Northern Rock - Adam Price MP asks an intriguing question

Adam Price . Plaid Cymru (Carmarthen East & Dinefwr): will ask the Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer this afternoon , how many Financial Services Authority officials involved in regulating Northern Rock during the last two years (a) have left the organisation, (b) have received bonuses and (c) are on permanent sick leave. (183895)

This cannot possibly he anything to do with Northern Rock's auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers and the (now old) revelation that PwC was paid £500,000 in 2006 for auditing and £700,000 in 'non-audit fees', specifically 'in respect of securitisation transactions and the raising of wholesale funding'.

Nor can it have any connection with Rosemary Radcliffe, who was a non-executive director at Northern Rock, (until the load shedding exercise on Friday 16th November 2007) and was also a former chief economist at PwC ( she was at PwC 82-2001) and of course would be aware that (now long gone) Andersen's advised Enron about their off balance sheet SIV's.

Rosemary joined the NR Board on Jan 1st 2005 and in that year was paid for her Non Exec duties £37,000 for that year, which increased handily in 2006 by 50% to ££54,000. (NB : Pic is 10 years old)

No doubt she would also be aware that when the Interim accounts were prepared and published and approved by the Directors, on July 26th that 73 % of the loans covering the NR balance sheet was due in 3 months.

Nor should we forget that the FSA announced on 03/09/2001, that Rosemary Radcliffe, former Chief Economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has today been appointed to be the independent Complaints Commissioner for the Financial Services - Authority an appointment made by the then Minister glamorous, intelligent fun loving Ruth Kelly. Rosemary left the post on 3rd September 2004 to be replaced by Sir Anthony Holland, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission (?) and a former Principal Ombudsman for the Personal Investment Authority.

At the time the shortly to retire FSA Chairman Callum McCarthy said: "I would like to express the thanks and appreciation of the FSA Board to Rosemary Radcliffe for her work to establish the Complaints Commissioner position as one of undoubted independence and integrity."