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Tessa Jowell

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The Right Honourable
Tessa Jowell

MP
Shadow Minister for the Olympics
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 May 2010
LeaderHarriet Harman
Ed Miliband
Preceded byHugh Robertson
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 January 2011
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byLiam Byrne
In office
11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
LeaderHarriet Harman
Ed Miliband
Preceded byFrancis Maude
Succeeded byLiam Byrne
Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byLiam Byrne
Succeeded byFrancis Maude
Minister for the Olympics
In office
6 July 2005 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Gordon Brown
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJeremy Hunt (Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport)
Paymaster General
In office
28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byDawn Primarolo
Succeeded byFrancis Maude
Minister for London
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byTony McNulty
Succeeded byNone
In office
28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byJim Fitzpatrick
Succeeded byTony McNulty
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office
8 June 2001 – 27 June 2007
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byChris Smith
Succeeded byJames Purnell
Member of Parliament
for Dulwich and West Norwood
Dulwich (1992–1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 April 1992
Preceded byGerald Bowden
Majority9,365 (19.4%)
Personal details
Born (1947-09-17) 17 September 1947 (age 76)
Marylebone, London, England
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Roger Jowell (Divorced)
David Mills (Separated)
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
University of Aberdeen
Goldsmiths, University of London

Tessa Jowell (born 17 September 1947) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Early life

Tessa Jane Helen Palmer was born in Marylebone, London to Dr. Kenneth Palmer, a physician, and Rosemary Palmer, a radiographer.[1] She was educated at the public school St Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She became a social worker and eventually administrator of the mental health charity Mind.

In 1978 she was Labour Party candidate in a by-election in Ilford North but lost Labour's majority to the Conservatives. She also stood in Ilford North, again unsuccessfully, at the 1979 general election.

Member of Parliament

Elected as MP for Dulwich at the 1992 general election, she was successively appointed as an opposition spokesman on health, an opposition whip and spokesman on women before returning to the shadow health team in 1996.

In government

Jowell was appointed as Minister of State in the Department of Health after the 1997 Labour electoral landslide. She moved, again as Minister of State, to the Department for Education and Employment in 1999. She was appointed Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport after the 2001 election, replacing the sacked Chris Smith. One of her main concerns as Culture Secretary was the future of television broadcasting. She blocked the BBC's original plans for the digital channel BBC3 on the grounds that they were insufficiently different from commercial offerings, and imposed extra conditions[2] on BBC News 24 after it was criticised on the same grounds by the Lambert Report.[3] She was responsible for the Communications Act 2003 which established a new media regulator, OFCOM. It also relaxed regulations on ownership of UK television stations, though a "public interest" test was introduced as a compromise after a rebellion in the House of Lords. In 2004, Jowell faced resistance to proposals for a series of Las Vegas style casinos. Jowell dealt with complaints that the National Lottery has been directed to fund programmes that should be covered by mainstream taxation. She oversaw a restructuring of the Arts funding system but lost out in the 2004/5 spending round resulting in a cut in her departmental budget and the loss of tax credits for UK Film production.

Jowell was a strong supporter of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, reportedly saying on one occasion that she would "Jump under a bus" for him.[4][5]

In Gordon Brown's reshuffle in June 2007 following his succession as Prime Minister, Jowell was demoted from her position as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. She retained her Olympics portfolio and was also appointed Paymaster General and Minister for London, being allowed to attend the cabinet, but not as a full member. She was further demoted on 3 October 2008, losing her Minister for London role to Tony McNulty, and only being allowed to attend cabinet when her responsibility is on the agenda, as opposed to always attending. Brown promoted her back into the cabinet in his 2009 reshuffle, to the position of Minister for the Cabinet Office. [citation needed]

Controversies

"Jowellgate"

Main article: Tessa Jowell financial allegations

Jowell's husband David Mills has acted for Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister. Mills was investigated in Italy for money laundering and alleged tax fraud.[6][7]

Jowell was investigated by the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell over the allegations surrounding her husband because of a potential clash of interest between her personal life and ministerial duties. However, O'Donnell stated that "it is the Prime Minister, not me, who, constitutionally, is the right and proper person to take a view on matters arising based on the Ministerial Code" in his letter,[8] and Tony Blair decided she was clear of any wrongdoing.[9]

On 4 March 2006, it was announced that Jowell and Mills had separated after the allegations began to damage Jowell's political reputation. Their professed hopes to "restore their relationship over time" rather than seek divorce have caused some to regard this as merely a politically expedient gesture to save her political career at the expense of her husband.[10][11] Allegedly David Mills had admitted to being an "idiot" and has expressed his remorse about the impact of his dealings upon Tessa Jowell, who continues to claim she was not in on the deal. The affair has been termed "Jowellgate" by parts of the press. [citation needed]

On 17 February 2009, an Italian court sentenced David Mills to four years and six months in jail for accepting a bribe from Silvio Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in 1997 and 1998. His defence counsel said that the sentence went "against the logic and dynamic of the evidence presented." The judgement was appealed by David Mills. On 27 October 2009, the Italian Appeal Court upheld his conviction and his sentence of 4½ years prison. He confirmed that he would initiate a second and final appeal to the Cassation Court[12]

On 25 February 2010, the Italian Cassation Court (the second and last court of appeal under Italian law) ruled a sentence of not guilty because the statute of limitations expired.[13][14] The supreme court judges ruled that he received the money in 1999, and not 2000 as prosecutors had previously argued. He was ordered to pay €250,000 compensation to the office of the Italian prime minister for "damaging its reputation".[15] Ms Jowell said "although we are separated I have never doubted his innocence."[16]

