THE head of gas industry watchdog Ofgas, Clare Spottiswoode, last
night insisted she had not had a sexual relationship with a top civil
servant at the Department of Trade and Industry.
Miss Spottiswode angrily made her denial to reporters at Westminster
after emphasising to a committee of MPs her independence as the
director-general of Ofgas, which oversees the rights of the 18 million
gas consumers.
Reports have claimed she gained her #70,000-a-year post after her name
was added to the short list by DTI Under-Secretary John Michell. Miss
Spottiswoode, 41, allegedly sent him thank-you flowers after her
appointment.
Last night, after appearing before the Environment Select Committee,
she was asked by reporters if she had had a sexual relationship with Mr
Michell. She replied: ''I have not. I am really angry with this sort of
thing.''
In her evidence to the committee, Miss Spottiswoode acknowledged she
had been interviewed by Mr Michell and another official in one of a
series of interviews for the Ofgas post.
Miss Spottiswoode had worked in the Treasury at the same time as Mr
Michell, but she made clear to reporters after the hearing that they had
worked in different divisions.
The committee did not question Miss Spottiswoode about the claims she
had sent flowers to Mr Michell after being appointed last November.
A DTI spokeswoman earlier confirmed an inquiry into rumours about the
appointment was carried out by a senior civil servant who ''found no
cause for further action''.
Miss Spottiswoode told the committee she was independent of Government
departments and pressure groups.
She said: ''This is quite a lonely job. One is very much on one's
own.''
She declared she was ''uncomfortable'' with her power to raise money
by approving energy efficiency schemes involving a levy on the price of
gas.
Miss Spottiswoode acknowledged she had taken advice from Tory former
Minister Peter Morrison in one informal meeting lasting up to half an
hour, in which they had discussed controversy over her stance on the
schemes.
Mr Morrison had told her it was sensible to ''play everything down''.
She said she was now ''more positive'' about such schemes after
initially believing that they were illegal. Fresh legal advice showed
they were not.
Miss Spottiswoode also told MPs that she met Energy Minister Tim Eggar
on occasion and she ''occasionally'' met President of the Board of Trade
Michael Heseltine.
Emphasising her independence, she said: ''They are terribly careful
about not imposing their will on the regulator. They are quite aware
that that would be wrong in principle.''
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