Bém suspends party membership

Former Prague mayor and MP Pavel Bém has temporarily suspended his membership in the Civic Democratic Party in the wake of a lobbying scandal. Mr Bém said he believes the case will be duly investigated within some six months and that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. Police are investigating recordings of telephone conversations between Bém and construction tycoon Roman Janoušek that suggest that the latter had excessive influence on city governance as a lobbyist. The party leadership called on Bém to suspend his party membership on Monday or risk being expelled. Party chairman and Prime Minister Petr Nečas recommended he also resign from Parliament. The transcripts are being published by the daily Mladá fronta Dnes, which claims they were made by the Czech intelligence agency BIS in 2007 and were acquired by the detective agency ABL some two years later.