Trudy Simpson, Voice Reporter
London Mayor, Ken Livingstone. - contributed
LONDON, England:
For two months, the Evening Standard has alleged that Lee Jasper, senior adviser on race to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, used his influence to help his friends and associates obtain £2.5 million in public funding from the London Development Agency (LDA) for organisations which were accused of doing little or nothing with the funding.
Just over a week ago, Jasper requested that the mayor call in the police to investigate all the allegations against him. He has been suspended from duty, pending the investigation. Below, Jasper tells The Voice his side of the story.
Did you really volunteer to be investigated by police and to be suspended or was it forced on you?
There was no reason to be forced (to do anything). It was entirely a mechanism for making sure that these allegations were looked into by an authoritative source that can come to a conclusion. I have asked for the police to come in to investigate the matter and it automatically follows that if you are a GLA (Greater London Authority) employee and you are being investigated, you will be suspended.
Why not resign?
Resignation implies some sort of guilt, and, in my view, I am not guilty of anything, so that is why I have asked the police to investigate. To simply resign and have no police investigation, I would not be able to completely prove my innocence. If you are innocent, why would you give up your job? I am not being hounded out of my job because of racist lies and smears. I am not capitulating to racism. I never do. I am absolutely confident and clear in my integrity.
Many people would say this suspension/police investigation makes you look guilty. Why would you agree to do this?
Why would I suggest it? Because the ongoing campaign by the Evening Standard in which they continue to print lies and smears proves very difficult to rebut, whereas a police investigation can get to the bottom of these matters and will determine the truth. I want to demonstrate clearly to black communities and wider communities throughout the UK and in London that the lies printed by the Evening Standard are just that.
Black organisations across the capital are feeling the strain. They are looked at in a critical way, funding decisions are being delayed and it has taken away from the real and substantive issues that need to be discussed during this mayoral election.
Did you, in any way, influence the process at the LDA to get these organisations funding?
No. I want to make it absolutely clear there was no inappropriate use of my influence with these projects. All of these will be subject to an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Service and that means that at this point, I cannot talk in depth about it. Suffice it to say, I have not committed any criminal acts. Therehas been no financial impropriety. I had nothing to do with the decision making process of the LDA when it came to Brixton Base and certainly not the other organisations.
Do you feel that the money given to these organisations was well spent?
In most part, I think it was. Some of them are dealing with very difficult areas, with young black children who are in danger of getting involved in guns and gangs. For the most part, I think tremendous value for money can be demonstrated and any reasonable assessment of their performance will conclude that probably they could have done things better but that's typical of any organisation within the voluntary sector.
At any point, were you aware of how they were spending the money?
Only insofar as the LDA was satisfied about its monetary arrangements with individual projects and what I could see with my own eyes. I could see some projects were delivering. They were having public events and you could see the work they were doing.
How can you justify that you were not involved in helping Brixton Base when you have sent an email to the LDA saying you wanted to prevent their eviction from an LDA property?
My job entails supporting mayoral policy on delivery. Delivery is helping to develop more projects around gun crime and tackle problems of young black people in the city and that is what I did and that is what that email represents. They were coming to the end of their lease and they were going to be evicted. They weren't being evicted for any illegality. They were just coming to the end of their lease and I wanted them to have a clear opportunity to have a discussion with their lease holders - the LDA - around whether their lease could be extended.
How do you feel about the fact that the London Assembly has not called you to ask you about the allegations and will not do so until March 5?
The London Assembly is guilty of gross dereliction of duty on this matter. Nobody can understand why, over the past 10 weeks, they haven't summoned me, which is in their power to do, to answer these questions.
Have these allegations and your suspension jeopardised Mayor Livingstone's chances to be re-elected in May?
I don't think they have jeopardised him. Obviously, it is important for the mayor's campaign to get back to the substantive issues facing London - transport, housing, crime. This will give him an opportunity to do that.
How damaging was the fact that your deputy, Rosemary Emodi, was caught lying about taking a free trip to a beach resort in Nigeria and had to resign?
It did hurt. She's somebody who has had a first-class track record of delivering for the mayor's office and it was deeply disappointing. Ultimately any lie, exposed as such, is bound to be damaging.
How are you coping with the negative backlash?
I get the impression of large-scale support - the emails, the phone calls, pastors, business people - all giving support.
Has this experience made you bitter?
I am not bitter about the experience. Politics is a dirty game. The office of mayor of London is now a very sought-after political prize. Black communities can determine the outcome. This can wake us up to the fact that we have enormous power in this city and the voting strength of African, Caribbean, Asian communities means that nobody can get elected here without the support of these groups. What we are enduring is racism and low politics in an effort to secure one of the greatest political prizes in the country.
What's the message you want to send to people out there?
Go out and vote. Don't believe the racist hype. I am just the focal point but the campaign has targeted everybody. This is a systematic attack on black London. People should not be fooled. A white-owned newspaper with mostly white staff has sought to target a broad range of African Caribbean and Asian organisations and individuals in the city with falsehoods. That constitutes a racist campaign in my book.
How will these allegations change the way you personally operate?
I will have to be a lot more strategic in the interventions that I make. Occasionally, I champion a particularly worthy and hard-pressed project. I think that's less likely to happen now. In my job, my objective has been to deliver for black communities and other deprived communities so everybody can access the great opportunities around them. I will continue to do that, no matter what happens. I will always champion my community.
Lee Jasper: I am not being hounded out of my job because of racist lies and smears. I am not capitulating to racism. I never do. - contributed
