It turns out that Government whip Helen Goodman was a former Treasury civil servant who was - wait for it - once a prime suspect in a leak inquiry. Ms Goodman wrote a secret report that embarassed the former Tory government when it fell into the hands of the then Shadow Chancellor, one G Brown.The identity of the actual leaker was apparently never established. Read Paul's full story HERE.
The leak of the report - and Ms Goodman says she was cleared by her former bosses - is being dragged up by Whitehall officials because it shows just how much his views on leaking have changed with the times. Brown published the leaked report on the eve of a major economic debate in the Commons in 1996, in the process causing huge embarassment to Ken Clarke.
The report forecast various policy changes such as the privatisation of pensions and welfare benefits. It suggested the Tories would sell off roads and force drivers to pay to use them. A gleeful Brown described the report as "a nightmare vision of the future under Tory rule". Clarke dismissed it as the "cranky" work of "juniors at the office".
It then emerged that when she was not working at the Treasury under her maiden name of Goodman, the report's author was an ambitious Labour politician using her married name of Helen Sleaford. She made the shortlist for the safe Labour seat of Barnsley East but suddenly withdrew when the furore over the report blew up.
Ms Goodman left the Treasury in 1997, worked for charities until finally being selected for a fresh safe seat of Bishop Auckland in 2005... Ms Goodman has previously insisted that she was not the person who leaked the report and claimed at the time that she was cleared of leaking by the Treasury.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Was Labour MP Gordon's Treasury Snout?
Paul Waugh speculates that Gordon Brown might have had his very own version of Chris Galley, leaking to him from the Treasury. He identifies Labour MP Helen Goodman as a former suspect in a Treasury leak enquiry. She once worked in the Treasury for Ken Clarke. Paul writes...
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7 comments:
It just shows what a lying conniving bastard Gordon Brown is. Just shows how corrupt new labour are.
This reads as if the labour mole herself wrote an embarrassing report and then leaked it as a Tory proposal.
Like the game hunter in Jurassic Park said, before being eaten by the raptor -- "Clever"
Word verifications seem to be following me around - 'chests'
The problem is that leaks happen.
It is true that DC would not like his government to leak if he were to be PM (Well the bad sort of leak), he would be a fool to act so heavy handed if it did happen over minor things.
Leaking should be taken out of this legal grey area and some principles should be put in place.
For a start, if the information is obtainable by FOI it is not a leak
There being no Statute of Limitations, perhaps an MP might be persuaded to make a complaint to the Stasi that Gordon Brown either 'aided, abetted, counselled or procured misconduct in a public office' or, in the alternative, 'conspired with a person or persons unknown to effect misconduct in a public office' in or about 1996.
What is sauce for the goose ought to make very nice sauce for the gander.....
The Home Secretary and those ever faithful nu labour backbenchers are all acting like "slippery ells" - they have been caught out and have handled the situation badly but they will play every dirty action they can to try and deflect blame away from themselves!
They are surely demonstrating clearly to the electorate that they are now unfit for office!
Did he groom her?
Well I suppose that it's an improvement that now you're at least [i]trying[/i] to compare like with like, but you seem to have detected an ambiguity in the phrase "cleared of leaking by the Treasury" whic I confess escapes me.
please publiscise this much more
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QIrweIqqsOc
why is it not all over the media
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