Tessa Jowell

The Right Honourable
The Baroness Jowell
DBE PC
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office
20 January 2011 – 7 October 2011
Leader Ed Miliband
Preceded by Liam Byrne
Succeeded by Jon Trickett
In office
11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader Harriet Harman (acting)
Preceded by Francis Maude
Succeeded by Liam Byrne
Shadow Minister for London
In office
11 May 2010 – 16 January 2013
Leader Harriet Harman (acting)
Ed Miliband
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Sadiq Khan
Shadow Minister for the Olympics
In office
11 May 2010 – 11 September 2012
Leader Harriet Harman (acting)
Ed Miliband
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Position abolished
Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Liam Byrne
Succeeded by Francis Maude
Minister for London
In office
5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Tony McNulty
Succeeded by Gavin Barwell (2016)
In office
28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Jim Fitzpatrick
Succeeded by Tony McNulty
Paymaster General
In office
28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Dawn Primarolo
Succeeded by Francis Maude
Minister for the Olympics
In office
6 July 2005 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Jeremy Hunt
Minister for Women
In office
5 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Patricia Hewitt
Succeeded by Ruth Kelly
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office
8 June 2001 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Chris Smith
Succeeded by James Purnell
Shadow Minister for Women
In office
19 October 1995 – 26 July 1996
Leader Tony Blair
Preceded by Clare Short
Succeeded by Janet Anderson
Member of Parliament
for Dulwich and West Norwood
Dulwich (1992–1997)
In office
9 April 1992 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by Gerald Bowden
Succeeded by Helen Hayes
Personal details
Born (1947-09-17) 17 September 1947
London, England, UK
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Roger Jowell (1970–1977)
David Mills (1979–present)
Children 2 children
3 stepchildren
Alma mater University of Aberdeen
University of Edinburgh
University of London

Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, DBE, PC (née Palmer; born 17 September 1947) is an English Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood from 1992 to 2015. She held a number of major government ministerial positions, as well as opposition appointments, during this period.

Her most senior position in Government was as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, a post she held from 2001 to 2007. A member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she was also Minister for the Olympics (2005–2010) and Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London until September 2012, resigning after the London Olympic Games.

A Privy Counsellor since 1998,[1] she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2012.[2]

She stood down from the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. She was nominated for life peerage in the 2015 Dissolution Honours and was raised to the peerage as Baroness Jowell, of Brixton in the London Borough of Lambeth, on 27 October 2015.[3][4]

In September 2015, she was unsuccessful in seeking to be selected as the Labour Party's official candidate in the 2016 election for Mayor of London, coming second to Sadiq Khan in the contest of six candidates.[5]

Early life

Tessa Jane Helen Palmer was born at Middlesex Hospital[6] in Marylebone, London, to Dr. Kenneth Palmer, a physician and his wife, Rosemary, a radiographer.[7]

She was educated at the independent St Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen (where she studied arts, psychology and sociology) and the University of Edinburgh (where she studied for an MA in Social Administration). She became a social worker, initially working in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh and as a childcare officer in Lambeth, before training at Goldsmiths College as a psychiatric social worker. She subsequently worked at the Maudsley Hospital, and later became assistant director of the mental health charity Mind.

During this time Jowell took her first steps into electoral politics, being elected to represent Swiss Cottage on Camden London Borough Council in the early 1970s, and becoming Chair of the Camden Borough Council's Social Services Committee at the age of 25.[6] In 1978, she was the Labour Party candidate in a by-election in Ilford North but lost Labour's majority to the Conservatives. She stood again in Ilford North at the 1979 general election, also unsuccessfully.[8]

Member of Parliament

Elected as MP for Dulwich at the 1992 general election, Jowell was successively appointed as an Opposition Spokesperson on Health, an Opposition Whip and Spokesperson 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 television broadcasting. She blocked the BBC's plans for the digital channel BBC3, on the grounds that they were insufficiently different from commercial offerings, and imposed extra conditions[9] on BBC News 24 after it was criticized on the same grounds by the Lambert Report.[10] She was responsible for the Communications Act 2003 which established a new media regulator, OFCOM. It also relaxed regulations on ownership of British television stations, though, following a rebellion in the House of Lords, a 'public interest' test was introduced as a compromise.

In 2004, Jowell faced resistance to proposals for a series of so-called "super casinos", to be sanctioned as part of the Gambling Act 2005 which liberalised Britain's gaming laws. Although problem gambling has ruined the lives of many ordinary people,[11] in the run up to the Bill, Jowell dismissed much of the criticism as being elitist, commenting that "opponents of the Government's gambling reforms are snobs who want to deny ordinary people the right to bet".[12] Former Labour Welfare Minister Frank Field said her comments were crass, declaring, "I think this whole New Labour line that you insult people rather than engage in argument is deeply disturbing".

