Theresa May's deputy resigns over scandal



Damian Green, UK prime minister Theresa May's deputy, resigns from cabinet after investigation finds he breached UK ministerial code.

The First Secretary of State quit after he was found to have made "inaccurate and misleading" statements about what he knew about claims pornography had been found on a computer in his Commons office in 2008.

A detective had examined the senior politician’s computer and said he found thousands of pornographic images.

Neil Lewis, a retired Scotland Yard officer, said he had examined Mr Green’s computer during a 2008 inquiry into government leaks, which contained thousands of thumbnail images of legal pornography.

“The shocking thing as I was viewing it, I noticed a lot of pornography – thumbnails, which indicated web browsing. There was a lot of them. I was surprised to see that on a parliament computer. I had to take a step back because I wasn’t expecting that,” Mr Lewis, who retired in 2014, told the BBC.

An official report by the Cabinet Office found that statements he had made about being unaware pornographic material had been found on his computer were "inaccurate and misleading" and as such fell short of the ministerial code.

In his resignation letter, Mr Green apologised for his actions. Mrs May expressed "deep regret" at his departure.

Read more: Future of Theresa May’s deputy Damian Green in doubt over internet history claims

Mr Green, who was the PM's deputy, had been under investigation regarding allegations of inappropriate conduct.

Mr Green is already being investigated by the Cabinet Office over allegations that he made inappropriate advances towards a political activist.

He denied suggestions that he made unwanted advances to a female journalist, Kate Maltby, in 2015.

The report also found that although there were "competing and contradictory accounts of what were private meetings" between himself and Ms Maltby, "the investigation found Ms Maltby's account to be plausible".

The former UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon resigned after accusations of sexual harassment earlier this year in the wake of the #Metoo movement. The hashtag was a rallying point for women from all backgrounds to share incidents of sexual harassment following the startling revelations of movie producer Harvey Weinstein's behaviour.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million