Other controversies

In 2001 Jowell received widespread criticism for interference in ITC rulings on complaints regarding the television programme Brass Eye. The Guardian newspaper was one such critic suggesting "for the culture secretary to speak directly to the head of a TV network about a specific programme smacks of the Soviet commissar and the state broadcaster".[17][18][19] The ITC reminded Jowell that she should not be interfering in their processes, resulting in a Channel Four interviewer suggesting Jowell and her colleagues "must feel like idiots".[20]

In 2006 she was heavily criticised for likely cost over-runs on the London 2012 Summer Olympics project, which came under the umbrella of her former department.[21] Jowell was among a number of ministers accused of hypocrisy for opposing Post Office closures in their own constituencies while supporting the Government's closure strategy at the national level.[22]

Jowell was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport during the News of the World phone hacking scandal (Pre 2007).[23] As minister responsible for the press there is no evidence that she knew about the practice of phone hacking or attempted to know. After royal editor Clive Goodman, was jailed for four months in January 2007 and Glenn Mulcaire was jailed for six months there is no evidence she found an further information on the depth of phone hacking at News International.[24]

Personal life

Jowell's first marriage was to fellow Camden councillor Roger Jowell in 1970. This was dissolved in 1976. She continues to use his surname.[25] Roger Jowell co-founded and directed Social & Community Planning Research (SCPR), now the National Centre for Social Research, known for its British Social Attitudes Surveys.

Her second marriage, on 17 March 1979, to Mills, remains legally extant but the couple reportedly separated in 2006. She has a son and daughter and three stepchildren.

In January 2011, during the News of the World phone hacking affair, it was revealed that Jowell had contacted lawyers as she attempted to find out who hacked into her phone on 28 separate occasions in 2006. Jowell contacted police in late January 2011 to inform them that there had recently been an unsuccessful attempt to listen to messages on her phone.[26]

In 2010, 'Tessa Jowell' was somehow placed as a landmark on Google Maps near the Houses of Parliament. Several people have submitted spoof reviews of this.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ 'The Observer' profile by Martin Bright, 22 February 2009
  2. ^ "BBC news channel told to change". BBC News. 5 December 2002.
  3. ^ Lambert, Richard (2002), Independent review of BBC News 24 (PDF), Dept. for Culture, Media and Sport, OCLC 52120057
  4. ^ Tweedie, Neil (28 February 2006). "Time for Jowell to jump may be near". Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. ^ Bright, Martin (22 February 2009). "Profile: Tessa Jowell: A loyalist to the bitter end". The Observer. London.
  6. ^ Owen, Richard (22 February 2006). "How Jowell's husband played host to Berlusconi at the Garrick Club". The Times. London.
  7. ^ Tweedie, Neil; Clarke, Hilary (22 February 2006). "Jowell has nothing to do with Italian bribe allegations, insists her husband". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  8. ^ "In Full: Tessa Jowell inquiry letter". BBC News. 2 March 2006.
  9. ^ "Blair clears Jowell of wrongdoing". BBC News. 2 March 2006.
  10. ^ "Tessa Jowell splits from husband". BBC News. 4 March 2006. The culture secretary and her husband are to separate after the 'strains' of allegations about their finances.
  11. ^ "'She just wanted to lie down and rest. She was devastated'". Telegraph. London. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  12. ^ Financial Times report on David Mills investigation
  13. ^ "David Mills bribery conviction quashed by appeals court". BBC. 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  14. ^ "Mills decision a boost for Berlusconi - The Irish Times". The Irish Times. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  15. ^ Pisa, Nick (2010-02-26). "Tessa Jowell's estranged husband David Mills 'very relieved' after Italian court quashes bribery conviction". Daily Mail. London.
  16. ^ Popham, Peter; Brown, Colin; Beard, Matthew (2 March 2006). "Jowellgate: Italian judge will press charges over bribery allegations". Independent. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Brass Eye was degrading: But the government is wrong to interfere". The Observer. London. 31 July 2001. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  18. ^ Ward, Lucy (30 July 2001). "TV spoof to bring tougher regulation". The Observer. London.
  19. ^ "Programme causes predictable storm". BBC News. 30 July 2001.
  20. ^ Jury, Louise (30 July 2001). "It was C4's most vetted programme. So how did it attract a record number of complaints". The Independent. London.
  21. ^ Campbell, Denis (19 November 2006). "Revealed: the true cost of Olympics". The Observer. London.
  22. ^ Wintour, Patrick; Allegra Stratton (13 November 2008). "£1bn contract will save 3,000 post offices from closure". The Observer. London.
  23. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11195407
  24. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6301243.stm
  25. ^ "The Minister And A £350,000 'Gift'". tmc.net. 23 February 2006.
  26. ^ Watt, Nicholas (29 January 2011). "Phone-hacking row escalates as Tessa Jowell speaks out". The Guardian. London.
  27. ^ Arthur, Charles (13 July 2010). "Tessa Jowell: now a feature on Google Maps". The Guardian. London.
  28. ^ "MP Tessa Jowell becomes a landmark on Google Maps". BBC News. 14 July 2010.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood
Dulwich (1992–1997)
1992–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2001–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Women
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
New office Minister for the Olympics
2005–2010 		Succeeded byas Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport
Preceded by Minister of State for London
2007–2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Paymaster General
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for the Cabinet Office
2009–2010
Preceded by Minister of State for London
2009–2010 		Succeeded by
TBD

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