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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tony Caplin resigns as quango chairman | Tony Caplin resigns as quango chairman |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A businessman appointed by the prime minister to head a quango managing public funds has resigned after it emerged he had been declared bankrupt. | |
| Tony Caplin has resigned as chairman of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). | |
| The organisation is responsible for multi-million pound loans to local councils for infrastructure projects. | The organisation is responsible for multi-million pound loans to local councils for infrastructure projects. |
| A Conservative spokesman said Mr Caplin "should have declared he was bankrupt", and Labour described his appointment as "astonishing". | |
| The Mail on Sunday reported that Mr Caplin had been made bankrupt in 2012. | |
| 'No party role' | 'No party role' |
| Whitehall rules require anyone serving on a public body who is declared bankrupt to inform the relevant minister immediately. | Whitehall rules require anyone serving on a public body who is declared bankrupt to inform the relevant minister immediately. |
| A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Tony Caplin has no role in the Conservative Party nor is he contributing to the manifesto. | A Conservative Party spokesman said: "Tony Caplin has no role in the Conservative Party nor is he contributing to the manifesto. |
| "He was appointed to a number of public bodies by the previous government. | "He was appointed to a number of public bodies by the previous government. |
| "He was re-appointed to the PWLB by the prime minister. He should have declared he was bankrupt. | "He was re-appointed to the PWLB by the prime minister. He should have declared he was bankrupt. |
| "This has been pointed out to him, and as a result he has resigned." | |
| 'Serious questions' | 'Serious questions' |
| Senior Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee, told The Mail on Sunday: "This raises serious questions which should be investigated." | Senior Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee, told The Mail on Sunday: "This raises serious questions which should be investigated." |
| The former Conservative Party chief operating officer has served on a number of public bodies, including the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, where he was chairman until January last year. | The former Conservative Party chief operating officer has served on a number of public bodies, including the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, where he was chairman until January last year. |
| He had been a PWLB commissioner for 10 years and was appointed chairman by Mr Cameron in July 2013. | He had been a PWLB commissioner for 10 years and was appointed chairman by Mr Cameron in July 2013. |
| According to the PWLB website, Mr Caplin's appointment had been due to end in 2015. | According to the PWLB website, Mr Caplin's appointment had been due to end in 2015. |
| The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Chris Leslie, said: "It is astonishing that the prime minister and the chancellor could appoint someone who went bankrupt owing so much to the Treasury, to run the Treasury's lending operations." | |
| Mr Leslie added that he thought this was a mistake "by a prime minister with a track record of poor judgement in relation to his cronies". | |
| He called for the government to set out exactly what it knew about Mr Caplin's history before it made his appointment. |