In brief
There was insufficient evidence for charges to be brought in the cash-for-honours affair, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says. Carmen Dowd, reviewing lawyer and head of the CPS Special Crime Division, came to the decision after consulting independent counsel, led by David Perry QC, and Chris Newell, the CPS principal legal adviser. The investigation cost nearly £1m and took up hundreds of police hours. Dowd says he considered offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925, offences of attempting to pervert the course of justice, and subsidiary offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
