Events | 2010.08.13
Hugh Muir's diary
Does the system of financial regulation work? Ask Conrad. He knows.
• With the jury still out, in a figurative sense, on the issue of whether or not Conrad Black really is a fraudster, it seems safer to stick to things we know to be true. And everyone can agree that the former Telegraph publisher is a historian of considerable reputation. Thus, with the shackles off, he – as a student of great politicians and military figures – will be considering strategy. How to bring himself back from the depths of disgrace to the bright salons of London and North America. So we know what his motives are. But still, that doesn\'t quite explain why the pointyheads at Standpoint magazine considered Black to be of sufficient stature to merit pride of place in the latest issue . Or why he, of all people, was considered the right man to hold forth over 3,900 words on the subject of financial regulation. Black offers few kind words for the Securities and Exchange Commission – but how surprising is that? SEC regulators initiated the Hollinger investigation that ultimately condemned Conrad to his 28 months in jail.
• And talking of finance, good it is to see British business following the chancellor\'s lead – living within its means and reducing borrowing. There is evidence that the strategy works too. Over at Osborne and Little – proprietor Sir Peter Osborne, father of George – the company is back in profit after £1.7m losses in the previous year, even though sales of its wallpaper products are down 10%. There has been a 15% reduction in the number of staff, and of course the wage bill is down. Sir Peter led by example with a pay cut of 27%. Just £731,000 for him, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.
• Day in day out, they sit there. Unloved and unnoticed. All those stories in the Times, shielded from the world by Rupert\'s brave new paywall. Experts say the result of the great experiment thus far has been to hide away Times journalism from 90% of those who formerly liked to consume it on the web. But the adaptable will always adapt; and as proof of that we observe that Ruth Gledhill, the Thunderer\'s religious affairs correspondent, is once again embracing a wider readership by linking her Facebook page to her Times articles as reprinted in the Murdoch-owned title The Australian. Another victory for the free flow of information. And what Rupert doesn\'t know can\'t hurt.
• Meanwhile, here it is: the new employment criteria for civil servants. Be ready to work long hours, to serve several masters. Oh, and make sure you are prepared to grass on your mates. The guidance for security vetting isn\'t brushed up very often but there has been a recent review, and it suggests that recruits had better "declare any association with individuals about whom they have security concerns". But don\'t, it says – and this is underlined – "inform the individual(s) of this". It has to be a secret. Right up to the point that MI5 loses the paperwork on a train.
• As aficionados gather for the annual Great British Beer Festival in London\'s Earl\'s Court, some wonder if certain figures in the industry are getting a bit above themselves. Members of the booze trade attending the recent World Beer Awards were startled by some of the grandiose titles given to the judges of this august event. Roger Protz basked in the title "world chairman", and upon Stan Hieronymus was bestowed the honour "chairman of the Americas"; Jeff Evans had to make do with "Europe chairman". "If that bloke at the United Nations can\'t hack it, I\'m up for the job," said Protz. And yet none would say the beers were any stronger than usual.
• Finally, in the Mirror, an important advance in the use of new technology in sport. Sports columnist The Mole reports that henceforth players facing disciplinary proceedings might not have to make their representations in person. Justice can be done using video technology. "It was good enough for murderer Jon Venables in his latest trial, and it will be introduced as an experiment by the FA this season," he says. That\'s progress.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/04/hugh-muirs-diary-conrad-black
