Outgoing boss to be paid by lottery
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE financial settlement for former lottery regulator Peter Davis, who resigned at the end of the Richard Branson libel trial, will come from lottery money, the Government confirmed last night.
Mr Davis resigned last month in the wake of Richard Branson's libel victory against American businessman Guy Snowden, whose firm, GTech Corporation, had a big stake in lottery operators Camelot. Mr Branson said Mr Snowden tried to bribe him to drop his bid to run the lottery for no profit. He criticised Mr Davis for not investigating the bribe. Mr Davis stepped down as National Lottery director-general after meeting Culture Secretary Chris Smith and agreeing it was important to maintain public confidence in the lottery.
Last night the Culture Secretary confirmed in a written Commons reply that the financial settlement for Mr Davis would come from lottery money. The Culture Department later said that settlement would probably be less than pounds 50,000.
A spokesman said he understood the Office of the National Lottery (Oflot) had agreed to continue paying Mr Davis until October.
The department spokesman also played down the significance of Mr Smith's disclosure, saying lottery money, in the form of the National Lottery Distribution Fund, financed all Oflot salaries in any case. The decision is likely to be questioned by some at Westminster who believed the lottery's image was irreparably damaged by the trial.
r The winning numbers in last night's National Lottery were 16,23,28,33,22,37. The bonus number was 17.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments