Events | 2010.03.13
Tories accused of scuppering vulture funds bill
Development secretary writes to David Cameron after mystery of who derailed private members\' bill designed to protect poorest countries
Douglas Alexander, the development minister, has written to David Cameron accusing the Conservatives of deliberately scuppering a private members\' bill to prevent so-called vulture funds preying on the world\'s poorest countries.
Amid tumultuous scenes in the Commons today, a Conservative MP objected to the bill, preventing it from passing to its third reading, despite a commitment from the party\'s front bench to support it.
Sally Keeble, the Labour MP who was involved in drafting the bill, claimed that the handful of Conservative front-benchers present covered their mouths with their hands, so that it was impossible to tell who had shouted "object" at the crucial moment - but Tory sources insisted no one from their front bench was involved.
In his letter to Cameron, Alexander said: "I find it incredible that Conservative MPs in the chamber – who had pledged their support to the bill – then objected to it and refused to admit who was responsible."
He urged the Conservative leader to "come clean" on whether the Bill was blocked on instructions from the shadow cabinet. David Gauke, the Conservative front-bencher who piloted the party\'s response to the bill at the committee stage, categorically denied that there had been any co-ordinated effort to sink the legislation.
"I really think it\'s a pity trying to turn this into a matter of simple party politics on the basis of a baseless accusation," he said. "All of us want to help developing countries, all of us have been carefully examining the arguments to ensure that this bill is carefully targeted."
But a furious Keeble said: "What makes me so cross is that the Tories claim to be interested in international development, and this is a very simple little bill. We dealt with all the concerns they had, and they still went and scuppered it."
Gauke said the Conservatives would now decide their own approach to tackling the problem of vulture funds in a new parliament. "What we have said is that we recognise that there\'s an issue with these vulture funds, and we will seek to address it in a way that doesn\'t have unintended consequences for developing countries in making it harder for them to borrow in future," he said.
Vulture funds are investors that buy up the debts of poor governments at a fraction of their face value, and then try to win the money back in courts around the world, regardless of whether the country in question has secured international debt relief.
The bill would have prevented such cases being brought in London, and would also have applied retrospectively. That could have protected Liberia, which lost a $20m (£13m) case against two investment funds in the UK late last year.
Keeble said she would now argue for another slot to debate the bill next Thursday, but has not yet been able to secure the agreement of parliamentary business managers. Alexander suggested it now has little chance of becoming law.
Nick Dearden, director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, said: "It is an outrage that one MP has taken it upon himself to effectively kill a bill which has the support of the vast majority of the House of Commons. This action has destroyed the hopes of many people across the developing world that we might put an end to the appalling practice of vulture funds. This move will mean many of the poorest countries in the world will continue suffering at the hands of reckless and unethical investors."
Labour is urging members of the public to sign up to Alexander\'s letter to Cameron, at http://www.globalpovertypromise.com/letter
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/[...]ies-accused-vulture-funds-bill
