No charges reported after "cash for honours" probe

LONDON (Reuters) - No one will be charged with the illegal sale of state honours as a result of a police enquiry that dogged former Prime Minister Tony Blair's last months in office, media reported on Thursday.

Police completed their probe three months ago and handed their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, which has to decide whether to press charges.

Media said the CPS would announce on Friday its decision not to bring criminal charges.

A CPS spokeswoman declined to comment on the reports.

"The decision-making process is ongoing. We have no timing on a decision. If journalists wish to call us tomorrow morning that is entirely up to you," she told Reuters. "Anything being reported is speculation."

Blair was interviewed as a witness three times during the "cash for honours" enquiry, which lasted 16 months and cost one million pounds.

It was the first time a serving British prime minister had been questioned in a criminal investigation.

The enquiry damaged his reputation -- already battered by the Iraq war -- and many observers believed it contributed to the pressure from his party to leave office early. Blair stood down last month after 10 years as prime minister.

The police probe focused on whether political parties had nominated wealthy supporters for state honours, giving them seats in the House of Lords, in return for loans.