EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CONSULTANCY FIRM DROPS OUT OF TROUBLED CONTRACT.

GPlus, the Brussels-based consultancy firm staffed by former Commission spokesmen, has announced that it has pulled out of a multi-million Euro contract to supply editing and writing services to the Commission. The firm had come into the media spotlight after it emerged that it was supplying services on a sub-contractor basis while one of its partners, Peter Guilford, a former spokesman for erstwhile Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan, was still on sabbatical from the Commission. The case drew much public criticism over perceived conflict of interest and the former spokesman has since given up his rights to return to the Commission. The head of the...