Ec ‧ cle ‧ stone, Ber ‧ nie /ˈekəlstən, ˈbɜːni $ ˈbɜːr-/ BrE AmE
(1930–), a British ↑ businessman and head of Formula One ↑ motor racing . In 1997 he gave £1 million to the Labour Party. Labour returned the £1 million to Ecclestone when the story appeared in newspapers and on television. It was embarrassing for the Labour government because they had recently stopped tobacco companies from giving financial support to sports, except motor racing.