Welcome back to Britain, Mr Nadir

Posted on Thursday 26 August, 2010
Filed Under Business, Conservative Party

HERE we are, more than three months into a Tory-led government, and there has yet to be a single sleaze scandal of any genuine seriousness. So bang on cue, one comes along and resurrects itself from the past.

Asil Nadir, the bloke what done a runner to Cyprus back in 1993 rather than face the rap for 66 theft charges totalling £34m, is back in Blighty and has got a hot date with the judge at the Bailey. I naturally make no presumption as to his guilt or innocence.

The bail-jumping East End sweatshop boss was a major donor to the Conservative Party at that time, as indeed were big league smack dealers from Hong Kong and Greek shipowners who had been rather too chummy with that country’s military junta for the taste of many democrats.

As a journalist who remembers having a field day writing about the dodgier aspects of the Thatcher and Major years, I must profess to deep disappointment at Cameron’s success in keeping a clean nose so far.

I’m discounting for these purposes that no mark backbencher’s affair with a toy boy or David Law’s readiness to bilk the taxpayers for £40k so that he could stay in the closet, neither of which many people will find particularly shocking these days.

Do get a move on, old boy. Can’t you get one of your guys to bung a hooker a couple of grand at a railway station or cop a freebie at a Paris five star or set up a crooked arms deal with the Saudis or something? Just to get things warmed up, like.

What I and so many others keenly await is the sort of affair that will deeply damage the administration’s reputation for probity and integrity, thereby allowing me to condemn the ConDems for their corruption, depravity, immorality, want of principle and general abuse of public trust.

True, I have been kept fairly busy writing about cash for ash, cash for access, cash for passports and cash for honours, a series of incidents in which some readers will doubtless be able to detect a common theme. But let’s face it, it is never as much fun attacking your own side as it is wading into the other bastards.

Welcome back, Asil. I’ve been missing you.

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