"The Cameron crony and the Kray twins: Tory donor admits working as gangsters’ doorman Capo | April 11, 2012 | 0 Comments
Steel magnate and major Tory donor William Ives worked for Ronnie and Reggie after growing up in London’s East End
David Cameron’s stalker crony yesterday spoke of his links to the Kray twins. Steel magnate and major Tory donor William Ives, who is worth £266million, worked for gangsters Ronnie and Reggie as a doorman after growing up in London’s tough East End.
The brothers used to attend ex-boxer Ives’ fights and once went wild when he knocked out a policeman in the ring.
But Ives, 68, insists he is a legitimate businessman and accused ex-wife Pearl Adams, 56, of spreading malicious rumours about his criminal links after he was cautioned by police for harassing her.
But a friend of Pearl’s denied his claims last night, saying: “Pearl has just tried to get on with her life. She had never tried to blacken his name.”
Ives, who has given the Tories £561,000, spoke out as the Prime Minister was slammed for failing to declare his visit to Downing Street.
The tycoon, known as Bill, wasn’t mentioned in a list of party donors who were entertained at No 10 and Chequers, which the PM was forced to release during the Cash-for-access scandal last month.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said: “It is astonishing that No 10 is still attempting to hide the truth about which Tory donors the PM has met.” The scale of Ives’ donations to the Tories was not generally known until the Mirror’s revelations that he had been arrested and cautioned last week. Friends accuse him of bombarding Pearl with phone calls that continued as she was battling cancer. Yet he has insisted that he only rang a few times because he wanted to win her back.
Ives, who has the Rocky theme tune on his mobile, said of the Krays: “Of course I met them. I was a young boy boxing in the East End and they attended boxing shows. “One year I knocked a policeman out in the finals. They were quite pleased about that. I remember seeing Reggie Kray jumping up and down, shouting ‘well done’.” As a young man Ives also worked the door at the notorious Esmeralda’s Barn in Knightsbridge, West London, owned by the twins. But Ives stressed he didn’t have any association with the criminal underworld now.
“I am a reputable businessman,” he said. “All this stuff about me being a gangster and this and that is just rubbish.”
After being asked if he had any connections that could be found to be embarrassing to the Conservative Party, he said: “I don’t think I want to make any comment on that at all.”
He added: “We all meet people during the course of our lives in business, especially if you come from the East End and you grew up as a boxer and was in the steel business. But I have no affiliation with any perpetrator of wrong doing.” Ives’ name does not appear on the list of wealthy backers entert- ained at No 10 and Chequers that was grudgingly released by the Tories when the Cash-for-Cameron access scandal broke.
A party spokesman said the garden party Ives attended the month after the May 2010 General Election, was not a Conservative event, but put on for the New Schools Network, an education charity with intimate links to the Conservatives. The spokesman said there were many people there who were not donors. And even if it had been a bash for fundraisers, names would not have been declared. Mr Cameron is only committed to releasing details of lunches and dinners, not “general receptions”, he added.
But Labour MP Jon Trickett said: “The British public won’t understand why Tory high command draws a distinction between parties with donors in gardens or those held indoors.We need a full list of all donors. What has Cameron got to hide?”
More to follow.
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