Government minister finances shrouded in secrecy
Despite a promise by Gordon Brown to be "whiter than white" during his time in office it appears that this promise has yet again been broken. It has taken two years for the government to agree to release the financial details of each and every minister and even now it would appear that many ministers are looking to hide their investments and finances behind "blind trusts". The latest name to be mentioned with regards to "blind trusts" is Lord Mandelson who has attracted severe criticism since he joined Gordon Brown's team.
Observers who have been monitoring the situation regarding ministers finances have been going through the list, which was released yesterday, with a fine tooth comb. It would appear that many alleged and rumoured investments and financial details have been omitted from the final list although there have been some rather some bizarre entries which have attracted some interest.
Gordon Brown has yet to respond to criticism of the new procedures and the published list but it appears highly unlikely that given "blind trusts" have been introduced to the mix, that any more information will be forthcoming in the short to medium term. Many people use "blind trusts" to offset any potential conflict of interest during their time in office as legally they are not aware of how their funds are invested and what they are invested into.
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