Lord Deben is currently being questioned by the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee about his appointment as chairman of the "independent" Climate Change Committee. Questioning eventually came round to his much-discussed conflicts of interest and Deben was keen to explain that he had resigned from any positions in which there was even a hint of conflict of interest, with shareholdings being liquidated at the same time.
He was pressed on his remaining interests and in particular his interest in a water company. Deben's reply was that this company was involved in installing meters for other companies and that there was therefore no conflict of interest:
Lord Deben: I looked at the water company...I'm chairman of a water company...all the water company does is to, for example, its major job is putting in meters for other water companies. It doesn't own any water companies any longer- it's sold those. If you look to see what it does, it really has no connection at all, and if I thought it did or even had a remote one I would make that change. I think this is too important a job to jeopardise in that way, but I can assure you I've been through that very carefully.
There was then some reference to the interests that Deben had decided to offload and the guidance that Deben had received from DECC on this:
Albert Owen MP: And they're very happy that those three companies that you have set down for is quite sufficient for you to...that you don't break any of the principles or the Cabinet Office dictat?
Lord Deben: They have accepted that what I have done is precisely what ought to be done.
Unfortunately Deben's representations to the committee don't seem to be true. Veolia, the company he chairs, has other businesses besides meter installation, some of which will directly benefit from the low-carbon economy that Deben espouses and is seeking to expand:
Grid ConnectionsWe provide large electrical grid connections for renewable energy producers including waste, wind, and Anaerobic Digestion.
- Electricity grid connections to major and renewable projects.
- High voltage projects up to 132kV.
- Complex technical solutions.
- Primary substations.
- Long off site routes.
- Private electrical balance of plant.
Or what about this:
- Multi-utility scheme design and planning
- Design and installation of gas, water and electricity mains and services
- Site investigations and evaluations
- Substation design and construction
- Network construction for gas, electric, water and telecoms
- Project management
- Construction programming and asset adoption expertise
- Localised energy using renewable energy sources and Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Seems to me he has just misled the committee. But it also looks to me as if DECC have got some questions to answer too.