Michael Levy, Baron Levy
Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy (born
11 July 1944) is a
Labour member of the
British House of Lords and the major fundraiser for the UK
Labour Party party and several
Jewish and
Israeli charities. A long-standing friend of the Prime Minister,
Tony Blair, Lord Levy has acted as his special envoy to the
Middle East since 2002. Levy was arrested and questioned in connection with the "
Cash for Peerages" inquiry by the
Metropolitan Police on
12 July 2006. After six hours of questioning he was released on police
bail.
Born in
Stoke Newington,
East London, to devout
Jewish immigrant parents of modest means, Levy was educated at Grocers, later known as
Hackney Downs Grammar School, where he became
head boy. 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 1970s/80s
ska band
Bad Manners. Levy sold Magnet Records to
Warner Brothers in 1988 for
£10
m.
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.
After selling Magnet Records, Levy became involved in fundraising for Jewish and Israeli causes. For this he showed a special adeptness, raising
£60
m for
Jewish Care between 1988-1994, an amalgam of Jewish charitable organizations, of which he is now President. Simon Morris, director 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 and
Community Service Volunteers[MP probes award to Levy ex-aide, ''BBC, 19 July, 2006].
Levy first met
Tony Blair at a dinner party in 1994, hosted by Israeli diplomat
Gideon Meir [[1] The Observer, March 19, 2006, Euan Ferguson], 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 [[2] The Sunday Times, March 19, 2006, Stuart Wavell]. 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".
["Michael Levy: Lord Cashpoint", The Independent, 18 March 2006]. 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
Tel Aviv [[3], The Guardian, October 1, 2001, Kevin Maguire and Ewen MacAskill]. 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"
[Jewish Care, Fundraising Dinner 2006 ] and has been described as "a leading international
Zionist"
[[4] The Sunday Times, March 19, 2006, Stuart Wavell].
Known as "Lord
Cashpoint" to some in the media and politics, he is the leading fundraiser for the Labour Party. In 1997, Levy secured a £1m donation to Labour from
Formula One supremo
Bernie Ecclestone. Shorty after, the government changed its policy to allow Formula One to continue being sponsored by
tobacco manufacturers. The subsequent furore prompted the Labour Party to return the donation.
In 2000, Levy was criticised when it was revealed that he had paid only £5,000 tax during the financial year 1998–99—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."
[Profile: Lord Levy, BBC, 12 July, 2006]Since
2002, he has acted as the Prime Minister's personal envoy to the
Middle East.
Sir Christopher Meyer, former British Ambassador to Washington, has said that 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)
[ Meyer reveals 'Blair's pygmies', The Guardian'', 8 November, 2005].
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
[[5] The Sunday Times, March 19, 2006, Stuart Wavell].
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.
On
12 July,
2006, Lord Levy was arrested and later released on bail, in connection with Scotland Yard's investigation into the "
Cash for Peerages" 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.
He has indicated that he will stop his fundraising activities for the Labour Party when Blair leaves office and has now advocated state funding of political parties.
*
Blair tycoon paid just £5,000 tax*
Accusations of dual loyalty between Israel and Britain*
Lord Levy arrest,
Channel 4 News,
July 12,
2006 (video)
*
BBC News Labour fundraiser Levy arrested, July 12, 2006
*
"Taking It On Trust" - discussion of Lord Levy's role in the
Labour Leader's Office Fund and other fundraising for Labour
*
"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
*
"There was once a jolly bagman",
The Observer,
19 March 2006
