Sunday, 2 November 2008

From The Sunday Times
From The Sunday Times

November 2, 2008

Lord Mandelson refuses to register meetings with oligarch

Lord Mandelson

Mandelson will face criticism that he has not used the register of interests to be open about his relationship with Deripaska

Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Lord Mandelson will face new questions this week over his friendship with the oligarch Oleg Deripaska when he refuses to disclose hospitality accepted from the Russian billionaire in his official register of interests.

The business secretary has concluded he is not obliged to disclose any information about meetings with the oligarch, whose £80m superyacht, Queen K, he visited as a guest this summer.

By contrast, George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, who discussed a possible donation from Deripaska, has fully detailed his meetings.

Mandelson’s defiant stance in the face of calls from the Conservatives for disclosure comes as a British company controlled by Deripaska has been shortlisted for a government contract worth more than £20m to supply vehicles to the public sector. The shortlisting of Birmingham-based LDV was announced at a function at Mandelson’s department on Monday, although he was not involved in the decision.

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Under the ministerial code of conduct, ministers who are peers must disclose any hospitality worth more than £1,000 in the House of Lords’ register of interests. Mandelson is thought to have decided the rules do not apply to hospitality accepted during a summer break in Corfu before he was a minister.

His proposed entry, due to be published this week in the House of Lords’ register of interests, will declare his ministerial salary and his positions outside government, including his presidency of Hartlepool United football club and his honorary chairmanship of the Policy Network, an international think tank.

It will also list an “EC transitional allowance”, which is a £78,000-a-year supplement to make up the difference between his salary in Brussels and his new pay packet. The register entry indicates he has decided to accept this controversial perk, which he was urged to turn down when it was first made public.

His friendship with Deripaska could create a conflict of interest if he has to make any decisions in relation to the tycoon’s business interests in the UK. An authoritative source has told The Sunday Times that Mandelson was an overnight guest on Deripaska’s yacht in the summer.

When he was trade commissioner, Mandelson was required to disclose any gift worth more than €150 (now £120). He declared a pen, a glass lamp, a rug and a gold decorated glass plate, and a model sailing vessel. He was not required to disclose hospitality worth significantly more because of the relatively lax rules on commissioners’ conduct.

Mandelson will face criticism that he has not used the register to be open about his relationship with Deripaska, who has been refused a visa to travel to the US.

Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the House of Lords, said last week: “It is vital that Lord Mandelson is open and transparent about all his recent dealings with lobbyists and businessmen and about hospitality received from them.”

It emerged this weekend that LDV – owned by Deripaska – has been shortlisted along with Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz and seven other companies for a scheme to subsidise greener vehicles for police officers, revenue officials and postal workers.

LDV, which employs more than 600 workers, was bought by Deripaska’s Moscow-based Gaz group in 2006 for about £50m. It is bidding for a contract in which £20m will be used to subsidise green vehicles bought or leased for the public sector.

In a press release trumpeting the new scheme, Mandelson said: “Investment in greener motoring forms part of our plan to put the UK at the forefront of the new low carbon revolution.”

The business secretary said he was determined to support the “next generation of low carbon cars”, but did not attend the event because he was travelling in Russia.

The project is being led by Geoff Hoon, the transport secretary, and Mandelson will not be involved in deliberations on any work awarded to LDV.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said the department had hosted a conference of international experts on green transport where the shortlist was announced. “Lord Mandelson was not at the event and was not in any way involved in drawing up the shortlist,” she added.

Mr Mandelson shows complete contempt for the electorate who didn't and wouldn't vote for him. Why doesn't his boss give him the same speech he gave us on transparency? 
Or is Mr Mandelson too busy lording it up?

rob, ashbourne, uk

What has he got to hide? Another politician who thinks he is above the law.

steve tea, manchester, cheshire


Posted by Britannia Radio at 23:44