David Abrahams (businessman)
David Martin Abrahams (born 13 November 1944),[1] is a property developer and political activist.[2]
Early life
Abrahams was born in Whitley Bay, Northumberland and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne as the only child in a strongly political family.[3][4] His father Bennie Abrahams (1906-1990) was a Labour councillor for the Monkchester ward of Newcastle City Council, and served as the city's Lord Mayor for one year in 1981-2.[5]
Political career
Abrahams was a councillor for the Labour Party on Tyne and Wear County Council from 1979 to 1983.[6] He was selected as the Labour candidate for Richmond, Yorkshire in the 1992 General Election but was deselected after a "bitter row".[7][8] In 1997 he was unsuccessful in his attempt at selection for the seat of Wansbeck near Newcastle.[6]
Abrahams faced high-profile media accusations in 2007 that he had secretly made £630,000 in donations to the Labour Party,[9] by channelling the donations through four different individuals in what was thought to have been a breach of the electoral law on transparent disclosure.[10] The Donorgate scandal put pressure on then Prime Minister Gordon Brown who set up an internal enquiry, although no report has ever been published.[11] Abrahams was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by the police, according to a statement issued by his solicitor Louis Charalambous, a partner with the London law firm Simons Muirhead and Burton, in April 2008.[12]
The BBC spotlighted Abrahams in their 'Political Lives' series in February 2014, detailing his life's work.[13] In the BBC interview footage he stated that "I've been active politically all my life, still am and still taking an active interest in Labour - these things don't go away. But it's not the be all and end all, being in the Commons - people have still got the qualities, got the skills, still got the talent and use them in different directions."[13]
In April 2016, following high-profile remarks made by a Labour MP Naz Shah and the former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, Abrahams said that he would no longer financially support the Labour party, claiming it was becoming increasingly anti-Semitic.[14]
Other Interests
Abrahams is a Vice President of the Royal United Services Institute,[15] and a Freeman of the City of London.
He has served as Vice-Chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement and on the Executive of the Trade Union Friends of Israel.[8]
In 2010 it was reported that "he supports more than 70 charitable and voluntary organisations, including male cancer research charity 'Every Man Alive'".[3]
Abrahams' Twitter page is @davidabrahams 8, where he describes himself as "working for peace in the Middle East and prosperity in the North East (UK)".
Business
In 2010, Abrahams was reported to be finalising a £1 billion business park at Durham Green, County Durham.[16]
References
- ^ http://www2.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?r=188215095&d=bmd_1390257354. https://books.google.com/books?id=hJc8afOZV0QC&pg=PA8&dq=abrahams,+david+martin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VIMXU6LuEYabtAbS9IGgDw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=abrahams%2C%20david%20martin&f=false The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History (2011), p. 8. Company House records
- ^ Bright, Martin (January 14, 2011). "Abrahams in bid to broker peace deal". The Jewish Chronicle.
- ^ a b http://www.thejc.com/business/business-features/28274/abrahams-my-%C2%A31bn-gift-north-east
- ^ Alex Hunt (17 February 2014). "Political Lives: David Abrahams". BBC. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
- ^ https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/sites/default/files/wwwfileroot/your-council-and-democracy/councillors-and-democracy/lord_mayors_and_sheriffs_1974_to_date_1.pdf
- ^ a b http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/who+is+david+abrahams/1105647.html
- ^ Guardian profile
- ^ a b https://books.google.com/books?id=hJc8afOZV0QC&pg=PA8&dq=abrahams,+david+martin&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VIMXU6LuEYabtAbS9IGgDw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=abrahams%2C%20david%20martin&f=false
- ^ "Abrahams makes proxy donor claim". BBC News. 1 December 2007.
- ^ BBC News Profile of David Abrahams
- ^ Winnett, Robert (29 Nov 2007). "Hunt for 'mystery benefactor' in Gordon Brown's donations scandal". The Telegraph.
- ^ Wintour, Patrick (28 April 2008). "Police clear donor Abrahams". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Hunt, Alex (17 February 2014). "Political Lives: David Abrahams". BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-labour-donor-said-11259541
- ^ "Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies Council". RUSI.
- ^ "Labour donor David Abrahams' gift to the north-east". Guardian. 31 January 2010.