PM ordered issuing of arrest warrant, says daily

A senior figure in the Czech secret services allegedly urged a Prague court to issue a warrant for the arrest of a controversial businessman at the request of the prime minister, Jiri Paroubek, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Friday. The paper says it has a copy of a letter from Vladislav Novak to the court in which he says the prime minister requested that a warrant be issued for Tomas Pitr, who is facing a jail term for tax fraud. Both Mr Paroubek and the Interior Ministry have denied the allegation.