#Volkswagen institutional, corporate and personal corruption and greed

(just back from my early morning sea wall bike ride. Very cold - thick coat and gloves for the first time this year - also needed my lights! I think the clocks change on 25th - ha!).

The VW debacle seems truly staggering - almost unbelievable. It seems incredible that one of the world's largest corporates, with a cast iron reputation built up over many years for safety, quality and engineering excellence decided at the highest level to build into their cars a computer programme to try to fool emissions testers, dupe the public and undermine the fight against global warming. How could they be so corrupt - so self serving - so naïve - so stupid? What about their crash test data now - is that fiddled?

In June I wrote a blog about corruption (see my blog 5/6/2015 below). It is so corrosive once it gets a hold on a society. The VW case illustrates how vigilant we have to be - it shows how personal ambition and corporate greed can manifest itself in a most extreme and perverted way.

I have lived long enough to remember many corporate and institutional frauds. State monopolies fiddling, corporates like supermarket chains forming cartels - utility and petrol companies price fixing, the sub prime banking fraud. We know about statistics - lies, damn lies and statistics. We know bribery and back handers happen. HSBC getting involved in money laundering. We know the police have juggled crime figures, NHS managers manipulating waiting time categories and successive governments massaging unemployment figures.

In the UK probably more than any other country we do have good checks and balances - a truly independent judiciary, democratic elections, OFWAT and the like, the Nuclear Inspectorate, Judicial Review, Coroners Court's and perhaps most of all freedom of the press with a tremendous record in investigative journalism. "Transparency" is the buzz word in government now - and despite the problems it causes the Freedom of Information Act is a force for good. We do try and set high standards in the UK and we should be very thankful for that - because it seems give any institution, corporate or indeed powerful individual the latitude, fair play and decency cannot be assumed!

I have never been on board with the Liberal agenda. I am happy for GCHQ to be monitoring my E mails and phone calls if it helps the war against terrorism and enhances national security. We all use Google and billions use Facebook with the most incredible level of personal information uploaded. We assume this in the main is harmless, will not be misused - but in reality can we be sure? Can we be sure of anything. Who is monitoring all this stuff? Who can we trust? I am 100% sure in years to come something will emerge about the use of our information on the internet and the www that will shock us.

However unlike some I see no reason to be paranoid but clearly there is every reason to support, fund and demand the independence of those checks and balances that seek to protect us against the ongoing possibility of institutional, corporate and personal corruption and greed.

I hope the world throws the book at VW. I hope the company is hit with so many law suits it ceases to exist. It will serve as a much needed example to all those that might need the lesson in the future.