A legal bid by Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, to stop the publication of fresh information surrounding the cash-for-honours investigation failed last night.

A judge refused to grant an injunction to stop The Guardian suggesting that Lord Levy may have attempted to influence the evidence of Ruth Turner, a senior Downing Street aide.

Lord Goldsmith secured an injunction on Friday blocking the BBC from running a news item that the police had said could “impede their inquiries”.

Its terms were later relaxed to allow the BBC to report that Ms Turner was the author of the document and that it concerned Tony Blair’s chief fundraiser.

But The Guardian goes further this morning, suggesting that detectives were examining whether Lord Levy had attempted to “shape” Ms Turner’s evidence to the inquiry.

The paper claimed that detectives were investigating a meeting between Ms Turner and Lord Levy last year, an account of which the Downing Street aide gave to her lawyers and which has been given to police.

In a joint statement, the Attorney-General’s office and Scotland Yard said: “We were made aware late yesterday evening that The Guardian was planning to run an article which gave us cause for concern. We sought to obtain an undertaking from it that it would not run aspects of the story. It refused so we sought an injunction which was refused on the ground that the newspaper had already been printed.”

Lawyers acting for the newspaper argued that such a move would be highly unusual when no charges had been brought.

In a statement on its website the paper said: “The judge said the case was finely balanced but she refused to accede to the Attorney-General’s request, saying that the story was already in the public domain because it was being printed.”

Alan Rusbridger , the paper’s Editor, added: “The Guardian was given a significant story about the cash-for-honours inquiry which we checked both with Lord Levy and with the police. “The story was well-sourced and clearly in the public interest.”

Earlier a Downing Street spokesman said that the BBC report was inaccurate, but would not specify what part or parts. “We dispute this version of events,” he said.

Chai Patel, the businessman and Labour Party donor whose rejection from the House of Lords led to the cash-for-honours inquiry, has resigned as chief executive of the Priory hospitals chain. A spokesman for Priory said that Dr Patel’s decision was purely business-related.

Times Recommends

• Please help: maimed children of war want their lives back
• Unlocking the cruellest prison
• Prince Charles named in £81m court battle