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Equitable Life

There is""clear and unmistakable evidence in the ombudsman's report of five significant areas of maladministration by the Department... Many pensioners have...lost their life savings… I must ask why we have had to rely on the ombudsman to confirm the mismanagement...and incompetence that was widely known about more than one year ago... Does the Secretary of State agree that the House will find it strange that he...continues to deny the Government's responsibility for mistakes and does not even apologise for his Department's role?"—[ Official Report, 19 December 1989; Vol. 164, c. 204.]" Hon. Members will realise that those are not my words, or even those of my correspondent, Mr. GKB of Mount Stewart avenue. They are the words of the Prime Minister when he was a Front-Bench spokesman commenting on Barlow Clowes. Sadly, they are equally relevant to today's debate. Mr Robert C of Churchill avenue, Kenton wrote to me simply saying:""I am an 81 years old with-profits annuitant who has seen his annuity decrease by almost one-half over the past few years."" One of his close neighbours—I am sure that they are unconnected and unknown to each other—Mr. Harold G of Grendon gardens, Wembley Park, tells that he suffered a 53.34 per cent. drop in his income. In the light of the comments of the hon. and independent Member for Wyre Forest (Dr. Taylor), I calculated just what that would mean for a Member of Parliament. Instead of our salary of £64,000 a year, we would have an income of £34,000 a year—about a 53.34 per cent. drop—but the incomes of Mr. Harold G and Mr. Robert C are nowhere near those levels. Indeed, the 53.34 per cent. drop that Mr. Harold G was talking about results in a loss of £4,740 a year. His income—much less than £10,000 a year—has been cut in half.