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By Dan Ilett, 12 July 2006 16:20

NEWS

UK police are searching the computers of government officials in a bid to find evidence for the "cash for peerages" investigation.

Scotland Yard officers are using forensic software to look for deleted emails that could link people who offered loans to the Labour Party with media reports that the government promised honours to lenders.

Representatives from California-based forensics company Guidance Software confirmed London's Metropolitan police are using its product, EnCase, to carry out the task.

As part of the investigation, police have requested more than 1,000 papers to support the three police enquiries with the Constitutional Affairs Committee, the Electoral Commission and the Public Administration Committee (PAC).

Scotland Yard's investigation is the first for 70 years into whether there has been a breach of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act, 1925.

Four nominees for a peerage, who loaned cash to the party, were blocked this year by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

While the Scotland Yard investigation continues, MPs on the Commons PAC have put off their own investigation into cash for peerages allegations.

Police will give an initial report inquiry to the Crown Prosecution Service in the autumn.

The Guardian reported today that "Scotland Yard had discreetly bought specialist software for the task" but in fact police have been using the program for several years, according to Peter Sommer, who has appeared as an expert forensics witness in several court cases.

Sommer told silicon.com: "I think it's a bit of opportunism for Guidance [Software]. The product will help to undelete deleted material. It's been used as a standard product for four years. It's not especially good at carrying out analysis.

"There are products where if they are used properly neither EnCase or its rivals can recover data."

But Guidance's Tim Leehealey, VP for the company, said these tools are often too complex for most people to use. "Short of dealing with an uber-hacker it's unlikely this will happen. It's possible to get around EnCase but [these tools] are all about deleting evidence and are complex," he said.