17th June 2009
Strange days indeed!
Financial services, the Human Rights Act and UK law seem to be all operating in a vacuum. The result is that very odd anomalies occur to the extent that you could not make it up if you tried.
This week it was disclosed that Lord Myners reply to the House of Commons Human Rights Committee, in answer to concerns that the UK Financial Services community (IFAs in particular) appeared to be under the control of the only Ombudsman scheme that did not recognise a 15 year longstop was that “he doesn’t have the resources to find out definitively if there are any other ombudsman schemes without a longstop”. As Ian Hislop might of said- “if that is the case, I’m a banana”!
What is it with secrecy and this tired often verging on devious Government? Ask any questions in regard to the “Leviathan at Large” and whether it is acting within the law and the responses, in addition to that above, range from nil through to “we make the law” and “be very afraid”
It has often been said that in a democracy, the people get the government they deserve. In today’s turbulent times, we as a small part of UK business life are being paid back in spades and the IFA community as well as the Provider community need to act with one voice to deal with the total unfairness of much of regulation today and the renegade actions of those who purport to be “fair and reasonable” and promote the ideals of TCF. The cost, impact and effect of often ill thought out regulation is now out of control and is costing the industry and ultimately consumers billions.
It will be interesting to see what happens in July when the regulator is taken to court - yet again - in regard to the unfairness of it’s workings in defence of the indefensible.
In the meantime, the laws of the land that one sector appears to ride roughshod over are adhered to protect a group of people that should not be afforded such luxury. There are around 300 asylum seeking suspected war criminals that have been referred to the UK Immigration service for deportation but legal loopholes prevent it because it would be in breach of their Human Rights. The crimes involved are mostly genocide (not alleged miss-selling) and they cannot be prosecuted in the UK as only British residents can be arrested and charged for such crimes, and then only if committed after 2001.
To quote John Lennon’s lyrics from “Nobody told me” - “Everybody's talking and no one says a word…“Nobody told me there'd be days like these. Strange days indeed - strange days indeed!!
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