Big brother Klein has nothing to hide

America’s Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein caused a stir at a press conference on global competition last week by revealing that he “has participated in the Big Brothers Programme”.


The reference on Klein's CV amused journalists who wanted to know whether this meant that the US top trust-buster had joined the British television craze by being locked in a house with strangers and put under surveillance for the benefit of viewers.

Or did he mean that he keeps an Orwellian eye on just about every major company in the world? The legal department at Microsoft would probably confirm that this is the case, but the 'Big Brother' scenario could offer the ultimate in EU openness and transparency.