Inquiry calls over Labour’s links to Enron

Published on Monday 28 January 2002 00:00

THE Government was today facing demands for an inquiry into the Labour Party’s links with the collapsed US energy giant Enron and its accountants Arthur Andersen.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor called for the Commons’ Public Administration Committee to launch an inquiry into the party’s "extremely close links" with the two firms at the centre of the massive US financial scandal.

"Labour have chosen to build very close links with business on a pretty dubious basis where they have received money and help on the one hand from businesses benefiting very much from Government policy on the other," he said today.

"We know that in the United States Enron used extensive political contacts to seek to further its interests and there is good evidence of the same happening here in the UK.

"Taking on former Labour employees to lobby for a change in gas policy and bingo, gas policy changes; paying for tables at the Labour Party conference and seeking direct contact at the time of the takeover of Wessex Water and bingo, that is approved."

He said Labour’s ties with Andersen went even further. The accountants had been effectively barred from government business for 12 years, since the DeLorean scandal, until Labour came to power in 1997.

"They took the approach of building very close links with Labour - free work on building Labour economic policy between 1992 and 1997, extensive crossover of staff that has continued with Labour in government," he said. Mr Taylor said that an explanation was also needed from the Tory former energy secretary Lord Wakeham.