Currie cleared for Sellafield job by Kinnock office

Date: 23/05/02

By Laurence Frost

ENVIRONMENT Commissioner Margot Wallström expressed disappointment yesterday (15 May) after her directorate's former senior civil servant, Jim Currie, was cleared to accept a 32,000 euro-a-year part-time job with British Nuclear Fuels.

The Commission has given Currie the go-ahead following a two-month investigation into the circumstances in which he accepted the non-executive director appointment, which was backed by the UK government.

However, he will be told today that he must wait until November before starting his new job.

'This is the toughest condition we've set for a civil servant leaving the Commission,' said Eric Mamer, spokesman for Vice-President Neil Kinnock. 'This means he will have had a cooling-off period of more than a year since he left.'

Wallström, who last month called on Currie to turn down the directorship, was plainly disappointed with the inquiry outcome. 'Personally, I believe the cooling-off period should have been longer,' she said. 'But this is as far as we can get on the basis of the staff regulation.'

Currie's appointment in March, less than five months after he left the executive, led to a storm of protests from MEPs and environmentalists. The environment directorate-general had been investigating levels of radioactive discharges from the BNFL-owned Sellafield plant on Britain's north-west coast for almost two years before he took early retirement.

Greenpeace spokesman Lorenzo Consoli condemned the decision as 'a nonsense'.

'Somebody who's worked for DG Environment shouldn't go to work for the nuclear industry - not today, not tomorrow,' said Consoli. 'Currie's gone now - the problem is now how many other Jim Curries there are in the Commission, taking decisions and drafting legislation.'

Aides to Kinnock say clearance was given on the basis that Currie's BNFL role was 'independent and non-executive' and would help the firm comply with EU law. Currie is also understood to have pledged not to divulge confidential information gained while in EU office, and has been reminded of his obligations under article 17 of the staff regulation barring conflicts of interest.

But Liberal MEP Chris Davies, who has campaigned against Currie's directorship, dismissed the deal as 'a fudge'.

'The reality is that unless a Commission representative is going to be sitting on all the BNFL board meetings, no one will ever know whether his advice comes from privileged information,' said Davies, whose constituency includes Sellafield.

'This reveals that the Commission's existing powers are weak and its proposals for reform inadequate.'

Currie was not available for comment.

Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström expressed disappointment on 15 May 2002 after her directorate's former senior civil servant, Jim Currie, was cleared to accept a part-time job with British Nuclear Fuels.