The Times reports the arrest of the former City Academies advisor Des Smith:
The Times
April 14, 2006Tycoons face police on cash for honours
By Andrew Pierce, Rajeev Syal and Rosemary Bennett
Head teacher arrested over city academies
12 millionaires face questions MILLIONAIRE businessmen who secretly lent money to the Labour Party have been warned that they will be questioned by Scotland Yard in the criminal investigation into allegations of peerages for sale.
The Times has learnt that 12 businessmen, including four whose peerage nominations were blocked by the House of Lords Appointment Commission, have been told by Labour to expect the police to approach them after Easter.
The revelation comes after detectives yesterday arrested Des Smith, 60, a head teacher and former adviser to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), which recruits sponsors for the city academies, specialist schools partly funded by the private sector.
Mr Smith resigned after being taped by an undercover reporter apparently promising potential donors OBEs, knighthoods or peerages in return for funding an academy.
[...]
Thw original Sunday Times story of 15th January 2006 "Revealed: cash for honours scandal" which led to Des Smith's resignation from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
Other bloggers such as Guido Fawkes have made the obvious link with Lord Levy, the NuLabour fundraiser, who was the chairman of this Trust..
However, we seem to remember that the Downing Street Special Advisor who was the architect of the City Academies scheme was Andrew Adonis.
Asttonishingly, immediately after the May 2005 General Election he was enobled by Tony Blair and made Lord Adonis into the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools: whose Ministerial duties include "Delivery of the Academies programme".
Surely Lord Adonis must have been involved in this City Academies funding and honours / peerages scandal ?
Will the police also be interviewing Lord Adonis ?
