In Reply to: Gerstner software donation. posted by Brian Marks on 04 January 2007 at 09:20:13:
Brian,
This was the article.
Mail on Sunday Feb 27th 2005
As revealed, by an e-mail intended for Government Minister Lord Mcintosh which was sent to Tory MP Anne Mcintosh by mistake, It appears that honours are given not only for financial donations or loans but also for donations of software.
Louis Gerstner Jr, the American boss of IBM was granted a knighthood by Tony Blair shortly after his computer company gave Labour high-tech software for "next to nothing". The software was designed to keep party members "on message".
That Mr. Blair met Mr Gerstner in private on December 2, 1999, while the system was being installed was admitted in a Commons written answer.
As Conservative MP James Gray said: "I am puzzled by the odd coincidence of an IBM subsiduary ofering a low-cost system, and a private meeting between the boss of the company and the Prime Minsiter. Then the American business man receives an honoury knighthood. It is certainly strange".
Mr Gerstner is now chairman of the Carlyle Group.
: Before the topic of loans-for-honours becomes yesterday's news, did anyone get to the bottom of the issue of why Gerstner was awarded an honorary knighthood.
: The official reason -- for services to ecommerce and education -- now seems totally absurd. What possible contribution has Gerstner made to UK education? And has he contributed anything at all since getting the knighthood, or has he just cut and run?
: And given the absence of honorary knighthoods at firms like Amazon and eBay, how can Gerstner possibly take the personal credit for electronic commerce? Even the buzzword 'ebusiness' wasn't his idea, and please don't try to tell me that people get knighthoods for inventing words.
: There must be something more to this.
: Jo
: : According to a newspaper article it was in return for Lotus software donated to the Labour Party to help it win the then recent general election.
: The newspapers picked it up but I believe it was Private Eye that originated this story. Below links to how AMIPP reported this in 2001.