Guest pelmetman Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 The former chief executive of the Serious Fraud Office received £412,000 in pension and severance payments without proper authorisation, the Whitehall spending watchdog has said. The National Audit Office ruled that the payments made to Phillippa Williamson when she took voluntary redundancy earlier this year were "irregular". As a result, it said it was "qualifying" the SFO's annual accounts for 2011-12. The head of the NAO, Amyas Morse, said: "By failing to seek approval from the Cabinet Office and the Treasury, the Serious Fraud Office entered into an agreement which forced it to make irregular payments. "While positive steps have been taken by the incoming director, I have qualified the organisation's accounts." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Interesting Dave I will see if any of the "pinks" pick this up to see exactly what the irregularities were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Thid was picked up but almost word for word the article you posted Dave. That said ! The comments from my colleagues make interesting reading:- .................................... One is afraid Nov 02, 2012 at 08:29 . In those we trust........... Do as we say, not........ ........................................ Paul H******* via mobile Nov 02, 2012 at 08:50 . No annual allowance issues for her then. I also wonder what the total value of her pension benefits are, or do people at the top ignore those such things? Julian S****** Nov 02, 2012 at 09:23 . But there wasn't a whimper of dissent from the NAO or the TSC about Clive Briault's £612,000 golden parachute when the FSA gave him the push for gross dereliction of duty over Northern Rock, was there? ......................................... Tony C******* Nov 02, 2012 at 09:51 . Don't you just love the language these civil servants use when it's the taxpayer being mugged? Irregular and paid without approval? Where I come from, we'd use the term "bent" Jonathan K********* Nov 02, 2012 at 09:56 . It really is another world and goes a long way towards explaining why the folks in the government and various quangos are so out of touch with the rest of the population. Disgraceful. Tony C*********** Nov 02, 2012 at 10:03 . What better name could there be for a forensic accountant than an anagram of Messy Aroma? .............................. The last one is a classic :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Our politicians and lords and masters wonder why the public hold them in such contempt *-) I see another MP has been caught fiddling and has got away with it, banned from Parliament for a year..........big deal >:-( Rotherham MP Denis MacShane will quit Parliament after been suspended from the House of Commons for 12 months following a stinging report from a committee of MPs. The standards and privileges committee today found Mr. MacShane had “knowingly submitting 19 false invoices over a period of four financial years which were plainly intended to deceive the Parliamentary expenses authorities” and that his behaviour was “far from what would be acceptable in any walk of life”. In a statement released today, Parliament’s committee on standards and privileges says MacShane’s is “the gravest case which has come to the Committee for adjudication.” Announcing he will step down this evening, Mr. MacShane said he was doing so "for the sake of my wonderful constituency of Rotherham and my beloved Labour Party". He said he regretted his "foolishness in the manner I chose to be reimbursed" and hoped that "by resigning I can serve by showing that MPs must take responsibility for their mistakes and accept the consequences of being in breach of the House rules.” In a twist of fate, the chairman of the standards committee is MacShane’s neighbouring Labour MP, Rother Valley’s Kevin Barron. A former Minister for Europe under Tony Blair, Denis MacShane has been the MP for Rotherham since 1994. A former journalist and trade union official, he is a high-profile campaigner against anti-semitism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Viva la revolution >:-( Letters from former minister Denis MacShane admitting expenses abuses cannot be used to prosecute him because they are protected by Commons rules. Officials said parliamentary privilege meant the key correspondence was withheld from police when they launched a probe into the MP two years ago. And the documents are still not legally admissible - even though they were published in a Commons sleaze report. The situation emerged after the Standards and Privileges Committee detailed how Mr MacShane knowingly submitted 19 false invoices over a four-year period. The cross-party group said the invoices were "plainly intended to deceive", branding it the "gravest case" they had dealt with. The former Labour Europe minister pre-empted the recommended punishment of 12 months' suspension from the House by announcing his resignation as an MP. He insisted he had not gained personally from the abuses but wanted to take "responsibility for my mistakes". "I have been overwhelmed by messages of support for my work as an MP on a range of issues but I accept that my parliamentary career is over," he said. "I appreciate the committee's ruling that I made no personal gain and I regret my foolishness in the manner I chose to be reimbursed for work including working as the Prime Minister's personal envoy in Europe." A senior Labour source said: "Denis has done the right thing." Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon found the MP had entered 19 "misleading" expenses claims for research and translation services from a body called the European Policy Institute (EPI), signed by its supposed general manager. However, the institute did not exist "in this form" by the time in question and the general manager's signature was provided by Mr MacShane himself or someone else "under his authority". "The effect was that, unbeknown to the (expenses) department, Mr MacShane was submitting invoices to himself and asking the parliamentary authorities to pay," the Commissioner said. Scotland Yard dropped the case against Mr MacShane in July after receiving advice from the CPS on an initial evidence file. The force said on Friday: "We are aware of the report and will be assessing its content in due course." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 pelmetman - 2012-11-02 8:18 PM Viva la revolution >:-( Letters from former minister Denis MacShane admitting expenses abuses cannot be used to prosecute him because they are protected by Commons rules. The situation emerged after the Standards and Privileges Committee detailed how Mr MacShane knowingly submitted 19 false invoices over a four-year period. The cross-party group said the invoices were "plainly intended to deceive", branding it the "gravest case" they had dealt with. A senior Labour source said: "Denis has done the right thing." Shouldn't that last sentence read: " The thieving, conniving b*****d has done the right thing" How much did he steal and has he repaid it with interest, I think inland revenue charge about 10% don't they. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Just watched the review of the papers on the telly. Did not catch all of it but one paper is reporting that the review into the initial Police investigation into the phone hacking/Milly Dowler case, that effectively covered up the involvement of the Police with reporters that hacked into peoples private messages - is to be "shelved until 2014". Why? Well the inference is that this will allow the Police Chief in charge of the initial "investigation" (that wasn't) to retire before the $hit hits the fan. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 The whole system is corrupt from top to bottom. Politicians, Police, Banks etc. etc. etc. the list is endless. >:-( No wonder the country is in the state it's in. Is there any department that's just a bit honest? I can't think of one *-) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 nowtelse2do - 2012-11-03 11:04 AM The whole system is corrupt from top to bottom. Politicians, Police, Banks etc. etc. etc. the list is endless. >:-( No wonder the country is in the state it's in. Is there any department that's just a bit honest? I can't think of one *-) Dave Welcome to the real world Dave ;-)........................Now you can see why I suggest no one should vote at the next election for any of the usual suspects..............Until they get a serious kick in the expenses nothing will change >:-) I'd like to see the same happen to big business in the form of mass boycotts >:-) Will it happen?.................I doubt it Mr & Mrs UK are suckers for punishment *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 The Serious Fraud Office has been rebuked by the Whitehall spending watchdog for making unauthorised pension and severance payments totalling more than £400,000 to its former chief executive. The National Audit Office ruled that the payoff package given to Phillippa Williamson was "irregular" and said it was qualifying the SFO's annual accounts. Ms Williamson unexpectedly took voluntary redundancy last April, just days before the new SFO director, David Green, took up his post. The NAO disclosed that on her departure she received what was described as a "special severance payment" of £15,000. On top of that, her severance agreement provided for £407,000 to be paid into her pension pot to cover the additional costs of her early departure. Under Whitehall rules the severance payment required advance approval by the Treasury as it was "in excess of contractual amounts", while the pension payment should have been approved by the Cabinet Office. However the NAO said it could find no evidence of such approvals being sought. It also said there was no evidence that the SFO followed due process in instigating voluntary redundancy - such as determining whether alternative positions within the Civil Service were sought. The SFO stressed that the payments were made under Mr Green's predecessor as director, Richard Alderman. When Mr Green took up his post he sought legal advice but was told that the agreement with Ms Williamson was legally binding and that the SFO was required in law to honour its terms. "Upon learning of the exit terms he asked Treasury Solicitors Office to conduct a full independent inquiry," the SFO said in a statement. "He took legal advice as to the enforceability of the agreement and notified the National Audit Office of his decision not to seek retrospective approval from HM Treasury of what he considered unjustified expenditure." The chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, said she was "astonished" that the SFO had agreed to the severance payment to Ms Williamson. "The CEO (chief executive officer) and SFO sealed the terms of this sweetheart deal outside of official Treasury procedures. Despite now believing this payment to be irregular, the SFO is unable to cancel it or claw back the cash," she said. "The SFO showed a total disregard for taxpayers' money when they wrote out a five-figure cheque to the CEO and failed to provide valid justification for the payment. The SFO also ignored Cabinet Office rules when signing off £407,000 worth of pension entitlements." Just shows they see the public purse as their personal thiefdom *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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