Michael Levy, Baron Levy
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Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy (born 11 July 1944) is President of Jews' Free School, a British politician, a Labour member of the House of Lords and formerly the chief fundraiser for the UK Labour Party and several Jewish and Israeli charities. A long-standing friend of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Lord Levy spent nine years from 1998 as Tony Blair's special envoy to the Middle East , being replaced by Gordon Brown's appointee, Michael Williams, from September 2007[1]. Levy was arrested and questioned in connection with the "Cash for Honours" inquiry by the Metropolitan Police on 12 July 2006.[2] After six hours of questioning he was released on police bail. On 20 September 2006 he was questioned a second time, and again released on bail.[3] On 30 January 2007 Lord Levy was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.[4] On Wednesday 23 March 2007 Lord Levy issued a statement announcing that he would leave his position as special envoy to the Middle East on 27 June 2007, the day that Tony Blair also left office.[5]. On July 20, 2007, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Lord Levy was not to be prosecuted in connection with the so called "Cash for Honours" affair.
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[edit] Personal life and music career
Born in Stoke Newington, North London, to devout Jewish immigrant parents of modest means, Levy was educated at Grocers, later known as Hackney Downs Grammar School. Initially working as an accountant, he made his fortune during the 1960s and 1970s as an impresario, managing singers such as Alvin Stardust and Chris Rea. He founded Magnet Records, the home of the popular 1980s ska band Bad Manners. Levy sold Magnet Records to Warner Brothers in 1988 for £10m. Guitarist Chris Rea, said of Levy, "He is extremely tough, one of the hardest bastards I have ever met, but I would leave my children with him rather than anyone else." The music producer Pete Waterman described him as "the greatest salesman I have ever met. He would be able to sell sand to the Arabs." (ref).
After Magnet was sold and merged into Eastwest Records in the UK, Levy set up M&G Records with backing from Polygram. M&G Records was so named as it was the initials of Michael and his wife Gilda, and featured acts such as "Sunshine On A Rainy Day" singer Zoe and "Fair blows the wind for France" band Pele. It was folded into the main Polydor Records label in 1997.
He and his wife Gilda have a son, Daniel, who used to work for former Israeli justice minister Yossi Beilin, and a daughter.
[edit] Aptitude for fundraising
After selling Magnet Records, Levy became involved in fundraising for Jewish and Israeli causes. For this he showed a special adeptness, raising £60m for Jewish Care between 1988-1994, an amalgam of Jewish charitable organizations, of which he is now President. Simon Morris, Chief Executive of Jewish Care, said of Levy that, when it comes to fundraising, "there's no one better in the country."
Levy is also President of the Jews' Free School, Community Service Volunteers[6] and the Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade.
He is the Chair of the Policy Network Foundation, a policy think-tank.
[edit] Political life
Levy first met Tony Blair at a dinner party in 1994, hosted by Israeli diplomat Gideon Meir,[7] the two having a common friend in Eldred Tabachnik, a senior barrister (now a QC and a former president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews) at 11 King's Bench Walk, the chambers founded by Derry Irvine where Blair had trained in the early 1980s.[8] They soon became close friends and tennis partners. Levy ran the Labour Leader's Office Fund to finance Blair's campaign before the 1997 General Election and received substantial contributions from such figures as Alex Bernstein and Robert Gavron, both of whom were ennobled by Blair after he came to power. Levy, himself, was created a life peer in 1997 as Baron Levy, of Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. Since making his maiden speech on 3 December 1997, Levy has not spoken in a debate at the House of Lords.
He is a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel and has been described by The Jerusalem Post as "undoubtedly the notional leader of British Jewry".[8] He is also a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the leadership of UK Jewish community. Levy has close ties with the Israeli Labour Party and maintains a home in Jerusalem.[9] His son, Daniel Levy, is active in Israeli political life, and has served as an assistant to the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and to Knesset member Yossi Beilin. Levy has praised Blair for his "solid and committed support of the State of Israel" [10].
