Ecclestone affair

   Bernie Ecclestone is a key figure in Formula One motor racing, his influence deriving to a considerable extent from his financial control over the sport. In 1997, it transpired that he had given the Labour Party a one-million-pound donation, a move which raised eyebrows when Labour ministers changed their policy to allow Formula One to continue to be sponsored by tobacco manufacturers – contrary to its previous decision to ban all sports sponsorship by tobacco companies. Following the resulting controversy, Labour returned the donation. However, the episode dented the claims of the Blair administration to be totally untainted by the kind of sleaze that had so damaged the Major Government. For the first time, there were suggestions that the Prime Minister had positioned himself too closely to the interests of wealthy backers and big business. He took the unusual step of going on television to apologise for the ministerial handling of the issue, admitting in the process that mistakes had been made.