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Police investigate Lee Jasper deputy over carnival funding
Andrew Gilligan and Katharine Barney06.06.08
Lee Jasper's former City Hall deputy has been reported to the police by the GLA after a forensic audit found that money on one of Mr Jasper's key projects "may have gone missing or been misappropriated".
A City Hall investigation of Mr Jasper's Caribbean Showcase, set up with at least £200,000 of public money, found that "a criminal act may have been committed" and that "GLA systems and processes were not followed by two individuals".
One of the individuals is Rosemary Emodi, who was forced to resign as Mr Jasper's deputy in January after admitting she lied about a free trip she took to a five-star resort in Africa. Mr Jasper himself resigned the following month after the Standard exposed a series of irregularities in projects linked to him. The other individual reported to the police is still serving in the GLA.
The Caribbean Showcase, held in 2005 and 2006, was a major mayoralsponsored festival intended to upstage the Notting Hill Carnival. Mr Jasper, Ken Livingstone's former race adviser, fell out with the Carnival in the Eighties after it refused to appoint him director. The Showcase was on the same day as the Carnival and was held in Hyde Park, next to the main Carnival area.
The GLA said today that the police investigation started on Wednesday after an "extensive investigation" by the authority's director of finance and performance Martin Clarke.
The inquiry was assisted by forensic auditors. "We believe there is evidence that GLA systems and processes were not followed by two individuals and that cash may have gone missing or been misappropriated and a criminal act may have been committed," a spokesman said.
Mr Livingstone promised that the 2006 Showcase would cost only £68,000, with the rest of the £310,000 total cost coming from sponsorships and concession rentals. It ended up costing taxpayers more than £200,000, funded by the London Development Agency, which is under a separate "forensic audit" after the Standard exposed a series of suspicious-payments to a number of other projects involving Mr Jasper.
The Standard is aware of allegations that friends of Ms Emodi and other GLA officials were given food, drink, security and other concessions at the Caribbean Showcase and that some of the money raised disappeared.
A Met spokesman said: "The Metropolitan Police Service has begun an investigation following a referral from the GLA over concerns over the alleged misuse of funds for the Caribbean Showcase in 2005 and 2006. The investigation is being conducted by officers from the Specialist and Economic Crime command."
Ms Emodi and Mr Jasper were unavailable for comment today.
The police inquiry is a move by the new Mayor against what insiders said was a "horrifying" financial situation in parts of the GLA. The separate forensic audit into the LDA, led by former newspaper editor Patience Wheatcroft, will publish an interim report next week. Ms Wheatcroft is understood to have been shocked by what she has found.
Reader views (11)
Amazing - a whiff of corruption swirls about and suddenly everyone who use to work at the place "always thought there was something going on". Give us a break - if you were that bothered about it, why did you never go digging for evidence and bring it to everyone's attention? The whiter than white shroud you try to wrap yourselves in is becoming transparent!
- Ted Trimble, London, UK
Will be interesting to see if they get away with this, London is well rid of Ken.
- Marie Lamb, England
I was the press officer at Notting Hill Carnival when Ken Livingstone took office....despite an initial glowing audit of our work which was never published...Lee Jasper and Ken Livingstone very quickly set about seizing control of Carnival and seriously discrediting Claire Holder (the Carnival CEO). It must be said is one of the most honourable people I have ever had the pleasure to work for!!
Claire has subsequently won her defourmation battle and has gone on to other things....meanwhile the real un-savoury characters have been shown up in their true light!
I'm ever hopeful that the full extent of Lee Jasper and Ken Livingstone's meddling in Carnival will be uncovered.
- Stephanie Harwood, UK
I expect there will be more to come - even if the shredders have been busy at the LDA since Ken was voted out.
- Stephen, London, England
Does anyone seriously believe that mr. Jasper was acting without mr. Livingstone's full support and knowledge. Ha!
- Harri, London, UK
RE: City hall,
Reading stories around the U.K.on the web this one caught my eye. London's new Mayor may be unlocking spending from the past and not happy in what he is unearthing, but I say to Mayor Johnson be very careful why?
Take the lid off a can of worms and it can be very hard to put back on and you have a long way to go in your new role and beware of banana skins, one slip up from your watch and people will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
I will end my letter by saying "GOOD LUCK" Boris in your new job and keep both eyes on spending on the 2012 games these large projects eat cash by the ton.
- John Large., Scarborough. U.K.
Blimey...all that tax payers cash wasted.
How many hospitals could that have built?
And you think Boris will do a worse job?!?!
- Matt, London, UK
I'm not sure why anyone should be shocked, unless they were deaf to what London Assembly members were saying even two years ago. I was an Assembly Member at the time and pointed out most of this publicly in 2006 and 2007. Have we now reached the type of situation where investigations and action on allegations are only taken once someone loses office? That supposedly independent audits and whistle-blower evidence is only acted upon when it becomes politically expedient? This is a type of third world, Tammany Hall politics, and is a major reason for the increased desperation to retain office at any cost by governments and officials. Not a good example for 'devolved accountable' government
- Damian Hockney, London, UK
Why has it taken the GLA auditors so long to uncover this latest misuse of public funds scandal?
Are they really 2 to 3 years behind on their auditing?
Or is it more likely the case that had the spotlight NOT been on the GLA, Lee Jasper and Ken Livingstone, that this matter would simply have been swept under the carpet (apparently like so many other questionable financial payments) with the taxpaying public none the wiser that dishonesty, deceit and cover-ups were regularly taking place!
- Fraser, Telford Park
Goodbye and good riddance to Ken and his cronies, maybe we can get some value for money now.
- Mark Yacards, London
I am watching the outcome of the police inquiry with keen interest as Lee Jasper boasted a few weeks ago on BBC Radio London that he had not been charged with any misconduct, correct at that time. Time will tell.
- V Tan, London
