John Whittingdale, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport speaks during the Conservative Party Conference in 2015. Jon Super/AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.
Downing Street has spent a lot of time this week fending off conflict of interest questions by claiming they are “personal” or “private” matters. On the UK Prime Minister’s offshore financial holdings revealed in the Panama Papers, this strategy has abjectly failed, culminating in protesters gathered at the gates of Downing Street, MPs calling for the the PM’s resignation and fresh revelations each day.
Yet now Downing Street is applying another “privacy” claim to urgent questions over Culture Secretary John Whittingdale’s suitability for his job, given his potentially compromised relationship with several major UK newspaper groups.
