Oh No, Not Again...

Lord Moulton of Forgettery

We've discussed Britain's problem with history before, or rather its predilection for forgetting when it comes to its past indiscretions.  But a segment on the Channel 4 News last night was utterly astonishing.  Their business correspondent Sarah Smith nabbed a doozie with what might best be referred to as a proper posh toff from the city in discussing the extensive investments of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund in London.


The question to Jon Moulton of 'Better Capital' was phrased thus - 'should we be worried that so much of what you can see from The Shard is owned by overseas investors?'  Moulton's response was, well, read it for yourself.  I'll relay it in its entirety.

Yes of course it is something to be concerned about.  Being ruled from overseas is historically a recipe for being - eventually - suppressed and trodden on.  There's not much evidence of it happening yet, but of course it's something to be concerned about.  You'd like to have control of your national assets, sovereignty does matter.

Sitting there agape, I was briefly wondering whether Monty Python had been suddenly reborn.  Stuart Laycock's recent book suggests that of the 193 member states of the United Nations, Britain herself has invaded or fought conflicts in the territory of 171 of them.  I suspect Channel 4 will not be asking Mr Moulton for a quote when next discussing the Malvinas - or Europe, for that matter...