Gordon Brown

The private remark, recorded because his microphone remained switched on after their exchange in Rochdale, triggered an immediate campaign crisis and criticism of his attitude towards voters. Brown said he had misunderstood some of Duffy's comments, expressed deep regret and met her personally to apologise. Duffy accepted his apology but said she had been deeply hurt.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Brown removed several banking supervisory functions from the Bank of England and established the FSA within a so-called tripartite structure. Following Northern Rock and the credit crunch, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee found that the system had failed to protect the financial system and that responsibility for macroprudential stability was poorly defined. Brown argued that the global crisis primarily exposed international shortcomings and that the structure had also enabled a coordinated response. This was institutional criticism, not personal legal wrongdoing.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

At the height of the crisis, Brown and the Treasury viewed a rapid merger as a means of preventing HBOS's collapse and a wider banking crisis. The government approved an exceptional exemption from ordinary competition rules. After HBOS's losses worsened, shareholders and officials argued that Lloyds had been pushed into a disastrous and insufficiently scrutinised deal. Brown defended the emergency intervention as necessary for financial stability. No court found personal fraud or favouritism by Brown.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The committee described the breach as easily avoidable but inadvertent. It also criticised the Prime Minister for delaying his reply to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' initial request. Brown had already apologised, and no severe sanction was imposed. The profile explicitly preserves the absence of personal benefit and the minor/inadvertent nature of the breach found by the committee.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The messages had been drafted with Derek Draper for a proposed political website and were ultimately not published by them. Downing Street stated that Brown had been unaware of the plan before it was exposed. The scandal nevertheless directly affected the culture of his political team because of McBride's closeness to the Prime Minister. Brown tightened the rules applying to special advisers and apologised to those targeted.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The discs had been sent by a junior HMRC employee to the National Audit Office and were unencrypted. Chancellor Alistair Darling reported the affair to Parliament, and HMRC's chairman resigned. Brown apologised for government errors and ordered security reviews. Brown did not physically carry out the act; attribution is limited to his political responsibility as Prime Minister.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

The reform reduced the basic rate from 22% to 20% while simultaneously abolishing the 10% starting rate. Tax credits and other measures compensated some households, but several million taxpayers risked losing out. Facing a major Labour rebellion, Brown acknowledged that two groups had not been adequately protected, and the government introduced tax compensation. This was a policy design error acknowledged by Brown himself.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

The government cited increasing complexity in terrorism investigations and proposed procedural safeguards. Civil liberties advocates, some opposition politicians and Labour MPs regarded the measure as disproportionate and insufficiently supported by evidence. The support of nine DUP MPs proved decisive in the Commons, prompting further political controversy over government concessions. Following defeat in the Lords, the Home Office withdrew the provision.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The reform formed part of an overhaul of corporate and investment taxation and generated several billion pounds annually for the Treasury. Pension funds, actuaries and opponents maintained that it reduced retirement assets' value and placed pressure on defined-benefit schemes. The government defended the reform as removing a distortion that encouraged distributions rather than investment. Long-term cost estimates vary widely, and the profile does not attribute the overall pensions crisis to this decision alone.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Brown stated that he wanted more time to present his long-term vision and that an autumn election would have focused excessively on the management of recent crises. The decision came as several polls showed a rapid Conservative recovery in marginal seats. The reversal fuelled a lasting reputation for indecision early in his premiership.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The programme sold approximately 395 tonnes of gold and reinvested the proceeds in a portfolio of currencies and bonds to diversify reserves. Gold prices rose sharply in subsequent years, leading to retrospective calculations of substantial opportunity losses. Brown and the Treasury maintained that reserves should not be judged retrospectively solely on the asset that subsequently performed best, and that diversification pursued a risk-management objective. No legal irregularity was established.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility