Jonathan Mendelsohn

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Jonathan Mendelsohn is the director of general election resources for the British Labour Party.[1]

He had written to controversial Labour donor David Abrahams claiming he was one of Labour's "strongest supporters".[2]

He had previously been a spokesman and lobbyist for the gambling company PartyGaming.[3]

He is the former chairman of Labour Friends of Israel.[1]

With Neal Lawson and Ben Lucas, he founded LLM Communications in 1997, a lobbying firm with notable access to the new Labour Government.[4][5]

In 1998 he was caught on tape along with Derek Draper boasting to Greg Palast, an undercover reporter posing as a businessman, about how they could sell access to government ministers and create tax breaks for their clients[6] in a scandal that was dubbed "Lobbygate".[7] Draper denied the allegations.[8] In the same incident Mendelsohn was approached by an undercover Journalist posing as a representative of American energy companies who were seeking to ignore environmental laws. Despite LLM's claim that "we believe that there will be a new breed of 'ethical winners' who will demonstrate that businesses no longer operate in a moral vacuum"[9], Mendelsohn went on to to advise the reporter to rephrase their plans into language that sounded "Earth-Friendly" going on to say "Tony [Blair] is very anxious to be seen as green. Everything has to be couched in environmental language - even if it's slightly Orwellian."[10]

He donated money to the Peter Hain Labour Party deputy leadership campaign.[11]

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Mr Mendelsohn is steeped in the north London Jewish community. He is a close friend of Lord Levy, who was at the heart of Labour’s cash for peerages affair."[1]

He is married with four children. His wife, Nicola, is the deputy chairman of the advertising agency Grey London.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Christopher Hope. "Jon Mendelsohn profile: a real Mr Fix-It", The Daily Telegraph, 29 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
  2. ^ 'You're not up to the job Gordon': Cameron launches blistering attack over donor scandal, Evening Standard, 28 November
  3. ^ Party Gaming communicator now Labour Party Fundraiser
  4. ^ Wheen, Francis. "Social justice - that's so old Labour", The Guardian, 7 February 2001. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. 
  5. ^ Comment is Free… but journos are scared « Follow The Money
  6. ^ Greg Palast (1 May 2005). Britain for Sale. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
  7. ^ "You must remember this", The Observer, 1 April 2001. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. 
  8. ^ "Draper accuses Observer of entrapment", BBC, 7 July 1998. Retrieved on 2007-11-29. 
  9. ^ LLM Brochure
  10. ^ "Jon Mendelsohn", Man In The Eye, Private Eye, 7 December 2007. 
  11. ^ Colin Brown. "Brown aide in the frame as police are asked to investigate donations", The Independent, 30 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-30. 
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