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Police Investigation Starts on Prescott

The Scotland Yard of Britain has initiated a probe into accusations that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has violated anti-corruption laws by visiting the ranch of super casino bidder Philip Anschutz last year.

The authorities said that it has begun questioning influential donors to the Labour party, and is looking to delve deeper in the case.

Prescott's visit in the Colorado ranch drew much criticism because it coincided with Anschutz's company's efforts to secure the license to built Britain's first super casino. Anschutz is the owner of the Millennium Dome in London and is planning to turn it into a super casino to be named The O2.

Parliamentary members from opposition parties said that the two may have had discussions pertaining to casino licensing, compromising the whole casino bidding process and entailing a conflict of interest. Prescott vehemently denied claims of any wrongdoing.

The anti-corruption laws that Prescott is said to be guilty of breaking are the 1906 and 1916 Prevention of Corruption Acts. According to those laws, British ministers can't accept "hospitality or consideration received from a person or organization which has obtained or is trying to obtain an official contract."

Sir Philip Mawer, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, recently launched an investigation on Prescott's trip and their seven other meetings. Prescott was reprimanded for not immediately registering his July 2005 trip, and was found guilty of having breached ministerial code.