Has Mandelson broken the Ministerial Code?
The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics has today placed a complaint with the Cabinet Office querying Lord Mandelson’s Corfu meeting with Colonel Gadaffi’s son, Saif al-Islam Gadaffi just days before the announcement was made that Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was to be sent home on compassionate grounds as he is suffering from terminal cancer.
Officials in Scotland, where the final decision will be made, admitted there had been ‘contact’ with ministers and officials in London. Lord Mandelson’s spokesman said:
‘Peter met Gaddafi’s son in Corfu. Their stay coincided for one night. It was a fleeting conversation - two or three sentences.
However the Sunlight Centre’s complaint is based on section 7.1 of the Ministerial Code of conduct.
”Ministers must ensure that no conflict arise, or could reasonably be perceived to arise between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.”
With such an emotive subject as Lockerbie many people in the British electorate would see Mandelson to be interfering in an issue which is best left to the diplomats.
Published on August 18th, 2009 by chris