Wakeham faces US Enron quiz

Pressure is mounting today on Lord Wakeham, the former Conservative energy secretary, to explain his role in the disgraced US company Enron.

The peer is said to be preparing to fly to America where he has been ordered to give evidence to a Congress inquiry, following the collapse of the energy giant.

The "cash for access" row over Enron, which has led Downing Street to deny any impropriety on the part of ministers, is also raising embarrassing questions over the role of Baroness Thatcher's energy secretary.

In 1990, Lord Wakeham gave financial concessions to four electricity boards which then went into partnership with Enron, to build a Teeside power station under a £700 million contract.

When he quit as leader of the House of Lords, Lord Wakeham became a non-executive director of Enron and sat on the company's audit and compliance committee.

Comment: So far, not a British scandal