Minister's brother in Mirrorgate charge

THE brother of a Government Minister is the first person to face charges over the Mirrorgate share dealing probe. Tim Blackstone, the colourful City public relations guru and former porn film star, has been summonsed to face magistrates next month over charges relating to insider share dealing.

Mr Blackstone, whose sister is the Labour Minister for the Arts, Baroness Tessa Blackstone, has been under investigation by the Department of Trade and Industry over dealings in Murray Financial, an Edinburgh company specialising in buy-outs of building societies.

The Mirror's former City Slicker columnists, James Hipwell and Anil Bhoyrul, wrote several glowing pieces about Murray Financial in 1999 when it launched a hostile takeover bid for the tiny Leek United building society.

Mr Blackstone, a contact of the Slickers, was at the time acting as PR man for Ken Murray, the highliving millionaire Scottish financier who runs Murray Financial.

Shares in Murray Financial almost doubled to 14p on news of its bid but fell back when Leek managed to beat off the assault.

Dealing in shares tipped in the Mirror column has been at the centre of a DTI investigation for more than two years.

The finance writers are alleged to have tipped shares bought by members of the staff, including the newspaper's editor Piers Morgan.

Morgan, himself under investigation by the DTI as part of the probe, was severely censured by the Press Complaints Commission for his dealings in Viglen shares, one of the Slickers' share tips.