The call tonight from the Metropolitan Police (London) for the government to stop putting "undue pressure" pressure on them has probably fallen on deaf ears. New Labour is renowned for its arrogance and will be buoyed by its recent triumph over justice in the dropping of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into an arms deal between Saudi Arabia and the UK. Regardless of the truth in the alleged loans for honors scandal, it is absolutely nothing but outrageous for New Labour politicians and officials, who themselves are potential witnesses or defendants in any pending case, to use their public position to criticize the police handling of this case. If they feel any mistakes or procedural errors have occurred then they can refer the matter to the Police Complaints Commission or speak to their lawyers. They must not use their network of media contacts to brief against what is, unless proven otherwise, perfectly legitimate police action. I wonder if doing such amounts to perverting the course of justice. The main complaint, that arresting Ruth Turner in the early hours of the morning was unnecessary and heavy handed, is erroneous. To state the obvious, the police powers of arrest are used to give officers specific advantages in serious investigations. To suggest that the Metropolitan Police had any other motive when they arrested Ruth Turner is to suggest that they are in some way anti-government, anti-Labour, or anti-establishment. Pretty bizarre allegations all things considered. It is of course away of making it clear to a suspect that this investigation is very serious and very much "for real". Let us not forget that as "The Gatekeeper" Ruth Turner is not averse to power play, tough questions, and canny strategies. It may have been necessary for the police just to show who is boss, and make it clear that they won't be taking any "funny business". There are other more procedural reasons why an arrest might have been necessary, such as to enable the seizure of documents, or to burden the witness with the responsibility put on her shoulders back in the early days of New Labour by David Blunkett: that if she failed to mention now something she later relies on in court it may harm her defence. Maybe some charges are in the offing, and we can guarantee that a file will go to the CPS. But until this story has unfolded and the slow wheels of justice have inched to their conclusion it would, for once, be wholly inappropriate for the minister to comment.   del.icio.us tags: ruth, turner, government, police, investigation, cash, for, honours, scandal, loans, blair, arrest