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Oily Duncan: Not Obvious One to Demand Openness
Not quite sure when The Press Association filed this report. Mandelson, off to Moskva but Deripaska off the agenda. Here's an extract:The EU's top trade official insisted that there had been "no political interference" from the commissioner when the EU cut aluminium tariffs - saving the Russian huge sums.
However, shadow business secretary Alan Duncan demanded a full explanation of the pair's dealings.
"All Lord Mandelson's so-called considered statements have been a carefully-crafted piece of the picture and only bit by bit -- drip by drip -- are we beginning to see the truth that he has been holding back.
"He should now make a full statement -- up to Westminster standards -- of all his interests and associations while an EU Commissioner," he told The Sunday Telegraph.
The intriguing bit about this is that Oily Alan Duncan is making this demand. Someone who, like Osborne, tried to avoid revealing the donors funding his office. And whose activities before entering parliament have not been officially disclosed, because "Westminster standards" arguably do not require that.
Oily's not the obvious choice of empty vessel to be calling the kettle black. And I must add that I think we're a long way from full disclosures from either Duncan or Osborne when it comes to their contacts and links with Oleg Deripaska and his companies.
4 comments:
And Mandy is hardly the obvious choice of empty vessel to claim he has made a 'full disclosure'.
Did the "investigation" into Mandelson's activities and 'non-intervention' include the 2004 and 2005 meetings.
If not, then would a different conclusion have been arrived at?
If so, then why did Mandelson's people make no mention of them when asked about meetings with Deripaska?
Is Mandy claiming to have made a full disclosure? Doesn't Duncan mean of everything ever and not just meetings with Derispaska?
The other three questions are pretty dim really, even by Tory troll standards. What was the actual wording of the Q put to Mandelson and answered by EU officials which produced an answer about 06 and 07 meetings? Do you know?
Oily Duncan is a little bloke and could be chucked a few feet but I'd not trust him even that far with anything whatsoever.
He is a paid worker for an oil company and received quite a lot of cash from an oil boss - which like Osborne and his monies from Rothschilds - was somethingly repressed in donations.
Is WR still claiming I should trust an anonymous troll more than the Guardian newspaper btw? Have they published a correction to any of their reporting on Mandelson being in the clear?
And should Osborne be resigning rather than just belatedly apologising for "getting involved" as if he was got into trouble by some big boys. Pathetic.
Believe The Gurdian if you like, but:
The Times
The European Commission imposed a tariff on Russian and Chinese aluminium foil producers in 2001 because they were allegedly dumping cheap foil into the European market.
Daily Telegraph
November 23, 2004 – EU Trade Commission review begins on whether Deripaska's Rusal should be subject to the 14.9 per cent anti-dumping tariff on aluminium foil from Russia
The Independent
A decision to exempt the Russian's business from a tariff on aluminium foil was approved by Lord Mandelson in December 2005
Timesonline
In a document signed off by Mandelson in December 2005, it was agreed the European commission would scrap measures against Deripaska’s company
BBC
(Deripaska’s) business benefited from a December 2005 decision to ease import duties on Russian aluminium.
Sunday Herald
One of his (Mandelson’s) first actions as commissioner in December 2005 was to sign into law the removal of the tariffs
So, the question remains. When the EU carried out their exhaustive and strenuous investigation, were they made aware of any meetings that took place before the decision was made?
From today's Guardian
Mandelson was called on yesterday to say whether he had ever talked about aluminium with Deripaska, whose companies benefited from a lowering of EU tariffs on the metal while Mandelson was EU trade commissioner.
So, yes, they have published a correction to their earlier mistaken report.
Will you?
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