I have an apology to make. Last night on the Sky News paper review I was talking about the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report on Equitable Life, which lambasts the operation of the government's financial regulatory system.
During my comments I said that "Ann Abraham is fast becoming Gordon Brown's bogeyman." I wish to apologise to Ms Abraham for any pain and distress caused by the mental image created by that sentence.
I also wish to deny rumours that I said it for a bet! I can confirm though that it was just as well the presenter, Anna Jones, moved the discussion on as I almost got a fit of the giggles...
The way this report was 'allowed' to be published after PMQ's gave the opposition no opportunity to challenge Brown, who was the architect of this scandal. Suggests that this 'Commissioner' may have been leaned upon.
ReplyDeleteThis is yet another example why David Cameron is spot on in describing Gordon Brown as useless.
Unless I missed it could we revert to prior practice of warning us of your appearances.
ReplyDeleteThis would enable us to participate, inter alia, in any corpsing/giggle fits etc!
Iain, I am astonished by how little debate there has been on the Equitable Life fiasco.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, it was the lead item on BBC Breakfast News but there was little reaction comment on it compared with the Northern Rock debacle.
No. It's Bogeyperson. Apart from that you were dead right.
ReplyDeleteAbraham's simply no match for Gordon. He twists her round his little finger and has her for breakfast.
ReplyDeletethe excellent chairman of Equitable Life was superb on Sky News. A devestating analysis on this governments uselessness!
ReplyDeleteCan you honestly see this government of all the incompetents ever apologising for anything?
Brown will blame everybody and anyone to distance himself from this disgrace. A report of substance from the Commissioner but, no doubt, she will not be given a second term!
The Conservatives should distance themselves from every treasury promise made by this crowd.
They should promise what Boris did, a total and complete audit of all the government books and a promise to publish that audit within SIX months of being elected.
(They could even promise to have the Liberal Democrats represented on the audit!)
No promises, except one. We (The tories) will put the economy right!
I would be honoured to be called Brown's Bogeyman. If only I were ....
ReplyDeleteOn Equitable, through which I lost my retirement, I expect NOTHING from this bunch of B...s called a government, as we are not "their people" the way Northern Rock clients obviosly are. Oh for a government of all the people, fat chance.
Alan Douglas
surely bogey and Brown are perfectly comprehensible and apposite in close relation
ReplyDeletepublic opinion demands that this union of thoughts be preserved!
I saw you on Sky last night and I thought the best bit (apart from the sneaky bogey reference)was when you did that really smooth hand over at the end of the first session of newspaper reviews. The fact that you were desperatley trying to hide the fact that you were about to completely corpse and yet stil finished your last comment just as the floor controller was counting down to the adverts was truely masterful.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, both Anna and my wife commented favorably on your professional performance.
Personally, I have never been able to impress two women at the same time and increasingly less often my wife. How do you do that?
What is the point of the FSA?
ReplyDeleteEquitable Life and Northern Rock disasters would not have happened if they were actually up to scratch.
Abolish the FSA and use the money we save on this pointless organisation to pay compensation to people who are affected.
Fail.
ReplyDeleteThe FSA is operationally independent of government and is entirely funded by the firms it regulates through fees, fines and compulsary levies.
factcheck,
ReplyDeleteI'm aware of that, old boy.......
But we still INDIRECTLY pay for it don't we? Ok, maybe I should have written it differently but the money would still be better spent by compensating people rather than paying an army of bureaucrats to sit in front of PC's all day pretending to do some work while they surf the internet....
Equitable Life collapsed before the FSA was set up. Just a minor point.
ReplyDeleteReport was published after PMQs - shocking - fancy anything ever being published on a thursday. A scandal.