HEAT'S ON BYRNE25-09-2006Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne found himself eclipsing Tony Blair and Gordon Brown at the start of the Labour party conference after it was revealed that he has a shareholding in a firm that sells computer software to police forces - apparently in conflict with his role as a Home Office Minister. The story was emblazoned across the front page of the Mail on Sunday, which said that Byrne was disposing of his shares to ensure there was no “misinterpretation.” On the face of it, it looks bad for the high-flying junior minister who, after all, could theoretically promote the interests of the company - called E-Government solutions - in his day job. There's just one tiny fly in the ointment of the Mail's conveniently timed “sleaze” story; Byrne had declared the shareholding in his register of interests in the House of Commons. Our sources tell us that The Independent newspaper first looked into the story three months ago and decided that as the minister had been completely up-front about the situation, he didn't have anything to hide. That wasn't enough to stop the Mail, though; keen as ever to dish the dirt on Labour, they “revealed” what he had already told the world. It's unlikely to matter much to Byrne's constituents, who are more concerned by Tesco's attempt to eat into Brockhurst playing fields with their planned new superstore at the Fox and Goose. Byrne's vigorous opposition to the scheme will carry far more weight with voters than this supposed scandal. |
©2006 The Stirrer