Something Else Can Be Learned from the Private Sector

Ah, the wonders of the private sector, will they never cease. As Tony Blair gazes into his corporate crystal ball; farming out services such as schools and hospitals to inappropriate corporate services and donors and spending millions of tax-payers' pounds on corporate consultants - not to mention getting up-to-the-minute marketing consultants to design hazardous logos - let us hope that he takes a leaf out of BAE's book.

Following the fall-out from the Saudi arms deal - in which everything was done absolutely correctly, and there is absolutely no need for an enquiry so please stop trying to get one - BAE is setting up an independent ethical watchdog to monitor its dealings (as reported in today's independant). Whilst one may doubt the motives behind this, there is absolutely no doubt that having an independant committee to monitor the ethical implications of decisions is eminently sensible and aids the perception of transparency. Surely the government could have something akin to this to keep its wandering feet on the straight-and-narrow? Ah, I hear you say, but govenrnment has the attourney general. You're quite right - I almost forgot.