An Illinois senator appointed to fill President Barack Obama’s vacant seat will not be charged with perjury, an Illinois prosecutor has announced. Investigators were looking into the circumstances surrounding Senator Roland Burris’s appointment by then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Mr Burris has denied offering him anything in return for his seat.

The new senator has been under scrutiny over various statements he had made about his links with Mr Blagojevich. Ilinois prosecutor John Schmidt said on Friday that there was not enough evidence to support a perjury charge against Mr Burris.

However the senator is still the subject of an inquiry by the Senate Ethics Committee.