British Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, have been accused of misleading MPs about talks held with American gambling heads to construct major casinos in Britain. Some believe that Blair and Jowell privately discussed easing money laundering policies for these casinos. The parties denied these contentions.
These claims were made based on official papers, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents claimed that officials from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport had discussed easing European Union money laundering regulations in order to encourage American Casino operators. The announcement came at a time where investing in Britain's forthcoming super casinos, would seemly be valuable.
The reaction was the opposition from within the government. Social groups also opposed the idea. The original idea was to allow eight super-casinos, but was later scaled down to one. More casinos may be allowed once the new Gambling Commission has looked at the social impact that these extra casinos will have on the people. |
