Rod Blagojevich, governor of Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois, was arrested on Tuesday on a raft of federal corruption charges that included an alleged conspiracy to sell the president-elect’s vacant Senate seat for cash – or favours from Mr Obama himself.

The case was described by federal authorities as a “new low” for a state that has seen more than 1,000 people convicted on corruption charges since the 1970s – including the Democratic Mr Blagojevich’s predecessor as governor, Republican George Ryan, now serving six and half years in prison for racketeering.