• Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer asked to explain presence at Bilderberg meeting
By Mark Anderson
Not long ago, there was a near-total news blackout of the annual meeting of the Bilderberg group. This year, however, that came to an abrupt end.
On June 10, the secretive gathering became the focus of intense debate in the UK Parliament when Parliament member Michael Meacher demanded that top officials in Prime Minister David Cameron’s administration explain their involvement with Bilderberg to the British people.
Earlier, Meacher conducted press conferences on the grounds outside this year’s Bilderberg meeting in the UK. There, he offered assurances that he planned to go to Parliament to raise the issue of Bilderberg, even though the very word “Bilderberg” is never mentioned, let alone substantively discussed. This writer took note of that startling announcement when interviewing Meacher on June 6, right after his arrival outside the Grove Hotel where the 61st Bilderberg meeting was held, near Watford, England.
Addressing Parliament, Meacher said the Bilderberg gatherings include key people from the European Union, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and leading politicians from the U.S., Canada, the Eurozone and the UK.
“Though they were clearly discussing some of the biggest issues confronting the world economy at this time,” he added, “why have we had no [formal] statement, either from the prime minister, or from the chancellor [George Osborne] . . . all of whom attended in an official capacity?”
Meacher then directly addressed Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who is responsible for all financial and economic matters in England and was among the UK officials at Bilderberg this year.
“I rise to ask the chancellor of the exchequer to now make a statement on the Bilderberg conference which he attended,” said Meacher.
Jeers and boisterous remarks, typical of the passionate and often entertaining sessions of the British Parliament, greeted statements made by several UK officials during a 20-minute discussion of Bilderberg.
Undaunted, Meacher pressed on: “One hundred thirty of the world’s top decision-makers don’t travel thousands of miles simply for a cozy chat. They had come here in order to concert their plans to deal with a particularly awkward stage in Western capitalism, and, as such, we, the public, are entitled to ask some questions and to hold them to account.”
He added that Cameron, who claims to be seeking much greater transparency in government and wants to reduce the influence of lobbyists, still turned around and attended Bilderberg’s “undemocratic cabal” behind sealed doors.
Mark Anderson is AFP’s roving editor. Listen to Mark’s weekly radio show and email him at [email protected].
