The Lord Malloch-Brown story

Don’t miss a very important piece in tomorrow’s magazine by James and the distinguished US journalist Claudia Rosett on the star of Gordon’s “ministry of all the talents”, Mark Malloch Brown. Although plenty of people expressed concern about Lord Malloch Brown’s appointment to a senior ministerial post at the Foreign Office and his early remarks, myself included, this article is the first major investigation of His Lordship, around whom all sorts of rumours have been swirling in the past few weeks. It reveals some remarkable things. Amongst them: 

The extent of Malloch Brown’s connection with George Soros when he was at the UN

How, with the encouragement of friends, he pressed Brown for an astonishingly good deal, including free accommodation in Admiralty House (even though he is not a full Cabinet Minister, let alone holder of one of the top offices of State)

The Prime Minister has admitted to colleagues that he would never have appointed Malloch Brown if he had known there was going to be so much “fuss”

Baroness Ashton, the leader of the Lords, has been tasked with keeping an eye on Malloch Brown and has urged him to vacate his grace-and-favour apartment – without success.

The Conservative Party, in response to the Spectator’s investigations, has laid down a series of parliamentary questions seeking answers on this absurd arrangement.