Product Description

Lord Michael Levy hit the headlines with his involvement in the alleged 'cash for peerages' scandal that rocked Tony Blair's government. He was cleared of all the allegations made but on the way, his name and reputation were dragged through the media. Now, he tells his side of the story for the first time. Michael Levy has had a remarkable life. Born in the East End of London to Jewish parents, his childhood was impoverished but happy. He was educated at Hackney Downs Grammar School and married Gilda in 1967. He qualified as a chartered accountant and later became a hugely successful pop music mogul, looking after such acts as Alvin Stardust, Darts, Guys and Dolls, Bad Manners and Chris Rea. Following his beloved mother's death, he decided to sell his record company to Warner Brothers and use his time to pursue charity matters. Michael Levy became one the most important and influential leaders in the Jewish world, raising enormous amounts of money for charities and educational foundations. In 1994, Levy and his wife attended a dinner party in London and met Tony Blair, then Shadow Home Affairs Spokesman. They became good friends and Levy endeavoured to help Labour back into power.During the years that followed, Levy was Blair's trusted ally and tennis partner. When Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, Levy was behind the scenes for many of the dramas and crises of the first term. He was entrusted with the role of Blair's personal envoy to the Middle East and discusses his relationship with Robin Cook and the Foreign Office and the leaders of Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Lord Levy tells here, for the first time, the whole inside story of the 'cash for peerages' scandal, including his own arrest and questioning, the role of fellow 'witnesses' and 'suspects' from Blair to Jonathan Powell, Ruth Turner and Sir Christopher Evans. It is an explosive story from one of our era's most fascinating individuals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #338958 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-12
• Released on: 2008-05-12
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 310 pages

Customer Reviews

A Schmoozers Tale
His rise from a poor close knit Jewish east end community, spinning a coin to chose between a career in accountancy or law, all leading to his becoming an independent record company owner which he finally sells to Warmer Bros for a small fortune, making him a multi millionaire at the age of 45. The death of his mother drives him to become a champion of Jewish charities, raising millions through his contacts on their behalf, and finally meeting John Smith at a Jewish Charity Soiree that takes his life in a new direction. His adventure into becoming one of Blair's most trusted lieutenants and mentors, his involvement in helping smooth the way to peace in the middle east. It's a book that has been written with an eye to the main chance and to settle a few old scores. It's a viewpoint from someone who feels betrayed by the Blair & Brown axis as was Robin Cook. If nothing else it will give you some insight as to the type of people who attach themselves to those with political power, but in truth, there is very little about the author or the book that is self-effacing or convincing. For a real insight as to what Levy and Labour is all about, suggest you read the excellent "Labour Party PLC" book by David Osler

Lord Levy Only Seems Concerned About His Own Civil Rights
I am happy to commend Lord Levys charitable work. But, I am disgusted by many actions of the Blair government which Lord Levy helped finance. Among the shameful actions of the Blair government is that Britain moved closer and closer towards a police state trampling upon civil rights. Here are some examples:

1) Detention without Charge. Blair's government introduced a bill to enable suspects to be detained for 90 days without being charged.
2) DNA Database. The police now have power to extract DNA (by force if necessary) and store it indefinitely from anyone arrested even if they have not been charged let alone convicted.
3) ID Cards. Blair's government has introduced a Bill which will require every person to have an identity card containing their biometric data at an estimated cost of £3 billion.
4) CCTV. Britain has become a surveillance society with 4.2 million cameras recording our movements. On average we appear on camera 300 times a day. (Source: BBC website 2 November 2006). Number plate cameras enable continuous tracking of car journeys.
5) Police Can Arrest for Any Offence. Previously people could only be arrested for more serious offences. Blair's government introduced the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, under which virtually any offence is arrestable. Once arrested, they can be photographed and their DNA extracted as above.
6) Free Speech Needs a Police Permit. Under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, people wanting to demonstrate within 1 km of Parliament Square must get permission from the police 6 days in advance. Maya Evans was convicted in December 2005 for reading the names of British soldiers killed in the Iraq War, without police authorisation.
7) All Telephone Calls Logged. Under the Data Retention Regulations telephone companies will have to keep logs of all telephone calls for a year and make them available to the police.
8) Unequal USA Extradition Treaty. The Blair government adopted a new extradition treaty under which the USA can now demand the extradition of any UK resident, without any proof of their guilt. By contrast, when the UK seeks extradition of a person from the USA, they must provide primary evidence of their guilt.
9) Referendum Pledge Ignored Thus Undermining Democracy. Before the 2005 election Tony Blair promised voters a referendum on the proposed European Union Constitution. After winning the election he reneged on his promise, because the treaty had had a few minor alterations and was renamed the Lisbon Treaty. What is the point of democratic elections, if governments can so easily renege on their promises?

When I met Lord Levy during his tour to promote his book, he claimed that he had no power over Labour Party policy. That may be true, but despite seeing the record of the Blair government, he took the decision to give it vital support for 13 years by being Tony Blairs chief fundraiser. He could have walked away at any time, especially as he was a volunteer and not dependent on the Labour Party for his salary. He chose not to, and therefore must bear some moral responsibility for all the shameful actions of the Blair government including its attack on civil rights.

Unsurprisingly Lord Levy is only concerned about civil rights, when his own civil rights are under attack. "How can this be happening? I've been arrested" he rants on page 6 when told to report to Colindale Police Station during the "cash for peerages" investigation. He later devotes a whole chapter to "My Year in Hell".

When Lord Levy seeks our sympathy for his "Year in Hell" while he was investigated by the police, my reaction is "Sorry mate, but because of your actions, that is exactly the kind of thing the rest of us have to put up with". The real difference between him and Joe Public is that we do not get paid thousands of pounds to write a self justifying book about how "honourable" we are.

From someone who's actually read this book
I'd bet quite a lot of money (for charity) that the two dismissive reviewers above haven't even read this book - simply because they're not the type of reactions this book would generate. The majority of the book is about a pre-political life - an east end Jewish upbringing; setting out in business and developing a commercial life; family relationships; dealing with illness; community involvement ... it's not the type of book those reviewers think it is.

On the political front its most interesting angle is the example it gives of Blair unnecessarily betraying Robin Cook's trust (despite Cook's trust in Blair) - this throws more negative light on Blair's character than I've seen any anti-Blairite come up with. It's also interesting hearing first-hand the process of how millions for charities and political causes were raised, in reading personal assessments of our previous major political figures such as Blair, Brown et al and of figures in the middle-east (non-)peace process.

A distingtuishing feature of this book is its self-reflexive nature. The author frequently acknowledges when looking at his attitudes and for the causes of his actions, that he can sometimes be pompous and is sometimes motivated by prestige and glory (which he attributes as his reaction to his Hackney background). He further admits that despite his bravura and his previous belief to the contrary, through the process of recounting the police investigation he's realised he's not yet emotionally recovered. That this book is actually part of his recovery process makes it even more interesting.