Is ‘Lord Cashpoint’ Tony Blair’s Jack Abramoff?

Abramoff, Cunningham and Jefferson have all become infamous names in Washington for political corruption. Now, London has their own in "Lord Cashpoint" Levy. Known as "Lord Cashpoint" because of his ability to raise millions for the Labor Party, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s top fundraiser has been arrested in connection with allegations that he helped big money contributors buy seats in the House of Lords. The scheme, referred to as ‘Peerage for Cash,’ is illegal. Lord Levy is accused of accepting large loans to the Labor party and then advising that the lenders be nominated to the House of Lords. Labor accepted nearly $27 million in secret loans before last year’s election; four of those lenders were later nominated for peerage. Elfyn Llwyd is a member of Parliament from Wales who reported the alleged scheme involving Lord Levy to Scotland Yard. Llwyd says he and a fellow member of Parliament from Scotland felt it was their duty to report Levy’s actions to the police. "We believed it was undermining the whole democratic republic of the House of Lords and indeed Parliament itself." He says Lord Levy represents a bigger problem of corruption in the Blair Administration. "I think he’s just the tip of the iceberg," says Llwyd, calling Levy "one of the Prime Minister’s closest friends and tennis partners." Levy has denied any wrongdoing, calling his arrest "unnecessary and…theatrical."  But the selling of a British institution by his party could lead to the political undoing of Blair, says Llwyd. "I cannot believe that, if indeed it is proven that he was making these offers, he was doing so without somebody in No. 10 Downing Street knowing that this was happening."