Bishop Hill Yeo reported to police
Jun 10, 2013 Climate: Parliament The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics has reported Tim Yeo to the police, pointing out that he appears to have breached the Bribery Act. The text of the letter was as follows:
Dear Sir,
This weekend the Sunday Times revealed video footage showing Tim Yeo, the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk and Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee committing what, prima facie, appears to be an offence under the Bribery Act 2010. Contrary to the Act Mr Yeo “agrees to receive or accepts a financial or other advantage intending that, in consequence, a relevant function or activity should be performed improperly”.
Video evidence shows Mr Yeo boasting that: “If you want to meet the right people, I can facilitate all those introductions and I can use the knowledge I get from what is quite an active network of
connections.” He agreed to do this for a fee of £7,000-a-day.When asked by the undercover reporters whether this would include Ministers, Mr Yeo clearly replies:
“Yes.”
Mr Yeo has also boasted of coaching a witness, with whom he has a financial relationship, before they appeared before his Select Committee:
"This morning I had a case, in front of the committee we had a company called Great British Railfreight who have big contracts for moving coal and biomass around the country. And I said, because GB Railfreight is a subsidiary of Eurotunnel, I could not ask this guy any questions in public because it would look as though I might be biased about that. But what I do for him in private is another matter altogether, obviously ... I was able to tell him in advance what he should say.”
This seems to us improper, given Mr Yeo has declared that he has received £37,483 in the last 12
months from Eurotunnel SA. The public interest is, you will no doubt agree, best served by holding
elected law makers to the highest standards. I urge you to proceed with an investigation using the
evidence available.Yours sincerely,
Reader Comments (17)
Let's hope it has the desired affect, I posted this on the Josh post on Yeo.
"Has anyone noticed a severe lack of Comments on Tim Yeo articles in the Press?
The Telegraph is not even allowing them and the Mail only has 13."
The Sunlight Centre?
Oh the delicious irony!
I see from the Sky News item that Yeo is claiming his remarks were "out of context". Where have we heard that one before?
Like Climategate, it is hard to imagine a context which would change the very obvious meaning.
A C Osborn post Levison now .In the press you really are innocent to proven guilty.After that landlord in Bristol accused of murdering that girl somebody Chris Jeffries.So dont everyone jump the gun on Yeo.But Is still great news.
Like the hagfish, Yeo will produce large volumes of slime to wriggle free of this one....
YeoToTheSlammer too? Popcorn time, again!
A C Osborn
There is a related story here where comments are being allowed.
Get stuck in!
After Levison Newspapers have to watch what they say.So comments sections have now become so important.Old days they were just Trolls freak show now with a Disclaimer they have become the Loud Hailer of Democratic free speech.
If Cameron doesn't act then Yeo will become the modern face of conservatism?
Well done Guy Fawkes. At least the Yard will have to treat the matter with a degree of seriousness. Also, the news might help wake up the PM.
I sent my complaint about Troffa to the Chief Constable of Suffolk, by recorded delivery today.
This followed up my online crime report on Sunday.
I allege a different offence: One of "Misconduct in a Public Office"
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/misconduct_in_public_office/
Hopefully with various offences being alleged the net will be wide enough to trap a scuttling rat.
First they came for the crooks,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a crook.
Then they came for the climate scientists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a climate scientist.
Then they came for the BBC journalists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a BBC journalist.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
George Monbiot 2014
From where I am viewing the BBC website in the US I can't see the Tim Yeo story anywhere on the BBC website, even on 'UK Politics'.
It's amazing how quickly they've made it disappear. So now we know that the BBC's love of green trumps their dislike of Conservatives and corrupt lobbying. What a great moral compass they have!
MD, it doesn't stand out, but (on the UK site at least) it is there, as a minor item with this title:
>a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22830707">
MP denies committee coaching claim
Suffolk Police do not believe that Yeo has committed a crime on their patch. Here is their reply to my email on Sunday. Rather unseemly haste I think.
"In reply to your e-mail below.
It is apparent you have some strong feelings about Mr Yeo and his alleged activities.
There is however no evidence to suggest he has committed any criminal offence - certainly not in Suffolk area - which is the only area we will deal with.
In an article in today's East Anglian Daily Times Mr Yeo states he has referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commission to clear his name.
I wonder if this would be a more suitable location for your concerns to be addressed as we are unlikely to be able to progress any enquiries in Suffolk area at this time.
E-mail address fro above is : standardscommissioner@parliament.uk
Regards
XXXXXXX
Investigation Management Unit
Suffolk Constabulary."
Here is my complaint- Judge for yourselves.
I am writing to you to make an allegation of Misconduct in a Public Office by Mr. Tim Yeo, MP for South Suffolk and Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. I further allege that Mr. Yeo has repeatedly abused his position as Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and the Public's trust for personal financial gain.
Over the past 3-4 years, Mr. Yeo has earned in the region of £500,000 from directorships and shareholdings with five ‘green’ companies which are developing renewable energies. Thus he is: • Director of ITI Energy Limited, which converts waste into biofuel;
• AFC Energy, which develops alkaline fuel cell technology;
• Group Eurotunnel, serving on its Environment and Safety Committee;
• Director of Eco City Vehicles (and share option);
• Chairman of TMO Renewables which develops and supplies technology for second generation biofuels;
Of course such business activities would be entirely reasonable but for one thing. Mr. Yeo is chairman of the influential Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, which is supposed to examine Britain’s approach to renewable energy with a neutral gaze, unencumbered by outside interests. In stark contrast to Mr. Yeo’s clearly related business interests, the House of Commons’ other 22 Select Committee chairmen, on subjects ranging from Health to Defence, have scrupulously avoided any potential conflicts over their business interests.
