To ensure Lord Levy's £6000 farewell bash at Lancaster House this week faces no opposition from rival government functions, Downing Street has invoked theequivalentofathree-linewhip banning competing shindigs.
The controversial send-off for Levy, whoisstillunderpolicebailin connection with Scotland Yard's lengthy cash-for-honours investigation, would routinely have been up against other government-backed soirees. However, the Number 10 edict ensures Levy will be the centre of attention.
The reception in one of the grand rooms at Lancaster House, which is run bytheForeignandCommonwealth Office(FCO),willbehostedbythe foreign secretary Margaret Beckett.
In a written parliamentary question, the Foreign Office minister Geoff Hoon confirmedtheestimatedcostofthe reception, to mark Lord Levy's nine years as Tony Blair's official envoy, will be £6000. The money is coming out of the foreign secretary's entertainment budget.
"Lord Cashpoint", Levy's nickname among Labour insiders, was arrested andquestionedbydetectives investigating Labour's alleged sale of peerages to help cover the rising costs of fighting the last general election.
Scotland Yard's bill for the lengthy investigation has topped £750,000, with the final report from the specialist team of investigators recently handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service. The cost of the investigation is expected to rise further, as detectives have been asked to look at specific details thrown up in their reports.
A final decision on whether any formal charges will be brought is now expectedtobemadebywhoever Gordon Brown appoints as the new attorney-general in his first Cabinet.
The Scotland Yard focus on Levy is said to relate to a document in which Ruth Turner, one of Tony Blair's closest aides, allegedlysuggestedtheformerpop mogul asked her to change her version of events regarding the honours system. Levy has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. His police bail was renewed at the beginning of this month.
Given the crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, an effective civil war in Iraq and continuing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, what Beckett will have to say about Levy's successes in the Middle East during his nine years as Blair's special envoy has been the subject of heated speculation inside the FCO.
One FCO lawyer said "Our advice would be for the Foreign Secretary to make as brief a speech as possible."
There are also concerns about why the FCO is funding the event.
Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said "Why should the taxpayer put his card behind the bar for Lord Levy's leaving party? He's the PM's personal envoy. If he deserves a lavish send-off, then Tony Blair should have the decency to do it himself."
l Powerplay: page 38
