THE COMPANY THAT YOU KEEP...

Gaddafi and friend

News that the director of the London School of Economics Sir Howard Davies has submitted his resignation after admitting an "error of judgement" in establishing links between the LSE and the brutally repressive regime of Colonel Gaddafi. Oops - for soon to be former LSE director had visited Libya to advise the regime about financial reforms and had accepted a £300,000 donation from the Libyan leader's second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (who counts Prince Andrew, Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson and Nat Rothschild as friends) for research at the LSE.

How times change barely a few weeks ago the Libyan leaders son, Saif al-Islam, was busy socialising with the creme de la creme of British society, now his former friends and business associates in the west are scuttling for the shadows and are deeply embarrassed, and no doubt will soon never even admit ever spending time with the Libyans. If you take this to its logical extent then questions need to be asked about the relationship between educational institutions (and Government) and funds from brutal, despotic and undemocratic regimes (i.e. Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Peoples Republic of China, Iran, etc). There are a few University's here in Wales that had been the recipient of donations form particularly unsavoury regimes...

NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE?

It looks like the Charity Commission may be looking (according to The Guardian) at the Taxpayers' Alliance (which may or may not be a Conservative front organisation) which campaigns against the misuse of public funds, has set up a charity under a different name which can secure subsidies from the taxman worth up to 40% on individuals' donations.

According to the Guardian,'The Charity Commission's records apparently show that the charitable arm was established as the Taxpayers' Alliance Research Trust in 2007, before changing its name to the Politics and Economics Research Trust. Oddly enough the charity's trustees include leading Taxpayers' Alliance supporter Patrick Barbour, the founder of Reform, a free-market thinktank which advocates lower tax and public spending and at l;east until he became leader of the UK Independence party last month, one Lord Pearson of Rannoch was also a trustee.'

The Guardian also notes that the trust was the recipient of donations worth £373,230 in 2008 and approved 29 grant proposals amounting to £278,520 with the stated aim "to advance the education of the public" and to "promote for the public benefit research into matters of public taxation, public policy, applied economics and political science". What may be more interesting is that unusually for a charitable trust, the accounts do not name the grant recipients...

Check this out for more information on the Taxpayers Alliance