LABOUR REPRESENTATION COMMITTEE
Chair: John McDonnell MP
Vice Chairs: Maria Exall, Christine Shawcroft
Secretary: Simeon Andrews
Treasurer: Graham Bash
McDonnell welcomes inquiry into Northern Rock fiasco
John McDonnell, the Labour MP who first raised concerns about the Granite companies in Northern Rock*, today welcomed the announcement by the National Audit Office that it will open an inquiry.
John McDonnell MP, Chair of LEAP, said:
“I welcome this inquiry, but the deeper we dig the more clear it becomes that a more thoroughgoing reform of financial regulation is necessary, after which the Government must stand ready to introduce swift legislation to deal with the lessons learned from Granite.
“I find it hard to believe that the Chancellor and Prime Minister did not know there was an issue with the Rock-Granite relationship, especially after paying Goldman Sachs up to £10 million for advice. For the Chancellor to defend these arrangements by saying they are "a common structure" in the banking industry only highlights the Government's failure to regulate the entire sector.
