'Make report on Hindujas passport affair public'

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, MARCH 7. As leaks from the Hammond inquiry into the Hindujas' passport affair continued to find their way into the media, the Opposition today demanded that the report be made public immediately to put an end to speculation.

The Liberal Democrat MP, Mr. Norman Baker, whose parliamentary question brought the affair into the open, has asked for an inquiry into the leaks saying that they were making a `mockery' of what was an in-camera probe.

The `leaks' have focussed on the inquiry's `findings' that there was no link between the Hindujas' donation to the Millennium Dome in 1998 and the grant of British passport to Mr. S.P. Hinduja a few months later.

It has also reportedly cleared the former Minister, Mr. Peter Mandelson, of the charge of `lying' about a telephone call he was said to have made to a Home Office Minister in connection with Mr. Hinduja's passport application. Mr. Mandelson was forced to resign on the issue.

For nearly a week, bits and pieces from the report have been appearing in newspapers, and on Tuesday night the BBC claimed that it had `seen' the report even as its political editor, Mr. Andrew Marr, said it had still not been written up.

Others who claim to have `seen' the report and published `extracts' from it include The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times and The Observer.

According to earlier indications, the report should have been submitted two days ago and the Prime Minister's Office had said that it would be published quickly. But now it emerges that the report has still not been written up. Mr. Baker wanted to know who was leaking the report?

According to Mr. Marr, while the inquiry has substantially `cleared' Mr. Mandelson, its report points to absolute `confusion' in the Home Office over the controversial telephone call which he said he never made. He said Sir Anthony Hammond seemed to have ``thrown up his hands in despair'' at the utter confusion and wondered what was going on. The then Home Office Minister, Mr. Mike O'Brien, had insisted that Mr. Mandelson spoke to him but there is no record of such a conversation. Observers are tempted to agree with Mr. Mandelson that he was a victim of an orchestrated campaign by his detractors within the Government and the party.

There is speculation if Mr. Mandelson would be brought back into the Government having been `cleared' by the inquiry. The suggestion from Government `sources' is that this is highly unlikely. It is pointed out that it is the entire prerogative of the Prime Minister to pick and choose his Ministers and Mr. Mandelson having ``lost the confidence'' of Mr. Tony Blair cannot expect to be taken back. Mr. Mandelson's `friends' have been quoted as saying that he is not going to lobby for a berth in the Government, but clearly his bid at political rehabilitation would get a boost when the inquiry report, `clearing' him, is published.

In another controversy involving the Hindujas, the Millennium Dome authorities are stuck with a tax bill of œ 175,000. Under the agreement with the Hindujas, they were not required to pay VAT on their œ 1-million donation but at the same time it allowed them to get 1,000 free tickets worth œ 20,000. According to the Customs and Excise, free benefits in exchange for the donation make the donation taxable at 17.5 per cent. The Hindujas have maintained that they went strictly by the agreement which did not require them to pay VAT.

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Section  : International
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