Mittal makes Labour 2 million pounds richer |
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Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:05
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LONDON: India-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has donated 2 million pounds to the Labour Party. The multi-billionaire, who lives in London and has global interests in steel and whose net worth is estimated at 14.8 billion pounds, says he is impressed by Prime Minister Tony Blair's reform plans, especially in education, health, employment, skills and technology.
The donation constitutes the biggest single contribution by an individual to the party ever since Lord Sainsbury gifted 2.5 million pounds in March 2003.
A spokesperson for the Labour Party acknowledged the donation and said, "We are grateful to everyone who contributes whatever they can to the Labour Party. We appreciate this very generous donation and thank Lakshmi Mittal for his continued support."
Lakshmi Mittal, 55, and ranked 54th by Forbes magazine among the world's richest, is the chairman and chief executive of the Mittal Steel Company, the largest steel company in the world.
He had met Blair before the general elections and had told him about the donation.
Mittal was involved in a controversy three years ago, called the "steelgate", when it was found that Blair had officially supported his bid for a Romanian state steel company Sidex, just two months after he made a donation of 125,000 pounds to the Labour Party. Blair maintained that he was unaware of the donation when he wrote to the Romanian prime minister, and that he was doing what he would do for any British businessman. Mittal insisted it was a personal donation made after his company had entered negotiations with the Romanians.
Mittal explained the reasons for the current donation in a statement:
"I believe that the Labour party has made a significant and very positive impact on the overall prosperity of the United Kingdom since it came to office in 1997.
"The party has set out long-term investment plans to further improve education, health, employment, skills and technology and I am supportive of the work it is doing in these fields."
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