'Cash for honours' adviser protests innocence

A former Government adviser arrested by police investigating 'cash-for-honours' claims today protested his innocence.

Headteacher Des Smith, 60, who was questioned by Scotland Yard detectives last week, "categorically denies the allegations and will be contesting them vigorously", his lawyers said in a statement.

Mr Smith, who until January was an adviser to the body that finds wealthy sponsors for the Government's city academies, reportedly suggested backers of the flagship Labour schools could expect to be rewarded with honours.

He was detained for an alleged offence under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.

Today's statement, issued by his solicitor Peter M Black, said: "We have advised our client that in the light of the police investigation it would be quite inappropriate for him to make any statement at the present time, other than to state that he categorically denies the allegations and will be contesting them vigorously.

"We would ask that the press respect our client's and his family's privacy and any further statements will be released through these offices."

Mr Smith sparked a sleaze row earlier this year when he suggested that wealthy

donors were offered honours in exchange for funding the Government's flagship

city academy programme.

The Scotland Yard inquiry was originally launched in response to a complaint by Scottish and Welsh nationalist MPs that Labour had broken the law outlawing the sale of honours such as peerages and knighthoods.

It has since been widened to cover the activities of other parties.

Mr Smith quit as a member of the governing council of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the body that helps recruit sponsors for academies, after comments made to an undercover reporter were published by the Sunday Times in January.

He was an adviser to the Trust's chairman, Sir Cyril Taylor.

Afterwards, Mr Smith, who is head of All Saints Catholic School and Technology College in Dagenham, east London, apologised for his comments and admitted he was naive.

He told the reporter that large gifts to one or two of the schools might win an OBE, CBE or knighthood, while a peerage would be "a certainty" for giving to five.

Up to eight academy sponsors who have made gifts since the controversial programme to establish 200 academies was launched in 2001 have been honoured under Labour.

Academies are funded directly from Whitehall, bypassing local education authorities, and donors are given an input into their running in return for gifts which usually amount to about £2 million.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Smith told a journalist posing as a potential donor's PR assistant that "the Prime Minister's office would recommend someone like (the donor) for an OBE, a CBE or a knighthood".

Asked if this would be just for getting involved in the academies, he responded: "Yes... they call them 'services to education'. I would say to Cyril's office that we've got to start writing to the Prime Minister's office."

For a donation of £10 million "you could go to the House of Lords", he said.

However, when confronted by the paper, Mr Smith responded that it was "not possible" to acquire an honour in return for donations.