Daily Mail, Monday, January 25, 2016 S1 Page  cashing in on the cold callers

By Alan Roden Scottish Political Editor From banker HE made his fortune in finance before joining the SNP’s army of MPs in the General Election landslide. But former investment banker Ian Blackford has not let his new job get in the way of his talent for making money. House of Commons data reveals he to politician, earns the equivalent of £777 an hour for his second job with Golden Charter Trust – despite SNP rules that being an MP is ‘a full-time commitment’. Before last year’s election, Nationalist MP Pete Wishart told the Commons: ‘No SNP Member has a second job, a directorship or a place on a company. Our responsibilities here are our sole and still the concern and our only responsibility.’ But after the election, 15 of the original 56-strong SNP group were dis- covered to be holding down second jobs, directorships or significant share- holder stakes in private companies and other organisations. On top of his role with Golden Charter Trust, Mr Blackford is also chairman of Edinburgh-based telecommunications money comes network provider Commsworld, earn- ing him an extra £1,000 a month for eight hours a quarter. With an MP’s basic salary now £74,000, he supplements that with more than £35,000 from his other jobs. The SNP group at Westminster was, however, instructed to hand a recent £7,000 pay rise to charity. Mr Blackford, who once ran Deutsche rolling in... Bank’s operations in Scotland and the Netherlands, is also a director of First Seer Ltd. It runs his died in June, shortly after losing in disgrace. Brian Smith was properly informed about family’s crofting business and his seat in the election, when he working for Mr Blackford when finances. Mr Blackford accused ‘ancillary activities’, which suffered a haemorrhage linked he sent vile online messages to Mr Salmond of ‘political cow- includes two properties that to alcoholism. the former Lib Dem leader, ardice and control freakery’, until last September were used Three weeks before polling branding him ‘a Quisling’ and while Mr Salmond accused him for holiday lettings – bringing day, Lib Dem activists called ‘a drunken slob’. of being ‘a busted flush’. in at least £10,000 a year. the police after Mr Blackford, Mr Kennedy’s family and col- Mr Blackford was a promi- As well as his croft, he has a and four other people appeared leagues were so upset by the nent campaigner during the house in Lanark, shareholdings at the door of their campaign tone of the SNP campaign that referendum campaign, reinforc- in Commsworld and a ‘miscel- headquarters. Mr Blackford was banned from ing his position on the Right laneous investment portfolio’. He was furious that Mr attending the funeral. of the party by arguing an Taxpayer-funded expenses go The MP was once SNP treas- independent Scotland should to his stepson John O’Leary, urer and was famously abolish capital gains tax. who acts as his caseworker. A furious row embroiled in a furious row with The SNP had already pro- Commons records show he with Salmond Alex Salmond. In 2000, as Mr posed cutting corporation tax accepted a £3,000 donation Salmond was standing down to attract businesses, a policy from a major Tory donor, hedge as SNP leader for the first time, abolished by Nicola Sturgeon. fund boss David Craigen, in the Kennedy’s campaign literature there was an explosive inter- At a time when the UK Gov- run-up to the election. had described him as ‘a well- vention by Mr Blackford, who ernment had increased capital An SNP spokesman said: ‘Mr funded banker from Edin- claimed he had abused party gains tax from 18 per cent to 28 Blackford’s employment has burgh’, which he insisted was finances. per cent for the wealthiest in been declared and is in line inaccurate. Activist Candy He alleged Mr Salmond had society, Mr Blackford argued with Independent Parliamen- Piercy described Mr Blackford submitted taxi expenses of up that a zero rate in Scotland tary Standards Authority as ‘angry, aggressive and to £1,000 a month. would act as a magnet for (IPSA) rules.’ unpleasant’. Earlier in the year, Mr Sal- investment, sending out ‘a very Mr Blackford’s Lib Dem Mr Kennedy was trolled by mond had suspended Mr important signal that Scotland predecessor as Ross, Skye and ‘cybernats’ – including an SNP Blackford following allegations is entrepreneurial and open for Lochaber MP, Charles Kennedy, official who later quit the party he had failed to keep the party business’.

How cold calling targets the old LAST year, the Daily Mail’s investigations Daily Mail Reporter marketing calls. A quarter had even unit took on the menace of cold calling. registered their number as ex-directory It found charity giants had been hound- and still had calls coming through. ing vulnerable pensioners on a ‘no-call’ of the UK, the figure is 80 per cent. Scots In September, a Scots green energy list – even after they admitted having are pestered by a billion unwanted calls firm was given a record fine by the Infor- memory problems such as dementia. every year, with the average landline mation Commissioner’s Office for making The stories forced Prime Minister David telephone receiving ten every month. more than six million automated calls. Cameron to demand charities disclose Online, only 9 per cent of people said Home Energy and Lifestyle Manage- their fundraising methods. they never received nuisance calls. ment, based in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, The investigations unit also spoke to The majority of cold calls are regarding was fined £200,000 after it received 242 data bosses who were willing to sell lists payment protection insurance. complaints in one month. of personal data for as little as 8p each. Homeowners are also commonly both- One complainer said he was waiting for The sometimes highly personal infor- ered by silent callers and calls about news of a terminally-ill family member mation, gleaned from ‘lifestyle survey’ energy efficiency measures. and was unable to ignore the phone. calls made by offshore companies, can Three-quarters said receiving cold calls The calls were often repeated and it be used by firms to target certain groups discouraged them from picking up their was not possible to stop them by press- of people, such as pensioners. home phone, while four in ten said they ing an option button. Scots receive more cold calls than any- felt intimidated by the calls. Which? has launched a campaign, where else in the country. Most people said they still received cold Calling Time on Nuisance Calls, in a bid to Last month, a survey by consumer calls despite registering with the Tele- force the Government to confront the group Which? found 90 per cent of Scots phone Preference Service – a system issue. More than 370,000 people have On the Right of the party: Nationalist MP Ian Blackford are plagued by nuisance calls. In the rest designed to help people opt out of tele- signed the online petition so far.