She dealt with complaints that the National Lottery had been directed to fund programmes that should have been 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 British film production.

In 2007, Jowell introduced a new governance system for the BBC: the BBC Trust, which replaced the long-established Board of Governors. In 2012, the BBC Trust was shown to be 'not fit for purpose', leading to the resignation of the Director General.[13][14]

Jowell was a zealous supporter of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, reportedly saying on one occasion that she would "jump under a bus" for him.[15][16]

In Gordon Brown's reshuffle in June 2007, following his succession as Labour leader and Prime Minister, Jowell was demoted from her position as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. She retained her Olympics portfolio, however, and was also appointed Paymaster General and Minister for London, being allowed to attend Cabinet, although not as a full member. She was further demoted on 3 October 2008, losing her Minister for London role to Tony McNulty, and being allowed to attend cabinet only when her area of responsibility was on the agenda. In his 2009 reshuffle, Brown reappointed her to the Cabinet as Minister for the Cabinet Office.

In the 2012 Birthday Honours, Jowell was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for "political and charitable services", in particular for her contribution to delivering the London 2012 Olympics.[17][18]

Political positions

Jowell was very supportive of New Labour and was fully loyal to its agenda, earning herself a strong reputation as a Blairite. In 2007, she supported Hazel Blears for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. In 2009, she was mentioned as a possible Cabinet minister who might resign over the leadership of Gordon Brown in order to trigger a leadership contest - a suggestion which proved unfounded. In opposition, Jowell supported David Miliband's campaign to become Leader of the Labour Party, but served in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet when he became Leader of HM Opposition.

She has been involved in the Blue Labour movement in the Labour Party, and was a contributor to The Purple Book, drawing on her background on the right of the Labour Party.

London 2012 Olympics

Jowell notably was in charge of London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics. She came up with the idea in 2002, during her time as Culture Secretary, when she said there was very little support from within the Cabinet, with many colleagues thinking that Paris' bid would win. Jowell convinced the Government to support the bid, however, and went ahead with it. In 2004, she launched the bid and, when the Games were awarded to London, she was appointed Olympics Minister (in addition to her responsibilities as Culture Secretary), and held full ministerial responsibility for the bid from 2006. Despite being moved from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2007, she retained her position as Olympics Minister throughout Labour's time in office.

Following the general election of May 2010, at which Labour lost power, she became Shadow Olympics Minister. She remained, however, on the 2012 Olympics Organising Committee, with Lord Coe and Jeremy Hunt. She was appointed Deputy Mayor of the Olympics Village, being responsible for making the Olympics take place. She resigned her role as Shadow Minister for the Olympics in September 2012, and returned to the House of Commons backbenches.

Controversies

Jowell, Mills and Berlusconi

Jowell's husband David Mills is an international corporate lawyer who has acted for Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister. Mills was investigated in Italy for money laundering and alleged tax fraud.[19][20]

Jowell was investigated by the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell over the allegations surrounding her husband, because of a possible conflict 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,[21] and Tony Blair decided she was clear of any wrongdoing.[22]

On 4 March 2006, it was announced that Jowell and Mills had separated, after the allegations had begun to damage her political standing. Jowell said "although we are separated I have never doubted his innocence".[23] Mills allegedly admitted to being "an idiot", and has expressed his remorse about the impact of his dealings upon his wife. The separation had effectively ended by September 2012.[24]

On 17 February 2009, an Italian court sentenced David Mills to four years and six months in jail after finding him guilty of accepting a bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf during corruption trials which had taken place in 1997 and 1998. His defence counsel said that the sentence went "against the logic and dynamic of the evidence presented". The judgment was appealed by Mills. On 27 October 2009, the Italian Appeal Court upheld his conviction and prison sentence. Mills confirmed that he would initiate a second and final appeal to the Cassation Court.[25]

On 25 February 2010, the Italian Cassation Court (the second and last court of appeal under Italian law) dissolved the case because of the statute of limitations.[26][27] For this type of crime, in Italian law, a case expires after 10 years. Mills argued that he received the money in 1999, and not 2000 as Prosecutors had previously argued, thus taking advantage of the statute of limitations.[28] He was nevertheless ordered to pay €250,000 compensation to the office of the Italian Prime Minister for "damaging its reputation".[29]

