BRITISH minister Alan Meale has been implicated in another “favours for friends” lobbying scandal after allegations that he gave a prominent Cypriot businessman privileged access to parliament.
According to the Sunday Times, Labour’s environment minister gave a House of Commons research pass to his millionaire friend Haris Sophoclides, a senior member of Britain’s 300,000-strong Greek Cypriot community.
A researcher’s pass gives virtually unrestricted access to the Commons and passholders can obtain early viewing of sensitive reports, at the same time as senior officials.
Sophoclides, who is managing director of J&P’s London office, is alleged to have paid for Meale to visit Cyprus on no less than six occasions.
As president of the influential Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, Sophoclides arranged for the lobby group to donate £10,000 to Labour’s election campaign.
The property developer has also organised two holidays in Cyprus for Labour Prime Minister John Prescott and his wife, the Sunday Times said.
The paper claims that Meale gave out a second pass to Sophoclides’ son, Tony, who acts as Prescott’s Commons researcher.
When questioned about his conduct, Meale admitted that he had not read the government’s ministerial anti-sleaze code.
“All I need is (Sophoclides’) advice on matters related to Cyprus or I just wanted to ask his advice on one or two other things,” explained Meale.
J&P, one of the largest construction groups in the region, has a turnover of £500 million sterling and a long history of British government contracts abroad.
The company is embroiled at home in allegations involving Interior Minister Dinos Michaelides, who allegedly accepted a luxury J&P flat on the cheap for “political favours”. The company has denied it did anything wrong.
These latest allegations follow last week’s report in the Sunday Times that Meale had breached guidelines after lobbying his own department to promote a £14 million football complex in north London’s green-belt.
The scheme would benefit Greek Cypriot millionaire and Barnet Football Club chairman Tony Kleanthous, who has known Meale for three years.
There has not been any suggestion that Kleanthous offered the minister anything in return for his intervention.
