He treated guests to lavish dinners at his mansion in Totteridge, North London. Some potential donors were also invited to use the private tennis courts where he played matches with the Prime Minister, a close personal friend. One guest was told that Mr Blair "might just turn up".

David Osler, the author of Labour Party plc: New Labour as a Party of Business, told the BBC: "Tony does turn up, they play a round of tennis, Tony leaves.

"Twenty minutes later, he will be sweet-talking them into making a donation, and many people are only too happy to cough up."

Lord Levy told Mr Osler that he and the Prime Minister are "like brothers". The men met at an Israeli diplomatic dinner in 1994 and became tennis partners.

Shortly after Mr Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, he made his friend a life peer - Lord Levy of Mill Hill. Three years later, Mr Blair made him his special envoy to the Middle East.

Born in a poor area of East London to immigrant parents, Michael Abraham Levy has always been as committed to helping Jewish charities as he has been to the Labour Party.

He was made head boy at his local primary school before graduating to Hackney Downs grammar school.

Although he trained as an accountant, he found money and fame in promoting 1960s and 1970s singing stars and helped set up Magnet Records, the company that gave the world the band Bad Manners.

Selling the company to Warner Bros for £10 million secured his own financial future and allowed him more time to devote to his favourite causes - including the Labour Party.

The Forumula One boss Bernie Ecclestone was one of the most controversial donors to succumb to Lord Levy's appeal for cash.

Mr Ecclestone's £1 million donation had to be repaid by the party to avoid claims that the money had been used to buy policies. This was one of several controversies over donations secured by the peer.

Lord Levy is is also president of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the organisation that recruits sponsors for city academies - a flagship close to Mr Blair's heart.

One headteacher, Des Smith, claimed that academy donors would be rewarded with honours or peerages. Lord Levy has always insisted that nothing improper had taken place.

The peer came under more scrutiny over his role in brokering £14 million worth of loans to the Labour Party - four of which were from lenders later nominated for peerages.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission said that it was concerned that it had not been told that Labour nominees Sir Gulam Noon, Barry Townsley, Sir David Garrard and Chai Patel had given money to the party.

At the time Lord Levy let it be known that he would tell police that he was against getting wealthy backers to offer secret loans instead of publicly declared donations - but was urged to do so by Mr Blair to save the party from bankruptcy.

The peer's own finances have also been questioned. Six years ago, it was reported that he had paid only £5,000 in tax during the financial year 1998-99 - equivalent to the tax paid on a salary of £21,000.

The peer complained that the figures had been obtained unlawfully by The Sunday Times and that he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign. When he sold his business in 1988, he had paid £2.5 million in taxes but had paid very little in 2000 because most of his capital was invested in "two very, very nice residences" that didn't bring him any income.

Lord Levy's raised around £40 million for Labour over the past decade. He's always said he would quit when Mr Blair stood down.

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