Peerage scandal moves closer to Blair

LONDON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- British investigators are looking into allegations of false accounting by senior Labor Party figures.

The Independent said the investigation of the "cash for peerages" scandal is moving closer to Prime Minister Tony Blair, one of the few senior Labor Party figures who knew about the payment of nearly $26 million in loans by 12 millionaires, including some of those nominated by the prime minister for peerages.

The newspaper said Blair may be asked by investigators "to explain why £8.1 million ($15 million) of the loans made before the 2005 election did not appear in Labor's accounts."