Rank Idiocy I

It's hard to be a Minister. Everything you say has the potential to come back and haunt you. So in this season of goodwill, spare a thought for the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Allan Wilson, who informed the SNP's Energy Spokesman Richard Lochhead that Gordon Brown's tax increase on oil and gas producers was 'unlikely' to affect investment in the North Sea.

The next day, Shell announced that they were reducing their plans for exploration by a third. BP and Exxon-Mobil are also hinting at a similar move.

You'll notice that I've called this 'Rank Idiocy I'. I expect to file further posts under this heading.