Particularly egregious examples of Mr. Yeo’s conflicts of interest include:
In 2008 Mr. Yeo used his casting vote as chairman of the all-party Environmental Audit Select Committee to push through a report, which backed the decision by Mr. Alistair Darling, the then Chancellor, that new, higher rates of vehicle excise duty (VED) rates should apply to previously-purchased cars. With the passage of this rule, Mr. Yeo’s company, Eco City Vehicles Plc, stands to benefit as the company plans to market a hybrid car which would qualify for low rates of VED under this new tax regime. This is a serious conflict of interest at best and corrupt, at worst.
In December 2012 Mr Yeo made a speech supporting renewable energy stating that “Lumbering the economy with a centralised power system largely reliant on gas would be like running an office using a fax machine in the age of the iPad. I think the choice facing Britain is clear. We can embrace the technology of the future, set a target to reduce our present heavy dependence on fossil fuels and upgrade our electricity system, or we can cling to the combustion-based technologies of the past, gamble the future on assumptions about the availability of abundant cheap gas and slow down the process of decarbonising our economy.” What few people know is that Mr. Yeo is a shareholder and employee of Group Eurotunnel SA, which has a £500 million contract to run a cable under the sea to bring electricity from French nuclear power stations to Britain. Specifically to make up for power here when there isn’t enough wind to keep our wind turbines turning. This is a classic case of “hedging one’s bets”, where Mr. Yeo and his company stands to profit even when the “green energy” he is so keen to promote fails to deliver.
Recently (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22769237) Mr. Yeo was exhorting fellow MPs to vote for his amendment calling for even faster ‘decarbonisation’ of our economy. The amendment, which only narrowly failed, would provide substantial financial gains for a swathe of firms involved in renewable energy. In this connection Mr. Yeo is the first ever President of the Renewable Energy Association (http://www.r-e-a.net/news/new-appointments-at-the-uks-largest-renewables-trade-body).
Finally there is the scandal reported in “The Sunday Times” (9/6/2013) where it appears that Mr. Yeo was willing to be a paid advocate for a fictitious green energy company. The reporters approached Mr. Yeo posing as representatives of a solar energy company offering to hire him as a paid advocate to push for new laws to boost its business for a fee of £7,000 a day. He told them he could commit to at least one day a month, despite the fact that he already held four private jobs and was in negotiations to take a further two. Setting out what he could offer, the MP said: “If you want to meet the right people, I can facilitate all those introductions and I can use the knowledge I get from what is quite an active network of connections.” Asked if that extended to government figures, Yeo replied: “Yes.” The House of Commons code of conduct forbids members from acting as paid advocates, including by lobbying ministers. Yeo also said he could help them by guiding them on submitting evidence to his own committee, which he described as “a good way of getting your stuff on the map”. Such activities are in direct contravention of House of Commons rules which forbid MPs acting as paid advocates in Parliament, which includes making any approaches to Ministers, Civil Servants , or other MPs to promote a private agenda for cash.
Below I supply a list of payments Mr. Yeo has received from various companies, all of which stand to benefit from decisions made by Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, of which Mr. Yeo is Chair. The fact that he has registered these payments is meaningless. It is absolutely clear that there is a massive conflict of interest, if not outright corruption here. Is really feasible that Mr. Yeo receives these payments for doing nothing of value for these companies? Would he receive these payments, or be on the boards of these companies, but for his position on the Energy and Climate Change Committee? At the very least there is the appearance of misconduct that is not becoming for someone in Public Office. In short I believe the above constitute clear evidence of Misconduct in a Public Office and possibly outright corruption.
Please note that I am also sending these allegations to Mr. Paxton (Chief Constable) asking for an immediate investigation of these allegations.
Registered Payments AFC Energy;. Address: Unit 71.4 Dunsfold Park, Stovolds Hill, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8TB. Undertake duties as Chair, run board meetings and keep in touch with senior management. Received payment of £3,750. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 20 March 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 9 May 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 13 June 2011. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 11 July 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 22 August 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 12 September 2011. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 7 October 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £5,000, 14 November 2011. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £5,000, 13 December 2011. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012) Received payment of £5,000, 10 January 2012. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) Groupe Eurotunnel SA (non-executive) (of which Eurotunnel plc is a wholly owned subsidiary); company managing the Channel Tunnel. Address: Cheriton Parc, Cheriton High Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 4QS. Received payment of £3,622.57, 9 May 2011. Hours: 6 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,569.33, 31 May 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £7,238.97, 28 July 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £6,440.62, 12 September 2011. Hours: 16 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,245.20, 14 October 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £3,526.97, 21 November 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £6,885.38, 31 January 2012. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) Eco City Vehicles plc, Hemming House, Hemming Street, London, E1 5BL; distributes and services London taxis. Received payment of £3,333.33. Hours: 10hrs. (Registered 20 March 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 23 May 2011. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 June 2011. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 August 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 September 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 24 October 2011. Hours: 6 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Chairman of TMO Renewables Limited, 40 Alan Turing Road, Surrey Research Park, Guilford, Surrey GU2 7YF. Received payment of £4,987.75. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 20 March 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 21 February 2011. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 29 March 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 May 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 27 May 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 24 June 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 27 June 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 July 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £1,666.53, 25 July 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 August 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 August 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 September 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 23 September 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,166, 23 October 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 October 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £4,166, 24 November 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 November 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 12 December 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 December 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012)
Tim Yeo steps down temporarilly from Decc
I'm going to send my complaint to the Met.
Yeo has a face you just want to keep kicking.