Thursday 23 October 2008

Huhne is right to demand Osborne inquiry.

Chris Huhne is dead right to demand an inquiry into Gideon Osborne's activity on Corfu in the summer. Gideon's ex - friend, the financier Nathaniel Rothschild has claimed that the ludicrous shadow chancellor solicited a donation from the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. I don't think the media has fully emphasised how shocking this is. After all the years of politicians being tainted by sleaze, you would think someone aspiring to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be careful to ensure he is whiter than white. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, it is illegal for someone who is not a U.K citizen, such as Deripaska to donate to British political parties. So the guy who wants to be Chancellor has been accused by one of his old friends of seeking to break U.K law. I think this is at best, a misjudgement which makes Gideon unworthy of high office and at worst a clumsy and thoughtless attempt to gain an unlawful donation. An inquiry clearly needs to take place firstly to clarify the law on this issue, secondly to clarify whether Gideon broke that law and also to make an example of him in a way which deters any other political figures from behaving similarly. Even if it turns out that Gideon has merely been "sailing close to the wind", I fear that this whole episode has reduced further, the public's faith in politicians. This sort of incident should be avoided by all senior politicians from all parties in the future.