Although this blog has mostly concentrated on Lord Oxburgh's multiple conflicts of interest, press attention is currently focused on the similar problems of Tim Yeo, the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee. Yeo's decision to lobby for legislative changes strangely coincided with the interests of Eco City Taxis, a company of which he is the chairman, and this unfortunate coincidence did not escape the notice of the UK's uber-Westminster watcher Guido Fawkes. The following day the Mail carried a major review of Yeo's green machinations, outlining the extraordinary sums of money he has earned in the process.

Today, David Rose has expanded the attack to Lord Deben, the new chairman of the "independent" Climate Change Committee. Deben is chairman of a consortium seeking to build windfarms in the North Sea and a lobbying company with a specialism in climate-related business.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has put forward a hilarious defence of their proposal of Deben:

A CCC spokeswoman said that any  possible conflicts of interest would be considered by the DECC. A Department spokesman added: ‘Lord Deben has made a full declaration of his interests to the DECC and the Cabinet Office. The appointment is now subject to scrutiny by the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee.’