Enron: the meetings Labour didn't reveal You scratch our backs...
Antony Barnett, Oliver Morgan and Ed Vulliamy, New York Sunday February 3, 2002 The Observer The row over Downing Street's links with energy giant Enron took a new twist last night when a former vice-president of the company revealed details of secret meetings it had with key Government figures. David Lewis, head of the firm in the UK throughout the Nineties, provided The Observer with dates of a number of meetings not disclosed last week by Number 10. Opposition MPs accused the Government of a 'cover-up' to mislead the public. The disclosure came a week after Tony Blair came under pressure when MPs alleged that Enron had been able to swing his Government's energy policy its way after giving donations. Enron, which wanted Labour to lift its ban on gas-fired power stations, admitted giving the party a series of gifts totalling £36,000, starting in 1997, to get access to Ministers. Blair intervened personally to water down the ban in 1998, and it was ended completely in November 2000. Lewis told The Observer the company was 'surprised' when Labour lifted the ban because it had believed Ministers would only act after last year's general election. Enron executives met the then Treasury Minister, Geoffrey Robinson, on 8 May 1998 to lobby against its being imposed, he said. The Enron executives also gave The Observer details of a crucial meeting held in Downing Street on 28 April 1998 with Geoff Norris, Blair's senior energy adviser from the Downing Street Policy Unit. Norris was described as being 'understanding' about Enron's position. Disclosure of this meeting has fuelled speculation that this was a pivotal moment which led to Blair's decision to intervene and 'water down' the moratorium on the gas-fired power stations. Lewis also gave details of a 1999 meeting with then Welsh Office minister Peter Hain. The company was lobbying to build a gas-fired power station in Ebbw Vale. So far this has not been built. A further suggestion that Enron officials met Keith Vaz, the former Minister for Europe, to discuss energy deregulation in Europe, was denied by Vaz. He said he could not recall meeting anybody from Enron. The Foreign Office was unable to verify this independently, as it 'could not get access to official diaries'. Downing Street has denied it deliberately withheld details of meetings between Ministers and Enron. A spokeswoman said: 'We were only asked to give details of meeting with DTI Ministers. Enron is a big company with major investments in the UK. There is nothing improper with such a company meeting Ministers or officials.' The Treasury is coming under increasing pressure to explain why it let off Andersen Consulting, a sister company of Enron auditor Arthur Andersen, millions of pounds in fines after its disastrous scheme to introduce a new Inland Revenue computer system for National Insurance contributions. The fiasco deprived 250,000 pensioners of hundreds of pounds each, and cost the taxpayer up to £150m. While the Government was entitled to fine Andersen £40m, Treasury Ministers intervened to ensure it paid only £3.9m. The Government said then that a steep fine would ruin its relationship with Andersen and harm other Private Finance Initiative projects. The Treasury last night said the decision on fining Andersen was taken on independent legal advice. Matthew Taylor, Liberal Democrat economics spokesman, said: 'The links between Enron, Andersen and the Government are a spider's web which gets more tangled the deeper you delve. 'Why did Labour conceal these meetings if they had nothing to hide. It's time they published a full list of their meetings with the company.' · Lord Wakeham, former Tory Energy Secretary, is to be sued over his role as an Enron director by New York firefighters and police whose pension funds were invested in the collapsed company. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
