Why a tough inquiry is vital .sx NOW that the Government has done the right thing in the incredible case of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International , one essential is clear :sx there must be no skimping over the inquiry it is to set up .sx If half the tales of deceit , fraud , terrorist associations , assorted skulduggery , bribery , embarrassed or compromised top people and Government buck-passing are true , BCCI is a scandal of gargantuan proportions .sx Consequently this must be the roughest , toughest inquiry ever by a British Government .sx It must deliver its verdict in its own time , consistent with meticulous and authoritative investigation .sx If it cannot get at the truth , it must be ruthless in identifying those who have been obstructive .sx In the interest of public confidence , there are four questions it should particularly address .sx What are the processes by which financial institutions are permitted to operate in Britain as custodians of our money ; were they observed in the case of BCCI and , if not , who is responsible ?sx If the processes were observed , are they adequate ?sx When did the British authorities learn of doubts about the operations of BCCI and when did they acquire 'court quality' evidence which justified intervention ?sx Was there anything which might reasonably have been done which was not done in the interim to warn investors ?sx Is all the whining now going on by those who invested in BCCI in expectation of earning a fast buck ( or two , or three ) justified ?sx What has become of prudence and caution in British local government which we once regarded as exemplary ?sx Is there not a case for a separate inquiry into financial control in British local authorities .sx Finally , the inquiry might usefully address the effect on Government in its widest sense of the propensity these days for anyone and everyone to make allegations against anyone and everyone in authority .sx Here the Commons , especially Labour MPs , has much to answer for .sx In short , are investors in BCCI an unfortunate consequence of the modern habit of crying " wolf " at every opportunity ?sx Stick to education .sx TWO Oxford colleges - with four more expected to follow - are apparently ready to ditch academic performance as evidenced by exam results , for some undefined means of assessing the potential of entrants .sx All this is presented as being in the interest of blacks and deprived inner city kids , including ( presumably ) whites .sx This is idiocy , however well meaning .sx First , academic institutions should not compromise their standards .sx Secondly , they should not identify , if only by implication , black students or those with the wrong accent as inferior intelligences .sx Colour and accent are not a guide to brain power .sx Thirdly , the stupid academics should stop their social engineering .sx Like cobblers , they should stick to their last .sx Their job is to educate .sx It is not to choose who to educate , regardless of measured ability .sx Time for some tough talking .sx HOW do you tell a geriatric about to foster your child that he is a hoodlum with a diseased mind and it's time to change his ways ?sx That is the thorny question John Major must tackle when today he becomes the first Western leader to bless Peking with a visit since the stomach-churning massacre in Tiananmen Square two years ago .sx Nobody should envy his high-wire task of coupling a firm denunciation of the last bastion of discredited Communist rule with the need to secure cast-iron guarantees for Hong Kong's nervous six million citizens in the run-up to the handover in 1997 .sx Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd was fair to insist - as he did yesterday - that Britain should not prove its morality by neglecting its responsibilities .sx But he and the Prime Minister must remember that the two are not mutually exclusive .sx By warning that the world will not tolerate the brutal purge of dissidents , he takes a further step towards guaranteeing democratic rights for the colony in six years' time .sx By telling Peking that Marxist central command economies end in tears , he is doing a little more to help protect Hong Kong's thriving commercial markets from Chinese interference post-1997 .sx Downing Street agreed the visit two months ago as a quid pro quo for getting Chinese agreement for a vital new airport deal for the colony .sx But in the light of recent events Mr Major now shares chopsticks with the gerontocrats as a spokesman for the seven most powerful nations in the Western world as well as Prime Minister of Britain .sx He must not mince his words and he does not need to .sx Tough talking is not only in the best interests of the world .sx It is in the best interests of Britain's colonial child , too .sx Doctor was a tonic .sx SO the Good Doctor is finally packing up the political scalpel he has wielded with such consummate skill for 25 years .sx Dr Owen's decision to stand down as MP for Plymouth Devonport after a remarkable career is a sad loss to the body politic .sx He was the youngest Foreign Secretary since Anthony Eden .sx And when he helped set up the breakaway SDP , he broke the political mould and did the Labour Party a lasting favour .sx Perhaps his greatest gift was his readiness to praise the policy strengths of his opponents .sx It is a crying shame that a big man ended up leading such a small party .sx Ownership goal .sx DOES Neil Kinnock have a split personality or a conveniently short memory ?sx In this week's Director magazine , he claims that a " huge majority of the Labour Party " never believed in wholesale nationalisation .sx Yet in 1975 he said :sx " We cannot remove the evils of capitalism without taking its source of power - ownership .sx " .sx And in 1983 :sx " It is inconceivable that we could transform this society without a major extension of public ownership and control .sx " .sx We are told that many of the fat cats at the Trade Union in Congress meeting in Glasgow are despairing of his leadership .sx We suggest that next year , after three General Election failures , any leader of the Labour party should have his memory jogged .sx .. with the sack .sx How the TUC plays possum .sx TRADE Union leaders are being urged not to rock Labour's boat at their annual congress in Glasgow this week in case they spoil Neil Kinnock's chances of getting the keys to 10 Downing Street .sx But the real message is :sx Just be patient , and you'll be able to rock the whole country .sx .sx Tony Blair , the shadow employment spokesman , is eager to promise us that the unions will get no special favours from a Labour government .sx Which could be roughly translated as :sx No more special than usual .sx You own the party and we will do as we are told .sx .sx Mr Blair is , of course , the moderate face of Labour .sx And he tries to persuade us that there will be no return to the 1970s and the days when the trade unions were a law to themselves .sx But already Mr Kinnock's men are promising a return of secondary picketing against firms not directly involved in a dispute , disguised as sympathy action .sx And for the first time they promise to make it illegal for firms to sack strikers , even if the alternative is bankruptcy .sx For the most part Labour is pussyfooting its way around the embarrassing trade union question .sx While TUC delegates are on their best behaviour it is worth recalling who provides the vast bulk of Labour Party funds :sx The unions ; who sponsors the biggest proportion of Labour MPs since 1935 and all 20 elected members of the Shadow Cabinet :sx The unions ; who casts almost 90 per cent of the votes at the Labour Party conference :sx The unions ; and who has a major role in picking candidates as well as the leader himself :sx The unions .sx They may be playing possum now but if Britain were ever to suffer the misfortune of a Neil Kinnock in Downing Street , guess who would be waiting on the doorstep to collect their pay-off :sx The unions .sx Six million reasons to meet Old Guard .sx ONE day the evil geriatrics who rule China will pay for their massacre of the democracy students in Tiananmen Square .sx In the meantime there is no alternative but to deal with the Old Guard Communists in Peking , even if it is through the gritted teeth displayed by the Prime Minister yesterday .sx Those who whinge and whine about Mr Major's visit do so out of political malice , ignorance , or the understandable feelings bred in those whose families and friends have suffered .sx It should come as some comfort to this latter group that Mr Major lost no time lecturing on the need for widespread reform in China - a robust performance from a man increasingly making a name for himself on the world stage .sx Some leaders might shy away from being the first from the West to visit Peking .sx But the Prime Minister has six million reasons for such a bold step .sx They are the people from the colony of Hong Kong which is due to be handed over to China in 1997 .sx Mr Major is determined to protect them as far as possible by maintaining confidence in their economy and political freedoms .sx Spurning the Chinese government would only damage such hopes .sx The Prime Minister is right to keep the channels open and bluntly remind China's isolated leaders that their days are surely numbered if they continue to behave like brutes at home .sx Paddy hasn't a dog's chance .sx PADDY Ashdown has proved himself to be both a charismatic and popular leader of the Liberal Democrats against all predictions when he took over that thankless job .sx As he kicks off the last party conference season before the General Election he can be satisfied with his achievement of knocking Neil Kinnock for six in the battle to become the most effective opposition leader .sx This is mainly due to his firm and authoritative performance on various foreign crises including the Gulf War .sx For this he has been rewarded with high personal ratings and , even , more support for his party in latest opinion polls .sx But there is still the smack of opportunism about the Liberal Democrats who meet in Bournemouth this week .sx They have no real hope of power except as part of some shady coalition if the two main parties fail to win an overall majority in the next General Election .sx His claim , repeated yesterday , that the people will decide whether they want a hung parliament , is a fraudulent interpretation of any such result .sx The vast majority will have voted for either a Tory or a Labour Government and not some fudged result leading to deals concocted in smoke-filled rooms .sx Mr Ashdown has also made it clear that neither Mr Major nor Mr Kinnock need pick up the phone unless they are prepared to grant a change in the electoral system .sx Again , most voters will have supported parties which want no such thing .sx Mr Ashdown says some sort of coalition government is not the result he is seeking when John Major goes to the country .sx Voters would have to be naive to fall for that one too .sx He knows an unstable Government with the Liberal Democrat tail waving the dog is his only realistic hope of power come polling day .sx Motorists must dump litter habit .sx There is an almost mystical belief among millions of people in Britain that drinks cans or cigarette packets thrown out of car windows vanish into thin air .sx The great pity is these people cannot be made to help clear the 260 tonnes of litter taken from motorways verges each week and 7,000 bags of rubbish that have to be removed from London's Underground stations .sx So Tidy Travel Week is a welcome attempt to rid our roads , trains and buses of the garbage dumped by those who regard the world as their litter bin - and British Rail as their ashtray .sx Teachers , police and all decent citizens should drive home the message too .sx Long live Jimbo .sx Jimmy Connors's latest star-spangled tennis performance gives hope to all that life does not end at 39 .sx While younger players like John McEnroe , 32 , Pat Cash , 26 , and Boris Becker , 23 , seem to have lost their love of competitive tennis , Jimbo's enthusiasm is unending .sx