David James, Baron James of Blackheath
Encyclopedia
David Noel James, Baron James of Blackheath CBE
(born December 7, 1937) is a British
businessman and corporate troubleshooter and Conservative
life peer
.
. Between 1959 and 1964, he trained with Lloyds Bank
, joining Ford Credit's launch team in 1964. He then became a director of many companies, often in trouble, to assist their recovery: in 1973 he joined Cork Gulley to rescue Cedar Holdings; in 1989 he was appointed chairman of Eagle Trust; other directorships have included British Shoe Corporation, LEP group, Dan-Air
, North Sea Assets and Central & Sheerwood. During his time at Eagle Trust he triggered the Iraqi supergun affair. Whilst visiting Eagle-owned Walter Somers
factory in Halesowen
in 1990, he noticed the muzzle of what appeared to be a large gun. He informed MI6, giving them one of their first leads. He served a term under David Rowland on the Council of Lloyd's
and chaired a committee which controversially allowed corporate capital to underwrite on more favourable terms.
In late 2000, James was appointed as chairman of the ailing Millennium Dome
project, a high profile position, and was credited with saving the attraction from financial collapse. In 2005 he attempted to make a bid for troubled carmakers MG Rover.
Ahead of the 2005 general election
, James conducted a review for the Conservatives that identified £35 billion of state sector savings. The disputed figures were heavily used by then Party leader, Michael Howard
. After the election defeat, Howard and Shadow Chancellor
George Osborne
appointed James to head a new Conservative watchdog to monitor the way the third term Labour
administration delivers on its promises to cut costs. He has been vocal about his concerns for the financial management of the London 2012 Olympics.
In April 2006 it was announced that James had been nominated for a Life Peerage by the Conservative Party The news had already been revealed in a list leaked to The Times
that eventually led to the Cash for Peerages
scandal. James himself had given a relatively small amount to the Conservatives. He was gazetted as the 'Baron James of Blackheath', of Wildbrooks in the County of West Sussex
on 9 June 2006.
In November 2010 Lord James claimed in the House of Lords
that he had been approached by a secretive "megarich" organization, which James referred to only as 'Foundation X', willing to lend billions of pounds, interest-free, to the UK government.
He has worked as a Consultant for Cerberus Capital Management
.
Lord James is married but has no children. He has a particular interest in music
and cricket
. He is Chairman of the British Racing Club of horses.
staff member and political blogger who wrote about the story speculated that the organization in question is the Office of International Treasury Control
. possibly an organization though unknown or unacknowledged by any government to date. However, James has stated that he had not been approached by the Office of International Treasury Control, that there were no links between Foundation X and the Office of International Treasury Control, that the Foundation X was a viable organization, and that the offer was in good faith. Further, in the course of the recorded speech James explicitly, albeit apparently unconsciously, conflates Foundation X with the Vatican Bank
.
On Saturday November 6, 2010; the UK Treasury issued a statement which contradicted James' earlier claims; denying that any meeting took place between Lords James & Sassoon and a representative of the group which had being referred to as 'Foundation-X'.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born December 7, 1937) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
businessman and corporate troubleshooter and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
.
Career
James has had a varied career in the city of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. Between 1959 and 1964, he trained with Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
, joining Ford Credit's launch team in 1964. He then became a director of many companies, often in trouble, to assist their recovery: in 1973 he joined Cork Gulley to rescue Cedar Holdings; in 1989 he was appointed chairman of Eagle Trust; other directorships have included British Shoe Corporation, LEP group, Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
, North Sea Assets and Central & Sheerwood. During his time at Eagle Trust he triggered the Iraqi supergun affair. Whilst visiting Eagle-owned Walter Somers
Walter Somers
Walter Somers was an English engineer and businessman who established a forge company, later known as Walter Somers Limited, producing a range of steel products including items for military use by the British Admiralty during World War I.In 1866 Somers was given a loan of £100 by his father and...
factory in Halesowen
Halesowen
Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...
in 1990, he noticed the muzzle of what appeared to be a large gun. He informed MI6, giving them one of their first leads. He served a term under David Rowland on the Council of Lloyd's
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
and chaired a committee which controversially allowed corporate capital to underwrite on more favourable terms.
In late 2000, James was appointed as chairman of the ailing Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
project, a high profile position, and was credited with saving the attraction from financial collapse. In 2005 he attempted to make a bid for troubled carmakers MG Rover.
Ahead of the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, James conducted a review for the Conservatives that identified £35 billion of state sector savings. The disputed figures were heavily used by then Party leader, Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
. After the election defeat, Howard and Shadow Chancellor
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional...
George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
appointed James to head a new Conservative watchdog to monitor the way the third term Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
administration delivers on its promises to cut costs. He has been vocal about his concerns for the financial management of the London 2012 Olympics.
In April 2006 it was announced that James had been nominated for a Life Peerage by the Conservative Party The news had already been revealed in a list leaked to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
that eventually led to the Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
scandal. James himself had given a relatively small amount to the Conservatives. He was gazetted as the 'Baron James of Blackheath', of Wildbrooks in the County of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
on 9 June 2006.
In November 2010 Lord James claimed in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
that he had been approached by a secretive "megarich" organization, which James referred to only as 'Foundation X', willing to lend billions of pounds, interest-free, to the UK government.
He has worked as a Consultant for Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...
.
Lord James is married but has no children. He has a particular interest in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. He is Chairman of the British Racing Club of horses.
"Foundation X" speech
James attracted some press and blog attention after a speech in the House of Lords on November 1, 2010, in which he claimed to have been approached by an unnamed organization wishing to fund massive public works projects in the UK with vast currency reserves backed by gold bullion. A Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
staff member and political blogger who wrote about the story speculated that the organization in question is the Office of International Treasury Control
Office of International Treasury Control
The Office of International Treasury Control is a seemingly elaborate fraudulent organization which claims to be associated with the United Nations and the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. It has attempted to deceive people and organizations in Ecuador, Fiji and the United...
. possibly an organization though unknown or unacknowledged by any government to date. However, James has stated that he had not been approached by the Office of International Treasury Control, that there were no links between Foundation X and the Office of International Treasury Control, that the Foundation X was a viable organization, and that the offer was in good faith. Further, in the course of the recorded speech James explicitly, albeit apparently unconsciously, conflates Foundation X with the Vatican Bank
Vatican Bank
The Institute for Works of Religion , commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located inside Vatican City run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope...
.
On Saturday November 6, 2010; the UK Treasury issued a statement which contradicted James' earlier claims; denying that any meeting took place between Lords James & Sassoon and a representative of the group which had being referred to as 'Foundation-X'.
External links
- Profile: David James the Dome's crisis manager The Guardian 9 September 2000