Saturday, February 02, 2008

Honour among thieves

Derek Conway has been caught out handing public money to members of his family for non existent services. The total amount seems unclear, but at least £70,000 was given to his two sons.

There is all sorts of talk about whether he should resign or not. Personally I think he should but that isn't the issue that concerns me.

Taking public money and giving it to another under false pretences is fraud, it's theft. If an employee of the DWP handed £70K to family members under false pretences then both they and the recipients would be facing criminal prosecution.

In my opinion, it would appear that both David and his sons have some serious questions to answer, as this looks like fraud against the public purse.

The question of whether he should resign is a matter of honour, however this would appear to be a matter of theft.

I hope Inspector Knacker takes a good hard look at this one.