Tony Blair's confidant Lord Michael Levy opens doors for his people
The chareidi school in the Stamford Hill neighborhood, founded in 1942, had just moved onto a new campus funded by Tony Blair’s government, and the star-studded line-up for the renaming ceremony was evidence of the high-level contacts that had brought state funding to a private Jewish school.
But as the dignitaries gathered in the rain and wind, the ceremony got off to a bad start: The curtain over the dedication plaque refused to budge.
It was an awkward moment for the hosts — until Lord Michael Levy took things into his own hands.
The Stamford Hill born, Shomer Shabbos peer — who’d risen from humble origins to become an entrepreneur, Labour Party fundraiser, and Blair’s trusted adviser as well as tennis partner — had actually been honored with the unveiling. And true to his self-help philosophy, a stubborn dedication plaque wasn’t going to deter him.
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