§ 76. Sir H. Williamsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what restrictions are placed on advisers to his Department in respect of speculative transactions in commodities and foreign exchange.
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§ Mr. JayIn the case of advisers who are civil servants, the principles which are expected to govern their conduct in this respect are as follows
Where a civil servant is employed in any Department to which, rightly or wrongly, the public attribute the power of obtaining special information, such as the future course of political or financial events likely to affect the rise and fall of markets, then participation in such transactions is not only undesirable and inexpedient but wrong.The Treasury is such a Department and Treasury officials are expected not to engage in any speculative transactions in commodities or foreign exchange.This restriction would not formally apply to non-civil servants who might be asked to act as advisers to the Treasury, for instance as members of Advisory Committees, but it is I am sure well understood by all concerned that no one who accepts a position as adviser should regard himself as free to engage in financial transactions which might generally be thought to affect his capacity to render disinterested advice. It is all the more clear that no one who assists His Majesty's Government in any capacity should use for any purpose of private gain any information which he may obtain by so doing.