Lord Levy, former fund-raiser for Labour under Tony Blair, showed a delicious sense of timing in announcing plans to publish his memoirs yesterday; just after Peter Hain resigned.
Simon & Schuster, the publisher, has won the auction to publish the memoir of the controversial former businessman who was at the heart of the "Cash for Peerages" probe by police into Labour donations. Levy was cleared after an investigation which saw Blair become the first prime minister to be questioned by police while in office.
The press release about the book just hours after Mr Hain stepped down after discovering that the police are looking into the way in which donations were made to his campaign to become deputy leader of Labour last summer. A co-incidence?
"It will provide the first insider’s account of political funding and the controversy over Cash for Peerages," said S&S. "His decision to tell his story in his own words will ruffle the feathers of many with good reason."
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey