Following on from the "shock” announcement that the Tories were co-opting Nicholas Stern to help them develop a "green investment bank", Stern has issued a denial.
"I should stress that I am not, and have no plans to be, an adviser to any political party," he said in a statement. This, says Sky News "may be an embarrassment for shadow chancellor George Osborne," who announced in a high-profile speech that he was "delighted that Lord Stern has agreed to advise us."
After the debacle over the appointment of General Dannatt as a Tory defence advisor, this is yet another unforced error which projects the Tory team – and Boy George Osborne in particular – as a bunch of kack-handed amateurs.
Even Iain Martin on the WSJ blog thought the appointment "odd", while Witterings from Witney chews over the implications. When the Tories have their announcement subsequently denied, "odd" doesn't even begin to describe it.
CLIMATE CHANGE – FINAL PHASE THREAD
