Nice little earners for top Tory team

From The Times
February 3, 2004
Nice little earners for top Tory team
By Greg Hurst, Political Correspondent


MICHAEL HOWARD faced criticism that his MPs lacked commitment yesterday as a union-funded magazine revealed that a third of his frontbench team have paid directorships or consultancies outside Parliament.

Analysis of the Register of Members’ Interests by Labour Research found that 31 of 84 Opposition spokesmen declared outside incomes. Some of those with the most extensive business commitments are in the Opposition economics team, despite the decision by Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Chancellor, to resign two directorships with NM Rothschild, the City investment bank.

David Willetts, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, is an economic adviser to the merchant bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and chairman of Universal Biosensors.

Howard Flight, the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has paid directorships with seven companies, four of them linked to Investec Asset Management.

Mr Flight is also paid as a consultant to the Pep and Isa Managers Association.

Andrew Mitchell, another member of the Tory economics team, has five directorships with Lazard and Co, the investment bank, and is a strategic adviser to Accenture, the management consultancy and services company, for which he receives up to £25,000.

Andrew Tyrie, Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs, is a director of the publicly quoted investment management company BWD Rensburg and the property firm Rugby Estates.

Kevin Brennan, a Labour MP, said: “It becomes very difficult to accept that there is no conflict of interest when people who are supposed to be speaking on behalf of the country from the Opposition front bench have very considerable financial interests in businesses directly affected by their portfolios.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “The Labour Party has got to learn that experience of the real world is what is lacking from Parliament at the moment and having interests outside politics can be a positive thing.”



IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT OLIVER LETWIN NEVER KEPT HIS PROMISE - IF YOU LOOK AT THE REGISTER OF MPS INTERESTS 2009YOU CAN SEE THAT HE IS STILL A NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR