In the interests of openness and transparency, I have to declare drinking a cup of coffee at the Scottish Parliament last Thursday.  The reason it needs to be declared is that it was supplied by British Energy, the nuclear company. I travelled to Edinburgh to present our findings on Nuclear Spin to the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on the Civil Nuclear Industry.  I know that the coffee had been supplied by British Energy because the chair of the Cross Party Group John Home Robertson MSP challenged me to declare it.  If he hadn't, I wouldn't have known, since it is not declared on the Website of the Cross Party Group.  The rules require that any gifts of more than £250 in any calendar year from any source should be declared.  Yet, despite declaring five separate items of funding from British Energy from May 2005 to January 2006, there is no mention of this support from British Energy.

This is strange given that the group was exposed in the press in January this year as failing to declare administrative support from British Energy.   The Sunday Herald reported :

The CPG didn’t mention on its website that secretarial support is provided by British Energy, the pro-nuclear company that runs eight power stations in the UK. Services include drafting agendas and taking minutes of meetings, none of which is made available to the public.

Ten months later the information is still not on the Group website.  Its absence was matched by the absence of British Energy lobbyist Linda Smith who was unable to make the meeting, as were all represenatives of the nuclear industry, who are normally so assiduous in courting parliamentary opinion.  Still perhaps this didn't matter so much as - at one point - John Home Robertson cheerfully announced 'I work for the nuclear industry', adding hastily that he is not paid to do so.