The Right Honourable Dame Tessa Jowell DBE MP
Shadow Minister for the Olympics
In office 11 May 2010 – 11 September 2012
Leader	Harriet Harman Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Jeremy Hunt
Succeeded by	Office Abolished
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 Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Francis Maude
Succeeded by	Liam Byrne
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 the Olympics
In office 6 July 2005 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport)
Paymaster General
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Dawn Primarolo
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	Office Abolished
In office 28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Jim Fitzpatrick
Succeeded by	Tony McNulty
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
Minister for Women
In office 5 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Patricia Hewitt
Succeeded by	Ruth Kelly
Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood Dulwich (1992–1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Gerald Bowden
Majority	9,365 (19.4%)
Personal details
Born	(1947-09-17) 17 September 1947 (age 65) Marylebone, London, England, UK
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Roger Jowell (divorced) David Mills (separated)
Children	2 (+ 3 stepchildren)
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh University of Aberdeen Goldsmiths, University of London

Dame Tessa Jane Jowell DBE (born 17 September 1947) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she was Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London until 11 September 2012, resigning two days after the end of London 2012.

Early life[edit]

Tessa Jane Helen Palmer was born in Marylebone, London to Dr. Kenneth Palmer, a physician, and his wife, Rosemary, a radiographer.^[1]

She was educated at the public school St Margaret's School for Girls in Aberdeen, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She became a social worker and eventually administrator of the mental health charity Mind. In 1978, she was Labour Party candidate in a by-election in Ilford North but lost Labour's majority to the Conservatives. She also stood in Ilford North, again unsuccessfully, at the 1979 general election.^{[citation needed]}

Member of Parliament[edit]

Elected as MP for Dulwich at the 1992 general election, she was successively appointed as an opposition spokesman on health, an opposition whip and spokesman on women before returning to the shadow health team in 1996.^{[citation needed]}

In government[edit]

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 original plans for the digital channel BBC3 on the grounds that they were insufficiently different from commercial offerings, and imposed extra conditions^[2] on BBC News 24 after it was criticized on the same grounds by the "Lambert Report".^[3] 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 a "public interest" test was introduced as a compromise after a rebellion in the House of Lords. In 2004, Jowell faced resistance to proposals for a series of Las Vegas-style casinos. She dealt with complaints that the National Lottery has been directed to fund programmes that should be 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 established board of governors. In 2012 The BBC Trust was shown to be not fit for purpose and lead to the resignation of the Director General.^[4][5]

Jowell was a strong supporter of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, reportedly saying on one occasion that she would "jump under a bus" for him.^[6][7]

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

Jowell was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for political and charitable services in particular the Olympics.^[8][9]

Political positions[edit]

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 touted as a possible Cabinet minister who could resign over the leadership of Gordon Brown in order to trigger a leadership contest, however she never did. In Opposition, Jowell supported David Miliband's campaign to become Leader of the Labour Party but remained in Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet. 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[edit]

Jowell notably was in charge of London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics. She came up with the idea, during her time as Culture Secretary in 2002 when there was said to be very little support from within the Cabinet with many thinking that Paris would win. However, Jowell convinced the Government to support the bid and went ahead with it. In 2004 she launched the bid and then when it was successful she was appointed Olympics Minister, on top of her post as Culture Secretary, with full ministerial responsibility over the Olympics bid in 2006. In the bid, the cost of the Olympics was estimated to be £2.47bn this had jumped to £9.3bn by 2007.^[10] Despite being moved from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2007, she kept her job as Olympics Minister throughout Labour's time in office. In May 2010, she was made Shadow Olympics Minister and spoke on behalf of the new Labour Opposition on the Olympics a job she has done ever since. She remained on the Olympics organising committee with Lord Coe and Jeremy Hunt even though she was no longer a Government minister. She was made Deputy Mayor of the Olympics Village because she was responsible for making the Olympics take place. She resigned from her role as Shadow Minister for the Olympics in September 2012 and returned to the backbenches. It is speculated that she will step down from Parliament at the next general election, but nothing has been confirmed.

Controversies[edit]

"Jowellgate"[edit]

Jowell's husband David Mills (lawyer) has acted for Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister. Mills was investigated in Italy for money laundering and alleged tax fraud.^[11][12]

Jowell was investigated by the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell over the allegations surrounding her husband because of a potential clash 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,^[13] and Tony Blair decided she was clear of any wrongdoing.^[14]

On 4 March 2006, it was announced that Jowell and Mills had separated after the allegations began to damage Jowell's political reputation. Their professed hopes to "restore their relationship over time" rather than seek divorce have caused some to regard this as merely a politically expedient gesture to save her political career at the expense of her husband.^[15][16] Mills allegedly admitted to being an "idiot" and has expressed his remorse about the impact of his dealings upon Jowell, who has continued to claim she was not in on the deal. The affair has been termed "Jowellgate" by some segments of the press.^{[citation needed]}

