40. Letter to Rt Hon Andrew Mackay
from the Commissioner, 3 August 2010
Thank you for your e-mail of 2 August responding
to my letter to you of 21 July with the letter of 18 July from
the former Head of the Fees Office.
You note that I did not send to that witness the
final paragraph of your e-mail to me of 13 July, referring to
the advice of the Director of Strategic Projects. This was because
I wanted the evidence of the then Head of the Fees Office about
his conversations with you rather than any comments on the views
of the Director. But, in view of your suggestion that with that
knowledge, the answer in part b) of this witness's letter of 18
July might have been different, I am now putting the matter to
him. Your e-mail of 13 July quoted only part of the relevant paragraphs
of the Director's letter of 17 March. I am sending him the full
relevant extracts, namely paragraphs 2 and 3 of that letter.
The evidence from the then Head of the Fees Office
has, as you know, identified for my inquiry your May 2009 telephone
call to him. I was not, of course, aware of that telephone call
before I received his evidence and so did not raise it in interview
with you. It would be helpful if you could let me know why you
did not tell me about such an apparently important telephone conversation
which, you would have known, did not corroborate your recollection
of the advice you received in your meeting with the then Head
of the Fees Office in about September 1997. It might have been
expected that you would have considered it relevant and so would
have referred to that conversation in your written evidence or
when, in oral evidence, you were describing your very clear memory
of your 1997 meeting.
I will let you see the response I receive from this
witness. I would hope then that I can bring this inquiry to a
conclusion so that the matter can be resolved before too much
longer. I would be very grateful, therefore, if you could let
me have a response to the one remaining point about your telephone
conversation in May 2009 within the next week.
Thank you for your help.
3 August 2010
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