Known as "Lord Cashpoint" to some in the media and politics, he was the leading fundraiser for the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007, when he voluntarily decided to step down at the same time as former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
In 2000, Levy was heavily criticised when it was revealed that he had paid only £5,000 tax during the financial year 1998-1999[11] - equivalent to that paid on a salary of £21,000. In an interview at the time, repeated on BBC2's Newsnight on 16 March 2006, Levy stated that "Over the years I have paid many millions of tax. And, if you average it, each year it comes to many hundreds of thousands of pounds. In that particular year, I was giving my time to the Labour Party and the voluntary sector, and I just lived off capital.".[12]
From 1998 until 2007, he acted as Prime Minister Blair's personal envoy to the Middle East. Sir Christopher Meyer, former British Ambassador to Washington, has said that the Saudi and Jordanian royal families told him Levy was "not terribly welcome in their countries; and that he was received only out of friendship for Tony Blair." He was also criticised in Sir Christopher's memoirs for his pretensions and over-playing his expectations (e.g. of meetings with high-level US Administration officials).[13] However, many leaders in the region including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have praised Levy for always offering constructive suggestions. Mr Blair has said Lord Levy carried out "a perfectly excellent job as my envoy under very difficult circumstances".
Levy's home in Totteridge, North London was burgled in 2003. He and his wife, Gilda were restrained with handcuffs and had bleach poured over them. Levy was hit on the head with a shovel and had his wrist broken; the attackers fled with £80,000 of cash and jewellery.[8]
In September 2005, Levy was appointed President of the Council of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the body overseeing the government's Specialist schools and Academy programmes.
[edit] Cash for Honours
On 12 July 2006, Lord Levy was arrested and later released on bail, in connection with Scotland Yard's investigation into the "Cash for Honours" controversy. In March 2006, it was revealed that the Labour Party had raised £14 million in loans from private individuals, some of whom were later nominated for peerages. Unlike political donations, that are governed by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 or PPERA, loans made on a commercial basis do not have to be declared.
Levy stopped his fundraising activities for Labour when Tony Blair left office, something he had always indicated he was likely to do. Since then he has strongly advocated increased state funding of political parties.
On January 30, 2007 it was announced that he was arrested by police on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice regarding the cash for peerages investigation. [14]
On 6 March 2007, media reports indicated that 10 Downing Street aide Ruth Turner was concerned a version of events put to her by Lord Levy was false. Ms Turner was concerned about the Labour fundraiser's account of his role in drawing up the Honours List.[15]
On 12 March 2007 the BBC reports "One of the PM's closest aides Ruth Turner wrote of her concerns that, Lord Levy had asked her to lie for him".[16]
On 20 July 2007, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Lord Levy was not to be prosecuted in connection with the so called "Cash for Honours" affair.
[edit] References
- ^ "UK appoints new Middle East envoy", BBC News, August 3, 2007.
- ^ "Top Labour fundraiser Levy bailed", BBC, July 12, 2006.
- ^ "Police interview Lord Levy again", BBC, September 20, 2006.
- ^ "Honours police arrest Lord Levy", BBC, January 20, 2007.
- ^ Levy steps down as Middle East envoy BBC News Website
- ^ "MP probes award to Levy ex-aide", BBC, July 19, 2006.
- ^ Euan Ferguson. "There was once a jolly bagman", Guardian, March 19, 2006.
- ^ a b c Stuart Wavell. "Lord Cashpoint's touch of money magic", Sunday Times, March 19, 2006.
- ^ Kevin Maguire and Ewen MacAskill. "Fundraiser's role as envoy under attack", Guardian, October 1, 2001.
- ^ Jewish Care, Fundraising Dinner 2006
- ^ "Blair tycoon paid just £5,000 tax", Sunday Times, June 25, 2000.
- ^ "Profile: Lord Levy", BBC, July 12, 2006.
- ^ "Meyer reveals 'Blair's pygmies", Guardian, November 8, 2005.
- ^ "Honours police arrest Lord Levy", BBC News, January 30, 2007.
- ^ "Blair aide's concern over Levy", BBC News, March 6, 2007.
- ^ "Aide alleged Levy 'lie' request", BBC, March 12,2007.
[edit] External links
- Lord Levy Inaugurated As New JLGB President
- Accusations of dual loyalty between Israel and Britain
- Lord Levy arrest, Channel 4 News, July 12, 2006 (video)
- "Taking It On Trust" - discussion of Lord Levy's role in the Labour Leader's Office Fund and other fundraising for Labour
- An unusual introduction to Tony Blair The Daily Mail 29 June 2007
- "Lord Levy: a man with a talent for squeezing cheques out of wallets", The Guardian, 17 March 2006
- Lord Levy: Labour's Fund-raiser, BBC, 17 March 2006