Allan Massie: A piece of repulsive and vindictive self-righteousness

Published on Monday 18 January 2010 21:37

NEITHER Michael Connarty, Labour MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, nor Sandra White, SNP list MSP for Glasgow, is among the more highly-regarded of our politicians.

Normally, one would dismiss pretty well any pronouncement from either with a sigh and a shrug of the shoulders. When, however, the pair are found to be expressing the same opinion, the possibility that this may be widely shared among our so-called representatives at Westminster and Holyrood can't be ignored. So when they declare the authorities should think twice about awarding public-sector contracts to the largest architectural practice in Scotland, RMJM, because it has had the temerity to employ Sir Fred Goodwin, late of Royal Bank of Scotland, as a travelling salesman-consultant, they require an answer.

Let us start with Sir Fred, the man who landed RBS with the biggest corporate loss in British history, as a result of which Scotland's proud and second oldest bank suffered the humiliation of being bailed out by the Treasury and virtually nationalised. Sir Fred became Public Enemy No 1, serving, among other things, as a convenient fig-leaf for Mr Connarty's party leader, the Prime Minister. Public anger – or the anger, actually, of a few members of the public – was expressed in the vandalisation of Sir Fred's Edinburgh house and car.

Now, no-one can deny that Sir Fred, urged on by RBS's board of directors, made a sad mess of things as he went on the acquisition spree, which made RBS, temporarily, one of the half-dozen biggest banks in the world. The final act of folly, most financial journalists and economists now agree, was buying part of the Dutch Bank ABN Amro at a price that was far too high, only to discover that it was stuffed to the gills with bad loans – what are now known as toxic assets. It was a sad story, an example of the "vaulting ambition that o'erleaps itself, and falls on the other side". And what a fall it was – from the pedestal to the pillory.

But… but… but… when Sir Fred and RBS were riding high, didn't most of us share in the euphoria? Wasn't it a case of "here's tae us – wha's like us"? And weren't Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond among the loudest cheer-leaders? Did any of our Scottish politicians say: "Here, steady on – ca' canny"? If they did, I must have missed it. Certainly, when Alex Salmond spoke of Scotland becoming a Celtic Lion to match the Irish Celtic Tiger, the growth and high global reputation of RBS under Sir Fred's stewardship lent credibility to his aspiration. If Sir Fred was eventually cast as the chief villain, leading members of the Scottish political class – and, it must be confessed, the Scottish media – were his willing accomplices, egging him on to greater and greater folly. (And I confess that I wrote one of these "here's tae us – wha's like us" pieces myself.)

So, Sir Fred took an almighty tumble, crashing to the ground amid the ruin of his bank, while those who had cheered him on now vilified him, or , at the very least, showed him the cold shoulder. Now, instead of choosing to live in luxury – and, if you like, disgrace – on his huge pension (sorry, I should have said, his "obscenely big pension"), he is trying to put his life together and go back to work, using his address book and networking skills to drum up business for a major Scottish international company that is eager to employ him. This seems to me admirable. Is the man not to be allowed a chance to redeem himself?

Certainly not, in the view of Mr Connarty and Ms White. "People in the public sector," says Mr Connarty, "should think long and hard before awarding contracts to this company if its judgment is so bad that it is taking on one of the most despised people in the country." Ms White echoes this opinion and tells us that Sir Fred "doesn't appear to have certain ethics". Clearly, as far as the pair are concerned, Sir Fred is a pariah and must remain so. Would they, one wonders, take the same view if he had chosen to go to work for a charity, rather than for one of Scotland's successful companies?

Be that as it may, and setting aside the repulsive and vindictive self-righteousness of these two politicians – whose own probity can surely never be questioned – what they are demanding is not only absurd, but reprehensible. If acted upon by public sector bodies awarding contracts, it would set a dangerous precedent. Are they really serious in suggesting that a company should be barred from winning public sector contracts because of one individual it has chosen to employ? It would be different, doubtless, if Sir Fred had a criminal record – but he hasn't. How different is perhaps a matter of opinion. Certainly, some Scottish councils – and government bodies – have awarded contracts to some decidedly dodgy organisations, and not only perhaps in Lanarkshire.

Moreover, any public body that took the advice offered by Mr Connarty and Ms White, and refused to give RMJM a contract because it had chosen to employ Sir Fred, would unquestionably lay itself open to legal action, for it would surely be in breach of European law – and probably of Scots and UK law also. This might prove an expensive business. Prudence, therefore, requires any public-sector body to treat these politicians' demands with contempt. And contempt is what they deserve, for their words are motivated by spite and by an unattractive eagerness to kick a man when he is down.

Set aside the emotion and the facts are simple. RMJM is a successful architectural practice that operates worldwide. Its bosses believe that Sir Fred has skills and contacts that will allow him to win it more business, particularly perhaps in China. They may, of course, be mistaken but they are probably right. At any rate, it is their decision to employ him, and if it works out, it will be to the benefit of the company, its shareholders, its employees and Scotland.

Given our parlous economic condition, this would surely be welcome, though not, of course, to Mr Connarty and Ms White and any other Scots whose role model would appear to be Rabbie's Holy Willie.