In 1994 Coopers & Lybrand won four contracts and this year three more

In 1994 Coopers & Lybrand won four contracts and this year three more.Kenneth Baker, the former Home Secretary and ex-Chairman of the Tory Party, an advisor to ICL plc, which last year was awarded two contracts.David Mellor, former Heritage Secretary, who is a consultant with Shandwick Consultants and Ernst & Young, chartered accountants. Three separate consultants were paid to undertake a road pavement study in Jordan Another was held into households in Colombia. A consultant was hired to advise on a "post opening scheme" and three were asked to review the DoT's own regulations. A consultant was paid to conduct a "furniture review" and the Department had a consultant to advise on how to employ consultants.The total cost of consultants in 1994-95 was pounds 19,733,000, but that is not the full story.

Mr Norris says: "A complete list of consultants could not be provided except at disproportionate cost."The ex-ministers linked to DoT contracts are:John MacGregor, a former Transport Secretary who is now Deputy Chairman of Hill Samuel Bank Ltd. In 1994, his bank was awarded a contract for "financial services". Mr MacGregor was Transport Secretary from 1992 until July last year but did not join Hill Samuel until the following July.Archie Hamilton, the former Defence Minister, a remunerated consultant to WS Atkins Ltd, engineering consultants, who won nine contracts in 1994.David Howell, the former Transport Secretary, economic consultant to Coopers & Lybrand, including "advice on transport issues". At a time when ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet, the Government is squandering millions of pounds of taxpayers' money on these crazy consultancies."While many of the consultancies are linked to transport needs, some border on the bizarre. In Dr Mawhinney's period as Transport Secretary, spending on external consultants almost quadrupled from pounds 5.5m only four years previously, according to figures disclosed by Transport Minister, Steven Norris. The massive dossier of consultants was revealed in a written parliamentary reply to Labour's transport spokeswoman, Glenda Jackson, who said: "This proves the incompetence and hypocrisy of the Tories. These are likely to include Romania - whose regime has been condemned by Amnesty International.Claude Moraes, general secretary of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: "A Home Secretary who may owe his life to the ability of his father to find sanctuary has to face up to the moral consequences of denying genuine refugees a haven. Lives are being put at risk and that is simply immoral."n John Major yesterday turned down Labour's call for a special Commons standing committee of MPs to consider the controversial Immigration and Asylum Bill..

TWELVE Conservative MPs - including five ex-Cabinet ministers - have links with consultants who enjoyed a pounds 20m bonanza of spending on outside advisers by Brian Mawhinney, the Tory Party chairman, while Secretary of State for Transport. Under Mr Howard's proposals, he would lose rights of appeal against deportation and be presumed to have an unfounded case if he came from a "white list" of countries the Home Secretary decides are not dangerous. If he told a British embassy that he wanted a visa because he planned to claim asylum, he would be refused. If he nevertheless came to Britain, after travelling through a "safe" third country, he would face the prospect of being deported back there. Many will be left destitute, says the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which has already complained to ministers about the Government's proposals.A modern Bernat Hecht would stand little chance of even getting to Britain, say the refugee organisations.

Nor, under plans from Peter Lilley, the Social Security Secretary, would they be allowed to claim benefit while awaiting a decision or while going to an appeal against deportation. For example, refugees who arrive in Britain seeking asylum are not allowed to work for six months. Bernard died in 1966 and Hilda now lives in north London.Could any of this happen under the present government's proposed asylum laws? Many refugee organisations think not. Shortly afterwards, Bernat was changed to Bernard, Hecht to Howard and the young Michael Hecht became Michael Howard. "Nobody had very much but the atmosphere was friendly."The naturalisation certificate found by researchers from the Channel 4 programme A Week in Politics shows that Bernat was naturalised as a British citizen in December 1947 and took an oath of allegiance in Llanelli on 8 January, 1948. "We kept saying how lucky we were to have found refuge."Renee Woolf, Michael Howard's cousin, said his father's brother, Wally, and sister were thrown into concentration camps and came to Wales after the war.The family was very orthodox and lived in James Street, which was at the centre of the small, poor Jewish community in Llanelli, which has long since disappeared.