People’s bank has close ties with government

No “arms length” policy

Brown and Darling told us that the bank would be managed as independently as possible and at arms length during it’s period of “temporary public ownership”, yet already we see top executives with very close ties to Gordon Brown.

Tom Scholar, appointed to the bank’s board was Gordon Brown’s former Chief of Staff, and he has a colourful past as revealed in The Wall Street Journal last May.

Mr Darling has also appointed Philip Remnant, chairman of the Shareholder Executive which was created to improve the Government’s performance as a shareholder in business.Stephen Hester, the chief executive of British Land, a subsidiary of which donated £1,500 to the Scottish Labour Party last year, has also joined the board.

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond has just reacted to the news that Tom Scholar has been appointed to the Board of Northern Rock:

“This completely blows apart Alistair Darling’s promise to run Northern Rock at arm’s length. Now he’s got his former chief of staff on the Board, how can he claim that Northern Rock will be run free from political interference? The truth is that the Prime Minister doesn’t do ‘arms length’. He clearly has every intention of meddling in Northern Rock’s affairs for as long as it remains in public hands.”

We also learn that the bank will not to be subject to the normal caveats of the Freedom of Information Act, despite it operating with £100bn of our money. You would think that we ought to know what non-dom Mr. Sandler plans to do with our money, but apparently not. (Sandler had best not spend too much time in international airports over the next year, just in case the tax man makes a grab for him!) Ann Godbehere, the Rock’s new Chief Financial Officer is also a Canadian non-dom.

So it’s beginning to look like the “people’s bank” will operate with very close advice and attention from the Bruins in Downing Street, just as Guido points out that he thinks the first person to have their home repossessed by the government is a man from Bishop Auckland.