Osborne Dines Former Chancellors, See the Menu They Fought to Keep Secret for Half a Decade

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Just before Christmas, back in December 2010, the chancellor George Osborne (pictured) sat down to a sumptuous lunch with his predecessors, including Lord Lawson of the climate denial charity the Global Warming Policyย Foundation.

At the time, Lawson was telling anyone who would listen that he advised Osborne to make savage cuts to public services as part of the Tory austerity drive designed to drag Britain out of recession following the 2008 bankingย crisis.

It seems very likely that Lawson would have regaled his luncheon companions with this latest obsession: climate change. The world, he would have inevitably argued, simply cannot afford to make the sacrifices needed to reduce our profligate use of fossilย fuels.

The Treasury claims they have no minutes or agendas from what was primarily a party political meeting among old friends. And expensive lawyers working for the government department fought tooth and nail for three years to stop even the menu beingย published.

However, DeSmog UK can reveal for the first time the delightful meal that cost the taxpayer ยฃ355.99 and was wolfed down as the political heavyweights argued the merits of austerity for everyoneย else.

Menuย Released

Osborne and Lawson enjoyed โ€œfricassee of wild mushroom, roasted fillet of beef with a stilton and chestnut crust, pomme fondant and wilted spinachโ€ followed by โ€œa mincemeat lattice tart with clottedย cream.โ€

While the menu might provoke the โ€œpolitics of envyโ€ among those queuing in the cold at food banks the length and breadth of Britain, it is unclear why the Treasury felt the original request was โ€œvexatiousโ€ and that the menu should have remained a stateย secret.

The Treasury finally conceded the fight was pointless but remained steadfast to the end: โ€œAlthough we consider our public interest arguments are soundly based, we do not consider that it is in the public interest for the Treasury to continue to defend withholding theย menu.โ€

Three years ago, the venue was disclosed (the HMT Room) and the catering was shown to be provided by Charlton House, caterers to the Treasury. It was even revealed that there was a menu. So the menu was requested and the battleย began.

A Simpleย Disclosure

The Treasury agreed there is a public interest in how Chancellor Osborne โ€œgoes about his role and the company he keepsโ€ฆ however we consider that the disclosure of what the Chancellor had for lunch has no bearing on theseย matters.โ€

Jack Alexander of Request Initiative managed the request on behalf of DeSmog UK. He said in a complaint to the Information Commissionerโ€™s Office: โ€œI do not want to seem obsessive or having caused an undue burden on the FOIย system.

โ€œBut I feel that this should have been a simple disclosure and it is the repeated refusal which has pushed me to this level of complaint.โ€ The ICO, it seems,ย agreed.

ย 

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