Blair faces quiz over Enron

Tony Blair was today facing a battery of questions over the Government's dealings with the bankrupt energy giant Enron, particularly over whether he had personally sanctioned a policy decision which favoured the disgraced company.

As it emerged that Enron had sponsored both the Labour and the Tory party, the "cash for access" row was expected to centre on Downing Street's role in the announcement made just over a year ago to lift a ban on new gas-fired power stations.

No 10 has vehemently denied that the £36,000 given by Enron in sponsorship had any impact on energy policy, insisting that the original decision to block the development of new stations in 1998 had always been temporary. They also took the unusual step of issuing a detailed list of meetings with ministers, showing when four different ministers had met Enron executives.

The Conservatives, also embarrassed by the affair, went on the attack over Labour's links with the collapsed company, calling for an inquiry into the situation, but Tory vice-chairman Tim Collins said he "regretted" that the party itself had taken around £25,000 from Enron.