Some weeks back, I noticed the odd dual role of Bernie Bulkin, chairman of DECC's Office for Renewable Energy Deployment, who doubles as an adviser to VantagePoint Capital Partners, a company that invests in the energy sector. Reader Terry Sanders has been following up on this story and writes to update us on what he has found.
After reading [your post] I looked into Bernie and discovered he was a director of Ludgate Investments which had a significant piece of its funds (7.9%) in a biomass company so I left a comment on his blog asking about it. My comment stayed in the "awaiting moderation" for 10 days which 1 thought was strange. I figured if they haven't let it through or declined it then they must be discussing it so I sent in a FOI request for all communication regarding the comment.
I've now received a response...The comment moderator (I assume) asks:
"Couple of comments inferring a conflict of interest. Are we aware of this and is it a problem?"
The response is:
"Well yes and yes but:
All appointments are made in line with Cabinet Office guidance..."
It is unclear (to me at least) whether the second yes means they have a problem with Bernie's interests or whether they have a problem with commentators implying it.
There was more in my request regarding conflicts of interest but their response was unclear so I've asked for clarification.