Jowell: Prescott Did Have Hand in Casino Decisions
A fellow minister of John Prescott has revealed that he was indeed involved in decisions over super casinos.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has let on that she remembered having a dialogue with Prescott at the end of 2004 on the number of casino sites that should be approved.
However, giving evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, Jowell insisted that the discussions focused mainly on their effect on "regeneration objectives" - a responsibility of Prescott's department at the time.
Ms Jowell told MPs: "If I cast back, I can certainly recall conversations with the DPM about the number of regional casinos that would be consistent with the regeneration objective, but this was very much in terms of the development of the policy statement on casinos (released in December 2004)."
Later on, the government announced that it would only be giving out a license for one super casino, along with eight medium sized and eight small casinos.
Prescott came under fire earlier this year over allegations that he had close ties with super casino bidder Philip Anschutz, owner of the Millennium Dome. Prescott has been accused of having conflicts of interest following the revelation that he spent a few days on the Colorado ranch of the American Billionaire.
Prescott was pushed in deeper when it was found out that he did not register the visit, and that he received a Wild West outfit from the casino mogul.
