blind trust

Blind trusts offer one tool legislators can use to enhance public confidence in the institution.

Labour MSP John Park said: "It is a surprise to find the money is not in a blind trust."

It's not just blind trusts that have had difficulties.

Secondarily, you should take advantage of the tools available to protect yourself from allegations of conflict of interest, such as a 10b5-1 trading plan or a blind trust (see sidebar).

"Ask Tony Blair about his blind trusts and Lord Sainsbury."

Mr Skinner said, "People are not concerned too much about blind trusts, what they are concerned about is that it's high time we had legislation to insist that Members of Parliament be well paid, have one job and one job only."

To try to defuse a growing row over claims the Blairs breached rules governing ministers' blind trusts, No 10 issued a letter from Sir Andrew to shadow deputy prime minister David Davis.

In March 1998 the Neill Report on Standards in Public Life concluded blind trusts of the kind used to fund Tony Blair's office before the election should be banned.

For another, they have to submit to a great deal of public scrutiny, nowadays including sunshine laws, extensive financial disclosures and blind trusts, freedom of information statutes, and much more, whereas the back rooms where the Fourth Branch does its work of recruiting governmental clients and negotiating settlements remain off-limits to public scrutiny.

In 1996, Perry put much of his wealth into blind trusts, making it almost impossible to tell what he owns now.

In an article in the Left-wing magazine Tribune he pours scorn on big Labour donors who have been given peerages and jobs in government and questions anonymous donations to blind trusts run by Mr Blair's lieutenants.

The move risks breaching Blair's own code-of-conduct which insists ministers are kept at arm's length from blind trusts which run their financial affairs.

Members of the Government, including Mr Blair and Mr Brown, dismantled their blind trusts after the 1997 election.

Can we presume there will be full disclosure of the blind trusts used in the Labour party before the election?

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has perfectly valid grounds for seeking an inquiry and clarification of the academic point of whether the code on blind trusts applies to property dealings.