Top firms sucked into Greer row

The Big Six were dragged into the sleaze row surrounding Conservative MP Neil Hamilton and political lobbyist Ian Greer this week.

Greer’s firm Ian Greer Associates (IGA) was employed by the UK’s top accountancy firms, plus Grant Thornton and BDO Binder Hamlyn, in 1993 to advise on the best way to lobby the Government for a change to partnership law.

Mounting concern over the threat of a potential ‘Armageddon’ claim forced leading senior partners to form a working party on reform in 1993.

IGA, selected after a beauty parade of lobbying consultancies, is alleged to have arranged informal briefings on limiting partners’ liability with Hamilton while he was Corporate Affairs Minister. Hamilton was said to be ‘very sympathetic’ to the plight of partners, according to one source.

But the Big Six strenuously denied that the association with IGA was ‘secretive’ or that Greer was suddenly sacked.

Price Waterhouse insisted: ‘IGA was hired to advise on the best process and who they would need to talk to. There is nothing illegal about using a lobbying firm.’

When the English ICA took up the campaign on behalf of all auditors, the senior partners decided to stop spearheading the campaign. The group was disbanded and IGA dismissed.

A KPMG spokesman said: ‘The contract with IGA was stopped because they had done their work. It has never been denied that we used IGA for a time.’

Conservative MP for Dover and chartered accountant David Shaw was under the spotlight this week over an alleged u500 payment into his election fighting fund by Greer.

Shaw denied that the money was from the political lobbyist, but from a ‘personal friend’. Shaw was unavailable for further comment as Accountancy Age went to press.