Lord Barry Townsley ...more

Why does this man deserve to be made a Lord?
Evening Standard (London), Dec 15, 2005 by KEITH DOVKANTS

His friend, Lord Bell, who speaks for him, told the Standard: "Any financial arrangements between Mr Townsley and the Labour Party that require publication have been published."

It is said of Barry Townsley that whatever his shortcomings may be, he is brilliant at picking his partners.

That was evident when, in November 1975, he married Laura Wolfson, daughter of Lord Wolfson of Marylebone. The Wolfson business dynasty was founded by Laura's grandfather, Isaac, who started the GUS mail order giant.
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One of his clients was Sir Trevor Dawson, among the City's most colourful characters. In 1981, as the Thatcher era was hitting its stride, Sir Trevor was an investment banker with legendary spending habits. He was chauffeured around London in a Cadillac - number plate TD 1 - often with an attractive young woman at his side. He adored horse racing and revelled in his soubriquet, the Galloping Major. He once challenged Lord Hesketh to a race over jumps.

Behind the glamorous screen of his private life, however, Sir Trevor was running a sleazy scam. He was buying shares for clients, then, if their value rose quickly, he would secretly move the short- term profits into accounts controlled by himself. One of the stockbroking firms he used was Jacobson Townsley and when he was eventually found out, Barry Townsley and Ronnie Jacobson were barred from the floor of the exchange for six months for "gross misconduct".
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The Financial Services Authority launched an investigation after a mystery buyer bought 500,000 Railtrack shares just days before the then Transport Secretary Stephen Byers announced, in March 2002, that the Government had decided, after all, to bail out the firm.

The stock had been languishing but its price soared after the announcement and the purchase secured a profit of nearly £1 Mn for the buyer, who was not identified. The identity of the broker who placed the order for the shares was never in doubt, it was Insinger de Beaufort, whose chairman was Barry Townsley.

There was no suggestion he was involved in any irregularity or illegal activity and the FSA told the Standard that no action was taken following its inquiries. Mr Townsley said his firm simply acted for a (evidently very well informed ) client.

A friend and business partner is Martin Paisner, a highly respected solicitor who acts for the Blair family and handled Tony Balir's "blind" trusts. Mr Townsley, his wife Laura and Mr Paisner have a film production company, Wisecroft, which appeared to have serious ambitions. Companies House records show its shares have a nominal value of more than £6Mn .

According to one report, Berwin Leighton Paisner has won more than 100 government contracts, including a lucrative consultancy on the Millennium Dome project.

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