Cash from chaos from Baghdad to Basingstoke
Solomon Hughes writes in Tribune about De La Rue, a printing company:
The “war on terror” involves both military adventures abroad and “homeland security” programmes. The new “anti-terrorist” bureaucracies, databases and systems have been a bonanza for American corporations. In Britain, the biggest business provided by the “war on terror” involves the proposed national identity card system.
After profiting from Iraq, De La Rue has now turned its corporate attention to this new business opportunity. The firm is lobbying for profitable ID card contracts and has again utilised people with links to the highest echelons of government. One such is David Landsman, De La Rue’s international affairs advisor and the firm’s main contact for “identity systems”. He has spoken at conferences promoting ID cards alongside Home Office minister Liam Byrne.
Normally, former civil servants must have their jobs inspected for potential conflicts of interest by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. However, this committee has not considered Landsman’s job, because he is actually still employed by the Government and works for De La Rue on secondment.
Landsman is not the only current Government employee on De La Rue’s books. Cabinet Office official Gill Rider also sits on De La Rue’s board. Rider is “director-general of leadership and people strategy” – effectively the civil service head of human resources – as well as a director of a firm looking for work on the ID card.
