosecutors asked Scotland Yard to conduct further inquiries after the original evidence was handed over. That led to the reinterviewing of Mr Blair during his final days in Downing Street. A CPS spokesman insisted: "We have all the evidence we need to make a decision."

The prospect of three leading Labour figures facing trial would deal a crushing blow to Mr Blair's reputation. The former Prime Minister could also face the humiliating prospect of having to give evidence in court.

Any legal proceedings would also dog Gordon Brown during his first weeks in office.

The new PM has already moved to distance himself from the affair by announcing that the Government's legal officer will no longer have the power to direct prosecutors in individual cases.

The former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, had insisted he had a constitutional duty to be involved in deciding whether to charge colleagues. His successor, Baroness Scotland, will have no role in determining the matter.

Police have spent more than a year investigating claims that Labour "sold" peerages to wealthy businessmen in the run-up to the last general election.

There is speculation that police also believe there are grounds to bring charges for alleged cover-up.

Mr Blair was secretly interviewed for a third time by detectives over the cash-for-honours affair a few weeks before he stepped down as prime minister.

But details of the session were kept secret so as not to distract from Mr Blair's carefully stage-managed exit from Downing Street.

He became the first sitting Prime Minister to be quizzed by police when two officers from the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime directorate interviewed him in Downing Street last December.

He was questioned for a second time in January.

Lord Levy and Miss Turner were separately arrested over claims that they tried to sell honours and pervert the course of justice.

Lord Levy is known as "Lord Cashpoint" for his ability to get rich businessmen to hand over their millions.

Sir Christopher was detained over allegations concerning the abuse of the honours system.

He was the only one to be arrested from a list of 12 secret donors to Labour's 2005 election campaign.

Police swooped on Miss Turner's home in a dramatic dawn raid in January. That led to accusations from No 10 that officers used "heavyhanded" tactics against the 36-year-old who was one of Mr Blair's closest aides at No 10.

All three vehemently deny any wrongdoing.

It is up to senior Crown lawyer Carmen Dowd, who is being advised by top criminal barrister David Perry QC, to decide whether anyone should stand trial at the Old Bailey.

The officer leading the inquiry, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, is reported to be keen to learn the lessons of the ill-fated trial of Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell. That case was dramatically halted following the intervention of the Queen.