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How trail of lost millions was revealed
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent15 Feb 2008
5 December 2007
The Evening Standard reveals Lee Jasper, the Mayor's director of equalities and policing, is under GLA investigation after at least £2.5 million in City Hall money was channelled to organisations controlled by his associates which appeared to do little or no work in return. Ken Livingstone tells the BBC there is a "full audit trail" of the grants.
11 December
An inquiry is launched into £500,000 of public funds given to Brixton Base. The LDA, which awarded money to the project, is conducting an "audit".
13 December
Leaked emails show LDA chief executive Manny Lewis expressed "the deepest possible concern" about a £345,000 grant to Diversity International, run by Joel O'Loughlin, a close friend of Mr Jasper. Mr Lewis wanted to sack Mr O'Loughlin and claw back the money but after Mr O'Loughlin spoke to Mr Jasper, the LDA withdrew the threat and agreed to give him a further £250,000. Two senior LDA officials who protested were sacked.
14 December
The LDA is taking legal action against Brixton Base over £18,000 in unpaid rent. Days later, Brenda Stern, sacked manager at the LDA, claims that Diversity International was dogged with demands for hush money, political interference and financial irregularity. A few days after that, Brixton Base closes.
21 December
Three former instructors at the South London Green Bridge Taxi School, which teaches the Knowledge to ethnic minority drivers, allege fraud and intimidation against the organisation, which received LDA money. Police called in.
11 January
The LDA inquiry is unable to conclude whether the money was spent fraudulently. The Met is to investigate Diversity Works, from which Ms Stern was forced out of her £75,000 job, the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners, which received £25,000, and the Deshbangla Foundation, which received £30,000.
18 January
Mr Jasper is accused of starting a smear campaign against Trevor Phillips to stop him becoming head of the new equalities super-watchdog.
23 January
Mr Jasper's deputy Rosemary Emodi quits her £100,000-a-year post after taking a free trip to a Nigerian beach resort with Errol Walters, director of two organisations linked to Mr Jasper that received City Hall cash. The Mayor's office had told journalists who found out about the trip that Ms Emodi had not been on it.
24 January
Mr Livingstone says he would trust Mr Jasper "with his life" even though he had suffered the "worst week" of his mayoral term because of the row.
28 January
Mr Jasper admits £18,000 of City Hall money was improperly diverted to bail out Ethnic Mutual, a company of which he is a director, but says he knew nothing of the payment. The Met launches an inquiry and days later another one, into Brixton Base, the sixth project to be probed.
7 February
Mr Lewis admits Mr Jasper behaved inappropriately. Mr Livingstone admits his comment about a "full audit trail" was untrue and claims he was in the dark about the process of awarding money until the LDA inquiry reported. In fact, the Standard had submitted .. questions about the grants - which had now risen to £... million - to the Mayor's office a week earlier. Tory mayoral candidate Boris Johnson calls for Mr Jasper to stand down.
13 February
The City Hall budget meeting is temporarily abandoned when Mr Livingstone accuses the London Assembly of being "sanctimonious hypocrites" for attacking Mr Jasper but delaying its summoning of him to a public Q&A session. BBC London reveals it asked Mr Jasper to defend himself on air but he declined the offer.
Reader views (1)
Well done to the Standard for excellent reporting. Its the same old story - large amounts of money and power, loads of corruption - and the ordinary people get mugged off.
- Rose Peel, ladbroke grove london, 15/02/2008 15:53
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