A Question of Honour [Hardcover]

Question marks remain about Lord Levy's role in the "cash for peerages" scandal, this misleadingly titled book adds to the confusion. A paltry fifty pages are devoted to Levy's "year in hell". Instead the reader is confronted with an egotistical autobiographical account of all the good causes Levy has espoused in his lifetime.
Strangely enough the best parts of the book are the details of Levy's sojourn into the music business which made him a wealthy man when he sold his company. Anecdotes abound of his ownership of Magnet Records and the Artists they produced: Alvin Stardust's real name was Bernard Jewry, Chris Rea's real name was Chris Rea and he wasn't changing it no matter how many times Levy told him it rhymed with diarrhoea.
And that's a good link to his next foray. New Labour, Tony Blair and "Peergate". It seems as if everybody touched by Blair is cursed; bad luck or is it greed strikes all that come into contact with the lying ex-premier of Britain.
Levy's gifts as a remarkable fund raiser made him ideal to entice donors to the Labour party and this is what brought the scandal at his doorstep. Levy states that a cursory glance at the House of Lords and its millionaire donors - of all parties - inform the uneducated that an honour might be bestowed on the generous. Naturally, Levy denies he offered a peerage to anybody.
Ultimately, Blair had responsibility for selecting people for peerages; Lord Levy could only make suggestions. Another part of Levy's roles in Labour was that he acted as Middle East envoy; I find it incredible that an envoy and fund raiser can be given the power to be involved in electing peers.
The eventual list of nominees included many major contributors to labour. Of course Blair and his cronies are not stupid and everybody on the list had good reasons other than money to be there.
This flimsy book clears nothing up; it's just one man's denial in print.

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.

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