Reply #10: Tessa Jowell 'offered Olympic cash in bid to get Georgia Gould seat in parliament'

[T_i_B]

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1173566/Tessa-Jowell-offered-Olympic-cash-bid-family-friend-seat-parliament.html

Labour was plunged into a fresh storm last night after a leaked email suggested that Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell promised money from the 2012 Games in exchange for the selection of a family friend as a General Election candidate.

Miss Jowell is accused of trying to 'bribe' party members in the Erith and Thamesmead constituency by telling them that if they selected Georgia Gould, the area would be in a good position to benefit from the £9billion Olympics budget which she controls.

In an email, written the day after the April 7 meeting, Miss Gould - the 22-year-old daughter of Tony Blair's poll guru Lord Gould - wrote: 'I hosted a great meeting last night for Tessa Jowell, the Minister for the Olympics. Tessa spoke with real passion about the opportunities for investment that will result from the Olympics.

Miss Jowell is one of several senior Labour figures connected to the Gould family who have supported Miss Gould's bid to win selection to the safe seat in a deprived part of South-East London, including Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell. The contest has been dogged by a bitter dispute within the party, with accusations of attempted vote-rigging and claims that Miss Gould is exploiting her powerful political connections to secure victory over local candidates.