Police quiz Blair again

British police have questioned Prime Minister Tony Blair for a second time in an investigation into political party funding, further tarnishing his image as he prepares to step down after a decade in power.

Blair was questioned as a witness at his Downing Street office last Friday, Blair's spokesman said.

Whether or not charges are ever laid, ruling Labour Party members said the expanding probe was eroding public support for a party that is already bruised by the Iraq war.

One Labour parliamentarian said the persistent headlines about the inquiry were "completely horrifying".

"It's causing enormous damage to the party," said the politician, who declined to be named.

Analysts said the probe gave a general air of sleaze to a party that came to office pledging to eradicate corruption.

"Slowly but surely it just discredits the government," said David Denver, politics professor at Lancaster University.

In December, Blair became the first serving British prime minister to be questioned by police in a criminal investigation.