Whelan's new job 'must be vetted'

THE TORIES today demanded that "handcuffs" be slapped on the Chancellor's outgoing spin doctor Charlie Whelan to prevent him taking sensitive Treasury secrets to a lucrative future in the City.

Tory chairman Michael Ancram has written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Richard Wilson saying that Gordon Brown's Press secretary should have to seek approval for any new job he is offered within two years of leaving the civil service.

He says that Mr Whelan, who says he will go as soon as "the appropriate opportunity becomes available" following the Peter Mandelson home-loan affair, should be subject to the same rules that govern the departure of other civil servants and ministers from sensitive positions. Mr Ancram, who says that Mr Whelan should be forced to go immediately rather than hang on at taxpayer's expense, asks Sir Richard: "Will you ensure that given his current access to the most market-sensitive information - Mr Whelan will have to seek approval for any job that he takes up within two years of leaving the civil service and that any prospective offer of employment is referred to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments or the Cabinet Office for approval?" Shadow chief treasury secretary David Heathcoat-Amory said: "He is paid more than GBP 50,000 a year by the taxpayer. He should not be allowed to hang around until he gets another job." The Cabinet Office was said to be studying the position but the suggestion was that Mr Whelan would indeed be covered by such regulations and would have to get clearance for his next move.

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