Prescott-Anschutz 8th Meeting Revealed
Prescott-Anschutz 8th Meeting Revealed
John Prescott was reportedly given a VIP tour of the London offices of casino mogul Philip Anschutz’s company one month after his controversial two-night stay at the Millennium Dome’s owner’s Colorado estate. The visit over summer of 2004 was not declared by Prescott. The eighth meeting was previously undisclosed, and it was believed that he only met up with Anschutz on six other occasions, with the Colorado visit being the last. The eighth meeting was allegedly with senior figures from Anschutz Entertainment Group, the firm bidding for the Millennium Dome to be turned into Britain’s first super casino. The meeting allegedly took place on August 17, 2005 as part of a visit to the Greenwich Peninsula. He is said to have been shown models of what the Dome would look like after its completion by chief executive Tim Leiweke. Tim Leweke is said to play a pivotal role in the company’s relationship between the government and casino mogul Anschutz. He was at five of the seven meetings between Prescott and Anschutz. It was also said that the day after Prescott left the ranch, Leiweke and his wife hosted a drinks reception for him to celebrate the success of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Bid, where Anschutz gave $1.5 million for the campaign. Hugo Swire, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “This eighth meeting further confirms that we need the Deputy Prime Minister to respond to our questions as a matter of urgency. The longer he takes to do this, the longer this public pantomime will rumble on.” Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesman, said: “Mr Prescott has clearly invested a huge amount in this particular project and the independence of the Casino Advisory Panel must be assured.”
