Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy, (born 11 July 1944) is a Labour Party peer. He is a former chartered accountant and was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. He now acts as a consultant for a number of companies and is also chairman of a finance company. Levy is also the president of Sense and Sense International, Jewish Care, Barnet and Southgate Colleges, Jewish Free School (JFS), Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade (JLGB), Etz Chaim Jewish Primary School, and Mathilda Marks-Kennedy Jewish Primary School (MMK). He was previously president of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and president of Volunteering Matters. Levy was the chief fundraiser for the Labour Party. A long-standing friend of former prime minister Tony Blair, Levy spent nine years as Blair's special envoy to the Middle East, being replaced by Gordon Brown's appointee, Lord Williams of Baglan, from September 2007. Early life Born in Stoke Newington, North London, to devout Jewish immigrant parents of modest means, Levy was educated at Grocers, later known as Hackney Downs School. Music career Levy qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1966 (ACA then FCA) and set up a professional accountancy practice. The practice attracted a great number of clients in the music and entertainment industry and Levy became a specialist in international copyright and licence. Amongst the clients were the Foundations, Vanity Fair, Roger Greenaway, Barry Mason and many other successful producers and artists. Levy founded Magnet Records with Peter Shelley in 1973. This became one of the most successful independent labels of its day and at one stage had 10% of the British singles market with four singles in the top ten. The successful artists on the label included Adrian Baker, Alvin Stardust, Chris Rea, Bad Manners, Darts, Susan Cadogan, Silver Convention and Guys 'n' Dolls. Levy sold Magnet Records to Warner Brothers in 1988 for £10m. Guitarist Chris Rea said of Levy, "He is extremely tough, one of the hardest bastards I have ever met, but I would leave my children with him rather than anyone else." The music producer Pete Waterman described him as "the greatest salesman I have ever met. He would be able to sell sand to the Arabs." After Magnet was sold, Levy set up M&G Records with backing from Polygram. M&G Records was so named as it was the initials of Michael and his wife Gilda, and featured