Gordon Brown’s $9 billion Rogue Trade Exposed

Gordon Brown is due to enter the Guinness Book Of  Records this year as the World’s worst Rogue Trader after making losses of over US $9 billion on the disastrous gold sales he made whilst he was Chancellor. Previously the record had been held by Jerome Kerviel, the notorious French Trader at Societe Generale.

Gordon Brown’s status as the Iron Chancellor now lies in tatters as the losses raise serious doubts over his unilateral decision against all expert advice, to sell over 395 tonnes of the UK’s gold reserves at rock bottom prices before he became PM. Between 1999-2002 Gordon Brown went against all professional advice from senior figures at the Bank of England and City experts, and deliberately sold gold when it was at a 20 year low. Embarrassingly, City Traders have been labeling the Prime Minister ‘Golden Brown’, ‘the man without the Midas touch’ and ‘Goldfinger Brown’

On hearing of Gordon Brown’s record breaking error of judgment, Malcolm Moss MP said “To not listen to expert advice from the Bank of England and the City smacks of arrogance and it is time that Brown’s ego took the battering, not just the public money he has squandered and the public services he has compromised”.

For a Prime Minister allegedly committed to ensuring accountability for public servants, this matter raises the issue of double standards over this colossal error of judgment. Unlike other famous rogue traders, Nick Lesson and Jerome Kerviel, Gordon Brown seems to have completely escaped having to face the consequences of this disastrous trade. The British public on the receiving end of Gordon Brown’s stealth taxes to compensate for these losses have not been so lucky.

The Rt Hon Peter Lilley, MP added "Gordon Brown should have recognition for this astonishing achievement as the greatest Rogue Trader of all time. He scandalously lost $9 billion through pure speculation on the gold price and despite clear expert advice – this soundly beats Jerome Kerviel's loss of $7.2 billion by a country mile.   Sadly the British people and our public services continue to bear the cost of Gordon Brown ignoring expert advice."

Malcolm Moss MP endorsed the views of Peter Lilley MP adding that “This is the latest in a series of bungling mistakes by this Government that they have tried to keep hidden.  These include the reckless sale of Qinetic and the refusal to publish Northern Rock’s finances for parliamentary inspection.  The Government are being forced by the electorate to be more open and with this cracks are appearing in the so called Iron Chancellor’s record”.