By Ranjan Balakumaran – @FinancialEyes

If you want to know what makes Britain tick, take a look at the Bank of England. Interlocking directorships and the Old Boy Network still dominate public life as its recent appointment of Charlotte Hogg reveals.

But few media commentators ever refer to this as a problem. In recent book “Trust, Power and Public Relations in Financial Markets”, Dr Clea Bourne refers to ‘organised silence’.

Charlotte ‘I wrote the rulebook’ Hogg

Charlotte Hogg, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), was appointed the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer in 2013 but never, despite being asked about potential conflicts of interest, disclosed that her brother is a Barclays director.

When she appeared in front of the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) to discuss her recent promotion Hogg said she was well aware of the Bank’s code of conduct — quite apt given she wrote it.

You’d think the daughter of two members of the House of Lords might have more respect for protocol.

It turns out that Hogg’s brother, Quintin, is the least interesting member of the family.

Charlotte Hogg’s mum Sarah Hogg aka Viscountess Hailsham was head of John Major’s Policy Unit in the 1990s — where the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) that has virtually bankrupted the NHS was pioneered.

Sarah Hogg then wrote a book about the Major Years with David Cameron’s recent EU Finance Commissioner & PR Man Jonathan Hill.

Drain the Moat

Charlotte Hogg’s father Douglas Hogg aka Lord Hailsham was himself a Cabinet Minister as well as MP to Mrs Thatcher’s hometown of Grantham.

Douglas Hogg was also one of the most prominent offenders in the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal.

He charged the  British taxpayer upwards of £2000 to clean the moat of his country estate.

Incidentally Grantham’s Hospital’s 24 hour A&E department service was severely reduced in August due to staffing problems at neighbouring hospitals.

Ultra Nepotist Lectures Diversity

Charlotte’s mother Sarah Hogg joined the Financial Conduct Authority board in April 2016.

Here she is speaking at a Business Department Select Committee on Executive Pay and Diversity in the Boardroom.

She opens by stating that she is a member of the Takeover Panel, Lead Independent Director of HM Treasury and a non executive director of John Lewis Partnership (since 2011).

Is it right for public institutions in a so called democracy to be run by such a tiny clique?

I wonder what HSBCFraud whistleblower Nicholas Wilson has to say about these FCA, Bank of England, Treasury, and John Lewis connections?

After all John Lewis Partnership Credit Cards are run by HSBC and they’ve made a lot of money defrauding their customers.

According to her CV, Charlotte Hogg was also on the board of BBC Worldwide from 2010 to 2013.

Above: In January HSBC announced they would offer £4m in compensation after a 13 year campaign by Nicholas Wilson. Still, Wilson feels this is an inadequate sum.

From 2002 to 2010 Sarah Hogg was Chairman of 3i, the Bank of England founded private equity firm that bought Barclays’ highly lucrative PFI Infrastructure business in 2013.

But Barclays and 3i were already collaborating on University PFI projects under Sarah Hogg’s 3i Chairmanship.

Hogg was able to draw on the knowledge and contacts she had built up when pioneering PFI at John Major’s Policy Unit.

Their joint venture eventually became University Partnerships Programme (UPP) — now known to be rip off merchants who market and lobby for increased student debt under the guise of enhanced choice and high quality student experience :

It turns out that Hogg was first recruited for the Chief Operating Officer role at the Bank of England by Virginia Bottomley’s headhunting firm.

Former Health Minister Bottomley is current Health Minster Jeremy Hunt’s Aunt.

So there you are. A very brief tour of the Hogg’s interests.

Originally published on London Conversation – where you can find further reading on Charlotte Hogg.