Friday 9 January 2009

Idiots Guide To The Budget


The Budget Headlines Report, presented to the Cabinet on 6th January, was written by the Chief Financial Officer Clive Medlam - the man who failed to declare his personal interest when duping the Cabinet Resources Committee into agreeing to pay for his legal costs as part of the Underhill investigation.


Included in the report was a Glossary of Terms. Perhaps Mr Medlam thinks the Cabinet are too stupid to understand the lingo?

Mr Medlam helpfully explains that the Chief Finance Officer is “The corporate officer responsible for managing the financial risks of an organisation. Also responsible for financial planning and the communication of financial performance and forecasts.” (emphasis added)

Clive Medlam is the officer who signed for £70 million of loans in 2006 and then invested £27.4 million of the money in Iceland. Based on Medlam’s own definition of his job, he is the man responsible for all of this.

Mr Medlam was also responsible for “the communication of financial performance.” In other words, it was his job to tell the Cabinet Member for Resources, Mike Freer, who claims to have known nothing about these investments.

So either Medlam was grossly negligent in failing to tell Freer what he was doing with the money, in which case he should be sacked, or Freer is being economical with the actualité as to what he knew and when he knew it.

Mr Medlam hasn’t been sacked. Draw your own conclusions.

5 comments:

Rog T said...

It's a shame that none of the idiots have read the idiots guide !

Mrs T said...

Mr Miller,

Very nice of you to put together a budget guide for your internet friends.

Don't Call Me Dave said...

Of whom you are my bestest, Mrs T!

Rog T said...

David,

You can't choose your relations, but you can choose your friends !

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, it's bonkers "Mrs T". I am surprised she can type with her head so far up Mike Freer's arse.