Other controversies

In 2001, Jowell was widely criticized for 'interfering' in Independent Television Commission (ITC) rulings on complaints regarding Brass Eye. The Guardian newspaper suggested that "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".[30][31][32] 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".[33]

In 2006, Jowell was criticised[34] for projected cost over-runs on the London 2012 Summer Olympics project, which came under the supervision of her former department.[35] She was also among a number of ministers accused of hypocrisy[36] for opposing Post Office closures in their own constituencies while supporting the Government's closure strategy at the national level.[37]

Jowell was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport during the News of the World newspaper phone-hacking scandal (pre-2007).[38] In January 2007, Clive Goodman, the News of the World's 'royal editor', was jailed for four months, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator employed by the News of the World, was jailed for six months.[39]

In May 2014 a temporary personal assistant to Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the UK Premier League, read private emails between Scudamore and colleagues and friends. These included comments about women's football, which the assistant felt to be inappropriate. She passed them on to a national newspaper, the Daily Mirror. Jowell defended the reading and passing on of the emails, declaring that, "in the world of social media and email, there is no public and private".[40]

Personal life

Jowell's first marriage was to fellow Camden Councillor Roger Jowell in 1970; this was dissolved in 1976, but she continues to use his surname.[41] Roger Jowell co-founded and directed Social & Community Planning Research (SCPR), now the National Centre for Social Research,[42] known for its British Social Attitudes Surveys.

She married David Mills on 17 March 1979. They separated in March 2006, following the controversy over Mills's links to Berlusconi. Their professed hopes to "restore their relationship over time", rather than seek divorce, caused some to regard this as a politically expedient gesture to save her political career.[43][44] Jowell said on Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme in September 2012 that she was seeing Mills regularly, saying that they had "reached a state of stability which I never thought possible".[24] She has a son and daughter, as well as three stepchildren from Mills' first marriage.

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 voicemails on 28 separate occasions during 2006. Jowell contacted police in late January 2011 to inform them that there had recently been an unsuccessful attempt to listen to voicemail messages on her phone.[45]

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours list.[46] She was elevated as a Life Peer to the House of Lords in the 2015 Dissolution Peerages List.[3][4]

