Sainsbury: Labour's lab lord
Police questioning and scent of scandal don't seem to tarnish the UK science minister's reputation for simply being good at his job.
The life and career of Lord Sainsbury of Turville contain all the ingredients of a juicy scandal. A major donor to the UK Social Democrat and then Labour parties, in 1998 he was handed a senior government post — minister for science and innovation — that is normally reserved for elected politicians. Links between that post and his private commercial interests were uncovered by the press. Later he admitted that he had not properly declared a multi-million loan to the Labour party. And just last week it emerged that police had questioned him as part of their "loans for peerages" inquiry, an investigation into whether some party donors have been rewarded with political appointments.
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