As the cash-for-honours police inquiry encircles Tony Blair, speculation as to who will get the brief is reaching fever pitch. Like expectant MPs on the eve of a Cabinet reshuffle, business crime solicitors are fantasising about receiving that call from No 10.

Will the Prime Minister need a solicitor? It is not yet known whether he will be cautioned — that is, treated as a suspect, rather than a witness. But given his public acceptance for how Labour raised its funds, it seems likely he will need one either way. Moreover, to attend the interview alone given the investigation team’s alleged penchant for leaking would be dangerous.

The favourite to get the call has to be Kingsley Napley. Some say it has already been retained although Downing Street issued a denial of one recent report, saying the PM had not yet instructed a lawyer. Still, it seems hardly coincidental that Kingsley Napley recently hired Alastair Campbell to deliver a lecture about law and PR. Campbell has been the man to whom Blair has reached out in past moments of crisis.

But if the brief is not already made, how will the choice be made? Perhaps Cherie will have a quiet word with her Matrix colleague Clare Montgomery, QC. Poor Clare — if it comes out that she has helped to make the selection there will be hundreds of bruised egos among her instructing solicitors.

When “Yates of the Yard” fixes the date for the fateful encounter, will there be a dawn raid? If so, perhaps a TV crew or two may be across the street, to provide live coverage, in the style of Kevin Maxwell’s infamous arrest in 1992. As the officers knock on the black door, an upstairs window opens, Cherie’s head appears and shouts at them to piss off or she’ll call the police.

If like Lord Levy before him, Mr Blair is arrested then the Met Police policy is to demand the detainee’s DNA, fingerprints and a mug shot. Just imagine the price a tabloid newspaper will pay for such a photograph . . .

If there is any hope in the selection stakes, I am still available. Despite the savage cuts inflicted by Carter, I would consider doing the case on legal aid.

The author is a solicitor at Corker Binning

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