Wakeham under fire over board roles

ENRON director Lord Wakeham's role at other companies came under fire as he flew to Washington on Thursday to meet other Enron board members and lawyers. He has decided to 'stand aside temporarily' as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.

Embarrassingly, his board jobs include chairing recruitment group Michael Page, where a recent Financial Services Authority inquiry centred on whether directors painted too rosy an outlook in the prospectus. Page was floated last April and rose to 233p but crashed to 96p after a profits warning in June. The FSA took no action.

US labour union the AFL-CIO has written to companies linked with former Tory Energy Secretary Wakeham asking them to reconsider the association.

Wakeham, an accountant, earned £80,000 last year as a non-executive director of Enron. He sits on the audit committee, putting him in the line of questioning about reported profits and the role of auditors Arthur Andersen.

Like other directors, he could face legal action in the US from disgruntled workers who lost their jobs and their pensions, invested primarily in Enron shares.

Wakeham chairs two listed companies in the UK. He pockets £50,000 a year from and also collects £44,000 a year for chairing shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft, where he sits on the board pay committee.

Bristol & West, a unit of the Bank of Ireland, would not reveal Wakeham's fee for serving as deputy chairman, but he is unlikely to earn less than £50,000 a year. He attended a B&W board meeting on Thursday, but the group would not diclose whether his predicament was discussed.

Wakeham is also on the board of 12 private organisations, including the Carlton Club, which is popular with Tory politicians.