The legal investigation into the spy saga has taken a new twist today, with McLaren issuing a formal statement in which it is highly critical of comments allegedly made by the Italian police in which they claim that during the course of their investigations - most notably the questioning of several key team members and the searches of their homes on Wednesday this week - they discovered evidence which showed the obvious involvement of various team members in the affair.

A statement issued by the Italian police on Thursday claimed that material discovered during thew course of the searches; "will fit into the ample picture of evidence" from which "clearly emerges the responsibilities of the management and some technicians at a high level in McLaren".

A statement issued by the Woking team on Friday afternoon read:

"McLaren Racing wishes to record its extreme displeasure with the wording of a statement that the Italian Police are reported to have made yesterday. If those reports accurately reflect the police statement, the statement is grossly inaccurate and misleading.

The reports incorrectly claim that the searches produced material which clearly shows the responsibility of certain people at McLaren Racing. In fact, the Italian police have not yet even been given access to any of the material taken, nor have they even started to review that material. We would be extremely surprised if the review of the documentation reveals anything which has not already been disclosed as a result of the extensive investigations already carried out.

McLaren Racing believes that due process needs to be respected and that the conduct of an investigation process should not be construed adversely or used for publicity purposes. It should be noted that none of the extensive searches or investigations completed to date have produced any evidence that the Ferrari documents which Mr Nigel Stepney handed over to Mr Michael Coughlan were ever passed to anyone else at McLaren Racing or used on the McLaren Formula 1 car.

McLaren Racing will continue to co-operate with Surrey Police regarding any further searches and enquiries they are required to undertake. McLaren Racing wishes to thank Surrey Police for the helpful and courteous manner in which they have undertaken the process."