Britannia Radio

04 December 2008 4:37 PM

Yup, the place stinks

Back to Paul van Buitenen, the almost-only whistleblower in the European parliament: he is winding up to shame Olaf, the (supposed to be) European Anti-fraud Office, next week with evidence to back up his charges of fakery, smears and worse among the staff.

But naming and shaming might not work, because van Buitenen is dealing with a class of person -- the Eurocrat -- impervious to shame.

So I'd say he is on the right track embarrassing them instead. As the 'European Voice' puts it in today's issue, after what van Buitenen has just disclosed at a parliamentary committee meeting, it is clear 'the EU anti-graft watchdog may need toilet training.'

It turns out that last summer -- and the Commission have kept it quiet all this time -- three floors of the Olaf offices were flooded by overflowing lavatories and and a burst waterpipe. 'According to van Buitenen, the staff who discoverd the mess were greeted by confidential files floating through hallways because safes had been left open.'

'What neither side confirmed was the rumour that Olaf runs an "empty desk" policy, meaning that no one is allowed to leave paper on their desk -- so they put it on the floor, with disastrous consequences when the floodwaters rose.'