Total of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 410
From the Daily Telegraph
Sir Alex Allan, a former spy chief, is paid £20,000 a year as the independent adviser on the ministerial code, but he has never been called on to undertake an inquiry.
Senior Conservative and Lib Dem MPs have demanded a Whitehall investigation into why Mr Hunt, the Culture Secretary, allowed a key adviser to give confidential information to News Corporation during its bid for BSkyB.
However, the Prime Minister has said he has “no plans” to refer the case to his independent adviser to decide whether Mr Hunt’s behaviour fell short of standards required of ministers.
Critics yesterday asked “what the point is” of Sir Alex, as the Cabinet Office refused to give details of how many hours he works or exactly what he has been doing since taking on the role in November.
A Government spokesman said Sir Alex does not have an office in Whitehall, although a desk “will be available” if he ever needs it.
There are no requirements for him to work a certain number of hours, but he is on call to “provide a source of advice to Government ministers on the handling of their private interests”.
His predecessor Sir Philip Mawer only completed one investigation during his three-and-a-half years in office and found there was no case to answer against the Labour MP, Shahid Malik.
Sir Philip left the job shortly after he was not called on to investigate the Liam Fox scandal that led to the Defence Secretary’s resignation.
Earlier this year, Sir Alex promised he would step down if he ever felt he was being “bypassed”, as he gave evidence to the Public Administration Committee of MPs.
Paul Flynn, an MP on the committee, last night called on Sir Alex to resign now the role of independent adviser is being sidelined once again.
“I’ve said to him I believe you’re a poodle,” he said. “The committee did not have confidence in his appointment in the first place. He is a career civil servant and is not the right person to be robustly independent. Sir Philip Mawer also was bypassed in the Liam Fox incident.
“I do think [Sir Alex] should resign. It is a non-job. The job has got no dignity. It is not clear what the point of it is.”
Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative chairman of the committee, has already called on the Prime Minister to let Sir Alex investigate what happened at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Yesterday, Chris Bryant, a former Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Labour MP, also said Sir Alex risked being “a laughing stock” unless he stepped in to demand that he is allowed to investigate.
Sir Alex has not spoken out about whether he should conduct an inquiry into Mr Hunt and the final decision over his involvement rests with the Prime Minister.
It is now likely that Sir Alex will be called again in front of the Public Administration Committee to explain his thoughts on the case in the public.
Sir Alex did not answer requests for comment.
Profile: the Adviser who runs a Grateful Dead fan site
It’s not often a senior civil servant appreciates being called a “deadhead”. But Sir Alex Allan does not fit the conventional mould of a life-long Whitehall mandarin.
The former spy chief is a founding member of an internet fan club dedicated to the Grateful Dead, the Californian rock band beloved of hippies around the world. He describes himself on his Twitter feed as a “deadhead” – the name for a dedicated follower of the group.
Sir Alex has occupied some of the most senior roles in Government, including a stint as the spymaster in charge of the Joint Intelligence Committee that governs MI5, MI6 and GCHQ from 2008 to 2011.
During this time, he was found collapsed in a pool of blood in his west London home, leading to speculation he had been the target of an attack, although the Government insists there was no foul play involved.
He was also principal private secretary to both John Major and Tony Blair while they were in Downing Street, once describing this on his website as “the same job as Bernard in Yes, Prime Minister”.
A keen cyclist, he windsurfed to work down the Thames to Westminister during a train strike in the 1980s. Educated at Harrow and Cambridge University, he began as a trainee for the taxman, before working his way up at the Treasury. He was also British High Commissioner to Australia and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice.
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