On 17 February 2009, an Italian court sentenced David Mills to four years and six months in jail for accepting a bribe from Silvio Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials 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 his sentence of 4½ years prison. He confirmed that he would initiate a second and final appeal to the Cassation Court^[17]

On 25 February 2010, the Italian Cassation Court (the second and last court of appeal under Italian law) ruled a sentence of not guilty because the statute of limitations expired.^[18][19] The supreme court judges ruled that he received the money in 1999, and not 2000 as prosecutors had previously argued. He was ordered to pay €250,000 compensation to the office of the Italian prime minister for "damaging its reputation".^[20] Jowell said "although we are separated I have never doubted his innocence".^[21]

Other controversies[edit]

In 2001 Jowell was widely criticized for interfering in 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".^[22][23][24] 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".^[25]

In 2006, Jowell was heavily criticised for likely cost over-runs on the London 2012 Summer Olympics project, which came under the umbrella of her former department.^[26] She was among a number of ministers accused of hypocrisy for opposing Post Office closures in their own constituencies while supporting the Government's closure strategy at the national level.^[27]

Jowell was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport during the News of the World phone hacking scandal (pre-2007).^[28] No evidence has been presented that she knew or played a role in the phone hacking practices. Clive Goodman, an editor, was jailed for four months in January 2007, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, was jailed for six months.^[29]

Personal life[edit]

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.^[30] Roger Jowell co-founded and directed Social & Community Planning Research (SCPR), now the National Centre for Social Research,^[31] known for its British Social Attitudes Surveys. Her second marriage, on 17 March 1979, to Mills, remains legally extant but the couple reportedly separated in 2006.^[32] She has a son and daughter, as well as three stepchildren.

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 phone on 28 separate occasions in 2006. Jowell contacted police in late January 2011 to inform them that there had recently been an unsuccessful attempt to listen to messages on her phone.^[33]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Tessa Jowell MP official site
• Labour in Lambeth
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• The Big Interview: Tessa Jowell, Andrew Neil, BBC News, 13 April 2010
• Landmark on Google Maps
• BBC news item on the above

v t e Brown Cabinet Cabinet Members Lord Adonis Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton Ed Balls Hilary Benn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Gordon Brown Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper Alistair Darling John Denham Peter Hain Harriet Harman Geoff Hoon John Hutton Alan Johnson Tessa Jowell Ruth Kelly Lord Mandelson David Miliband Ed Miliband Jim Murphy Paul Murphy James Purnell Baroness Royall Jacqui Smith Jack Straw Shaun Woodward Also Attended Meetings Margaret Beckett Nick Brown Lord Drayson Caroline Flint Lord Grocott John Healey Jim Knight Lord Malloch-Brown Pat McFadden Tony McNulty Baroness Scotland Attended While on Agenda Beverley Hughes Sadiq Khan Dawn Primarolo Rosie Winterton

v t e Paymasters General Parnell Stanley Knatchbull Baring Macaulay Granville Stanley Colchester Stanley Pleydell-Bouverie Lowe Donoughmore Lovaine Wilson Cowper Hutt Goschen Monsell Cave Dufferin Childers Adam Cave Plunket Wolverton Beauchamp Thurlow Beauchamp Brownlow Jersey Windsor Seale-Hayne Hopetoun Marlborough Crossley Causton Ashby Strachie Newton Henderson Compton-Rickett Walters Vacant Chamberlain Joynson-Hicks Boyd-Carpenter Gosling Vacant Sutherland Onslow Arnold Vacant Walters Rochester Hutchison Munster Winterton Vacant Cranborne Vacant Hankey Jowitt Cherwell Vacant Greenwood Marquand Addison Macdonald Cherwell Selkirk Vacant Monckton Maulding Mills Brooke Boyd-Carpenter Wigg Vacant Shackleton Hart Lever Eccles Macmillan Dell Williams A. Maude Pym Parkinson Gummer Clarke Brooke Caithness Ryder Belstead Cope Heathcoat-Amory Willetts Bates Robinson Primarolo Jowell F. Maude

v t e Secretaries of State for Culture of the United Kingdom Secretary of State for National Heritage (1992–1997) Mellor Brooke Dorrell Bottomley Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–present) Smith Jowell Purnell Burnham Bradshaw Hunt Miller

v t e Ministers for the Cabinet Office David Clark Jack Cunningham Mo Mowlam Gus Macdonald Douglas Alexander Alan Milburn John Hutton Jim Murphy Hilary Armstrong Ed Miliband Liam Byrne Tessa Jowell Francis Maude All but Jowell and Maude have served concurrently as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

v t e Ministers for London John Gummer Nick Raynsford Keith Hill Nick Raynsford Keith Hill Jim Fitzpatrick Tessa Jowell Tony McNulty Tessa Jowell

v t e Ministers for Women and Equality Minister for Women 1997–2007 Harriet Harman Baroness Jay Patricia Hewitt Tessa Jowell Ruth Kelly Minister for Women and Equality 2007–2010 Harriet Harman Minister for Women and Equalities 2010–present Theresa May Maria Miller

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tessa Jowell