Nice Pension Sir Fred

For the past 25 years I've worked in financial services with particular involvement in pension schemes. Three years ago I was part of a management buyout team who purchased a small financial services company. Earlier this year I sold my shareholding to wholly concentrate my efforts on getting elected as the Conservative MP for Bolton North East.

You may wonder why I'm writing all this; well let me tell you...

All my involvement was with small companies, but no matter how small at no time did any of us not do our homework and ask all the questions that we would need answering to indicate as to whether this would be a good deal financially.

This process is called due diligence, whatever time restraints there are there is simply no question about an acquisition being made without due diligence being carried out.

Why then did this Labour Government see fit to pump £billions into Banks without carrying out due diligence, this would have given them the correct information to take this process forward, and it would have uncovered the facts about Fred Goodwin's pension entitlement. (If as they claim they were unaware).

I personally think in my experience there is no way legally they can change his pension entitlement as it's classed as deferred salary and agreed in a legal contract, which was approved by his board AND shareholders.

While this is totally politically unpalatable, I'm afraid it's simply the way it is. It seems to me yet another example from this failing government of bolting the stable door after the horse has run.