Honours and styles

Honours

Styles of address

References

  1. 1 2 "Privy Counsellors". Privy Council Office. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60173. p. 6. 16 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Dissolution Peerages 2015". GOV.UK. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 The London Gazette: no. 61396. p. 21422. 2 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Sadiq Khan wins Labour mayoral selection". BBC News. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 Castle, Stephen (20 July 1997). "Profile: Tessa Jowell - Healthy respect for sense". The Independent. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Profile in The Observer by Martin Bright, 22 February 2009
  8. ↑ "Why I'm standing down from Parliament: Dame Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood Telegraph". Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "BBC news channel told to change". BBC News. 5 December 2002. Archived from the original on 14 August 2003.
  10. ↑ Lambert, Richard (2002). "Independent review of BBC News 24" (PDF). Dept. for Culture, Media and Sport. OCLC 52120057
  11. ↑ MacErlean, Neasa (14 July 2012). "The problem with gambling: New figures show more people than ever are ruining their lives". The Independent.
  12. ↑ Kite, Melissa (24 Oct 2004). "'Opponents of new gambling law are snobs,' says Tessa Jowell". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. ↑ Dyke, Greg (23 November 2012). "The BBC can get out of this hole". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012.
  14. ↑ BBC#cite note-34
  15. ↑ Tweedie, Neil (28 February 2006). "Time for Jowell to jump may be near". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012.
  16. ↑ Bright, Martin (22 February 2009). "Profile: Tessa Jowell: A loyalist to the bitter end". The Observer. London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009.
  17. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60173. p. 6. 16 June 2012.
  18. ↑ "DBE". BBC News Online. 15 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  19. ↑ Richard Owen and Sam Coates (22 February 2006). "How Jowell's husband played host to Berlusconi at the Garrick Club". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. (registration required (help)).
  20. ↑ Tweedie, Neil; Clarke, Hilary (22 February 2006). "Jowell has nothing to do with Italian bribe allegations, insists her husband". 'The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "In Full: Tessa Jowell inquiry letter". BBC News. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009.
  22. ↑ "Blair clears Jowell of wrongdoing". BBC News. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006.
  23. ↑ Popham, Peter; Brown, Colin; Beard, Matthew (2 March 2006). "Jowellgate: Italian judge will press charges over bribery allegations". The Independent on Sunday. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  24. 1 2 "Dame Tessa Jowell reconciles with husband David Mills". The Daily Telegraph. London. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  25. ↑ Guy Dinmore. "Italian judges reject Mills appeal". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. (subscription required (help)).
  26. ↑ "David Mills bribery conviction quashed by appeals court". BBC. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  27. ↑ "Mills decision a boost for Berlusconi". The Irish Times. 27 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  28. ↑ According to the prosecutor the crime occurred on 11 November 1999, when "Mills, on his own, and not as manager of the interests of others, provided instructions for the transfer of about $ 600,000 from the Janus Capital Fund and the Torrey Fund" and February 29, 2000 when the money was actually made available, as is determined by the Court of appeal, and the different date means that the offence expired [after the 10-year rule]. The prosecutor in the indictment also pointed out that "the delay of the final step in the ownership of the shares does not affect the time of when the expiry of the offence takes effect but stems from the desire of Mills to complicate the reconstruction of this illegal transfer of money and its origins" and that "when there is uncertainty about the date of committing an offence, the rule of favor rei applies: and the effect of the 10-year expiry must be fixed at the most favourable date for the accused
  29. ↑ Pisa, Nick (26 February 2010). "Tessa Jowell's estranged husband David Mills 'very relieved' after Italian court quashes bribery conviction". Daily Mail. London. Archived from the original on 27 February 2010.
  30. ↑ "Brass Eye was degrading: But the government is wrong to interfere". The Guardian. London. 31 July 2001. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  31. ↑ Ward, Lucy (30 July 2001). "TV spoof to bring tougher regulation". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008.
  32. ↑ "Programme causes predictable storm". BBC News. 30 July 2001. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
  33. ↑ 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. Archived from the original on 8 September 2011.
  34. ↑ www.morningstaronline.co.uk
  35. ↑ Campbell, Denis (19 November 2006). "Revealed: the true cost of Olympics". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008.
  36. ↑ www.standard.co.uk
  37. ↑ Wintour, Patrick; Allegra Stratton (13 November 2008). "£1bn contract will save 3,000 post offices from closure". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009.
  38. ↑ "Q&A: News of the World phone-hacking scandal". BBC News Online. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010.
  39. ↑ "Pair jailed over royal voicemail-hacking". 26 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014.
  40. ↑ "Richard Scudamore comments 'undermine women's game'". BBC Sport. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  41. ↑ "The Minister And A £350,000 'Gift'". tmc.net. 23 February 2006.
  42. ↑ "NCCR". Archived from the original on 4 September 1999.
  43. ↑ "Tessa Jowell splits from husband". BBC News. 4 March 2006. Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. The culture secretary and her husband are to separate after the 'strains' of allegations about their finances.
  44. ↑ "'She just wanted to lie down and rest. She was devastated'". The Daily Telegraph. London. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  45. ↑ Nicholas Watt, James Robinson and Dan Sabbagh (27 January 2011). "Phone-hacking row escalates as Tessa Jowell speaks out". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011.
  46. ↑ "Birthday Honours 2012 - full list". The Independent. London. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012.
  47. ↑ "Sir Michael Caine receives Freedom of the Borough of Southwarl". Southwark Council. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  48. ↑ "The Freedom of the Borough of Southwark". Flickr. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tessa Jowell.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gerald Bowden		 Member of Parliament
for Dulwich
1992–1997 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Dulwich and West Norwood
1997–2015 		Succeeded by
Helen Hayes
Political offices
Preceded by
Clare Short		 Shadow Minister for Women
1995–1996 		Succeeded by
Janet Anderson
Preceded by
Chris Smith		 Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2001–2007 		Succeeded by
James Purnell
Preceded by
Patricia Hewitt		 Minister for Women
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
Ruth Kelly
New office Minister for the Olympics
2005–2010 		Succeeded by
Jeremy Hunt
Preceded by
Jim Fitzpatrick		 Minister for London
2007–2008 		Succeeded by
Tony McNulty
Preceded by
Dawn Primarolo		 Paymaster General
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
Francis Maude
Preceded by
Liam Byrne		 Minister for the Cabinet Office
2009–2010
Preceded by
Tony McNulty		 Minister for London
2009–2010 		Vacant
Title next held by
Gavin Barwell
Preceded by
Francis Maude		 Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
2010 		Succeeded by
Liam Byrne
New office Shadow Minister for the Olympics
2010–2012 		Position abolished
Shadow Minister for London
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Sadiq Khan
Preceded by
Liam Byrne		 Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
2011 		Succeeded by
Jon Trickett
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