• The post you are reporting:
   
  They are all it together..............................
  
  Courtesy Independent............
  
  New trade minister Ian Livingston's £20m of BT shares 'a conflict of interest'
  
  David Cameron criticised over handling of telecom boss's appointment
  
  The outgoing boss of BT who will become a government trade minister later this year is
  
  facing questions about "unprecedented" conflicts of interest over his multimillion-pound
  
  stake in the British telecoms giant.
  
  Despite David Cameron's own promises on transparency and accountability, Downing Street
  
  has failed to offer "robust" safeguards to deal with issues caused by bringing Ian Livingston
  
  directly into the government from BT, according to a former trade minister.
  
  Mr Livingston is expected to hold close to £20m worth of shares in BT when he becomes a
  
  minister in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which oversees the
  
  industry where the telecommunications giant competes.
  
  The government's rules stipulate ministers must "scrupulously avoid any danger of an actual or
  
  perceived conflict of interest between the ministerial position and their private financial
  
  interests". However BIS has issued no specific orders to the new minister, and said, in line
  
  with "normal practice", he will be placing his massive BT share holding in a blind trust.

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