Pakistan cricketers re-interviewed by police

The three Pakistan cricketers at the centre of an alleged betting scam were today being questioned by police. It is the second time Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been interviewed by the Metropolitan police since the allegations surfaced that the three had agreed to bowl no-balls in specific overs of last week's fourth Test at Lord's in return for money. They were initially questioned last weekend when the News of the World broke the story and had their mobile phones seized by the police. The trio were yesterday suspended by the International Cricket Council, pending a tribunal, despite the ICC having indicated that they would not take any action before the police had concluded their investigation. That decision was criticised today by the Pakistan high commissioner, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, who said there was no reason for the ICC to suspend the players given that the three had already voluntarily withdrawn from the Pakistan squad yesterday morning. He said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat went to see him at 5.30pm yesterday and was initially "sympathetic" but appeared to change his mind after a phonecall from the ICC president, Sharad Pawar. "The ICC's just trying to play to the public gallery," Hasan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme . The charges were announced after officials from the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU) spent the afternoon at Scotland Yard viewing evidence and seeking police go-ahead. Hasan said: "They [the ICC] have done the wrong thing. When there is a live police inquiry this takes precedence over both the ICC, civil or regulatory investigation and indeed any internal disciplinary investigation. "To take action now is of course unhelpful, premature and unnecessary considering the players had already voluntarily withdrawn from playing." ICC investigators, who had been examining spot-fixing allegations against Pakistan for some time, have been in London since Monday. Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the former Northern Ireland police chief who was appointed chairman of the ACSU three months ago, arrived from Abu Dhabi to join them, while its chief investigator, Ravi Sawani, met police. Hasan claimed yesterday that the players had been "set up" by the News of the World. Asked if they had been framed, he answered "yes", and suggested the newspaper's video evidence could have been filmed after the contentious no-balls had been bowled. The News of the World said it "refuses to respond to such ludicrous allegations". The newspaper is understood to be preparing further revelations for this Sunday. After the Pakistani high commissioner's meeting with the three accused players yesterday, Pakistani journalists repeatedly asked Hasan whether the team was a victim of a conspiracy. Pakistan's sports minister, Ijaz Jakhrani, also suggested there could be another explanation for the apparently damning News of the World evidence. "Let's wait until the report comes. After that we will be in a position to see if it is spot fixing, if it is match fixing or if it is a conspiracy against these players or against the country," he told the Indian news channel CNN-IBN. Mazhar Majeed, the 35-year-old middleman the News of the World alleges was at the heart of the betting sting, was arrested on Sunday and released on bail. Separately, he was also arrested as part of an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs into money laundering through Croydon Athletic, the non-league football club he owns.