Tony Baldry MP, working for you. And James Ibori

Interesting post by Craig Murray about another attempt to silence some journalists using Britain's libel laws - ever popular with users, if not those who fall foul of them.

They've got Geraldine Proudler of Olswang - who specialises in "reputation management issues" - to write to various publications who have chosen to highlight the work Tory MP Tony Baldry has done for one James Ibori.

He, for the record, is a Nigerian politician. The UK government has frozen £21m of his assets. They are a lot of assets for a man who earned $25,000 per annum as Governor of Delta State between 1999 and 2007.

Some of his chums are facing money-laundering charges in the UK, which "overjoys" Nuhu Ribadu, long-term enemy of James’s and Senior Fellow at Oxford University.

But it does not overjoy Mr Ibori. So he enlisted the help of some chums in Westminster. So Tony Baldry, apart from "working for you in North Oxfordshire", also went to work for James Ibori in Nigeria.

He reportedly wrote to the Foreign Secretary and others. What he said is the subject of some dispute. Geraldine says Tony said that “perhaps after the outcome of the criminal proceedings is known, relevant agencies might want to reflect on lessons learned". Craig Murray has paraphrased: “We can't turn up our noses at money looted from the African people, old boy. Think of the effect on the City.”

Others say Tony went further in what he urged the government. But we can’t know because the Home Office has refused a Freedom of Information request. Shame, as it would let us see the letter, dated 24 September 2009, and copied to the Attorney-General, Baroness Scotland QC, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw MP, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Alan Johnson MP.

Two of them are also barristers. One is a former postman.

Key point

But the key point to stress here, as I'm sure the Rt. Hon. Mr Baldry and Ms. Proudler would want me to, is that while he is working for you in North Oxfordshire in his capacity as an MP, he is working for Mr. Ibori in his capacity as a barrister.

You see, as an MP you can have a second job. So you can defend someone from Nigeria and you can write to the government. You just have to make sure that you do so in your capacity as an advocate.

The fact that you may well be chums with the Foreign Secretary, the Attorney General, the Home Secretary and lots of other friendly politicians all working for you, the people, in Westminster is by-the-by, because you are doing this in your capacity as a barrister.

You see? I hope so. Because you certainly should. If you do not, and if you detect a conflict of interest, you may well have to have a chat with Geraldine.

The Independent had a chat with Geraldine. Then they said sorry and deleted their article. WordPress had a chat with Geraldine (here), who in turn had a chat with Richard Wilson. He deleted his article.

James Ibori, working for James Ibori in Nigeria

Here's a little more about James. He is a Nigerian politician. He is a good friend of ailing president Yar'Adua. He was key in helping him rise to power. He funded him. Don't ask where the money came from. Mr Yar'Adua probably didn't.

James was governor of the oil-rich Delta State between 1999 and 2007. He got rich, even though his job paid less than $25,000.

He developed a taste, it is said, for fast cars, big houses (in London among other places) and jets with iPod docks.

In 2007 he was arrested in his home country. The case focused on corruption and money laundering and led to 170 separate charges. By the end of 2009, all of the charges were dropped by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

But James must now be worrying that these charges might resurface. That's because his chum, President Yar'Adua, seems to be pretty ill. He hasn't been seen in public in Nigeria, since flying back from a 3-month spell in a Saudi hospital.

To make matters worse, James' foe Goodluck Jonathan has taken the reins of power, maybe temporarily. So the charges might reappear. And another governor, Abdullahi Adamu, has just been charged with corruption. It’s all, no doubt, disconcerting. So James will try to stop it going too far.

But now there are even reports the UK government is thinking about applying for James' extradition from Nigeria. Blimey.

But if you, like Tony Baldry, want to work with James, why not become pals with him on LinkedIn? He's apparently interested in business deals.

Tony Baldry, working for you in North Oxfordshire

There's also lots to learn about Tony Baldry. Ten years ago he had to apologise to the House of Commons for "not making clear to the Lord Chancellor's Department, when giving a reference for a person for an honour, that the person concerned had recently given him a loan".

He urged the government to give a CBE to a London-based solicitor who works for Mr Ibori. Thing was, that solicitor, Sarosh Zaiwalla, had just lent him £5k. Oops, sorry, he said. "I hope that it will be appreciated by all concerned that it is not always possible to have total recall of events." Mr Zaiwalla still keeps Mr Baldry in work. He gave him more than £30,000 worth of work last year.

In 2005 Tony said sorry again, this time for breaching the Code of Conduct for Members as Chairmen of Select Committees. It turned out his public concerns as an MP didn't rub along too well with his private concerns in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone? Yes, that's right. You can see all his registered interests here. He appears to have lots of shares in a diamond and gold mining company there.

He also seems to charge around £1,000 an hour for his directorial duties and a little bit more for legal advice. Good work if you can get it, as they say. Good for Tony, anyway. And remember, as he told the people of North Oxfordshire, he's not corrupt.

Still, it's a shame he has had to make that clear.