Supporters and friends of Lord Levy, Labour's high-profile fundraiser at the centre of Scotland Yard's cash-for-honours inquiry, are planning to accelerate their public campaign by claiming Levy will "not save Tony Blair" and would drag the PM into court if it became necessary to prove his innocence.
The high-profile strategy of Levy's supporters began last week with friends saying there was a "witch-hunt" against him which they claimed was racially motivated and tainted with anti-Semitism.
Levy's rabbi, Yitzchak Schochet and the business tycoon, Sir Alan Sugar, both expressed their fears last week that Levy was being set up as the fall guy for the entire honours scandal.
Schochet talked of a Jew being "hung out to dry", and Sugar attacked Blair for failing to support Levy, who he said had simply raised money for Labour in the way Tories had done for generations.
Those close to Levy are said to be urging him to make it clear, by whatever means necessary, that he will not go down quietly if further moves are made to bring criminal charges closer.
One friend, prominent in the north London Jewish community, said: "Labour needed money to fight the last election. Lord Levy delivered. And when he did, the prime minister was fully aware of what he was doing, as were senior figures within the Labour Party. No laws were broken and he will resist any attempt to paint this as a one-man operation where only he was aware of what promises were or were not made."
Levy has been arrested twice in connection with the inquiry. The second arrest by Scotland Yard detectives, who also searched his office and confiscated computers from his home, was on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He denies breaking any law.
