Michael Gillard's exposé of corruption, deception and contrivance at all levels, personal and Establishment, is depressing and compelling in equal measure. For Queen and Currency is an account of avarice, greed, manipulation and betrayal with all the elements of a thriller. Ultimately, there are many unanswered questions. A few tasters; why was a low level cop ( albeit one on Royal Protection duties) allowed the apparent freedom to show off a lifestyle way beyond his means? Are there controls to identify and manage rogue cops and if so, how are they used? Any lessons from this account and how much has anything changed?

Paul Page was a junior police officer in a regional force. He seized an opportunity to transfer to 'the Met' and join a supposed elite team of officers on Royal Protection duties. It was an exclusive club bonded by loyalty to other members. Page is a compulsive gambler who dropped lucky. With no skill or knowledge, he hit a streak of legal capital gains on the stock market by trading bank and building society shares. Fuelled by a sense of security, he started spread betting. He did well and used his lawful gains to fund a better lifestyle for his wife and family. House, car, holidays, all came rolling in and his work chums wanted a bit of the action. A small Currency Club of Royal Protection officers threw in their investments to the goose laying the golden egg. No questions asked. The club grew, fuelled solely by greed and a get rich quick attitude. Thousands of pounds of 'interest' ferried to 'investors' in police vehicles whilst on official duty. Page paid others to work his police shift whilst he played the markets. In reality, he was a gambler. An addict who needed money to fuel his habit. When, how and why was it all going to go horribly wrong?

Michael Gillard is a Times journalist and the material is meticulously researched and referenced. The story is set against a background pre the financial collapse of 2008. It's an excellent lay guide to sub prime lending, toxic debt and the reasons for worldwide ( near) collapse of the banking system. But overall, it's an appalling exposé of duplicity and double standards in the very institutions which should be above and beyond doubt; police, law and Government. Whilst it's clear that Page was a greedy and corrupt individual, one prepared to exploit friends and family to further his own gains, the more interesting sub story is the extent to which those who should have known better were papered not only to turn a blind eye, bug to get involved.

It's an illuminating read and one which left me saddened in the belief that possibly very little has changed. A rogue cop is an easy and expendable target. The 'bankers' are still collecting their bonuses for similar actions with no accountability. Gritty and honest, it's a horrible reflection of our society and values and all the more compelling for that.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

utterly compulsive, hilarious and thoroughly knowing, the narrative drive on this and the characters are fully portrayed to draw us in - the thieves are sympathetic and as they start to get in over their heads,we can only but think, there but for the grace of God go I - the temptations were too great and the money too sensational. the underlying affection between husband and wife at the heart of this goes a long way to warm it all up - and that is down to artistry and sheer humanity of the writer. entertaining and even instructive - a deeply gripping and moral tale ..

To be posted on Amazon.co.uk when the book is released:

Deliciously scandalous

This is, as the title indicates, the exposé of a syndicate of royal protection officers based at Buckingham Palace who spent their time gambling and playing the stock market. The leader of the group wins - and then loses - huge sums of money, fancying himself as a City trader rather than the member of the Met Police that he is.

At the same time Gillard uses this tale to make wider points about the climate of 'greed and gambling' that took over the nation from the mid-nineties till the financial crash, and links the specifics of this story to wider cultural phenomenon: the dot com bubble, the packaging of subprime mortgage debt, the lack of adequate regulation in both the police and the City.

For a Sunday Times journalist Gillard's writing style is a bit rough and ready - but this is a gripping morality tale for our times.

Michael Gillard, the author of this book, is one of the best investigative journalists working today. I can say this with confidence having worked in current affairs journalism myself for over ten years (I worked on documentaries for Channel 4 Dispatches and others). His book Untouchables exposed the world of corrupt police - and the equally corrupt Metropolitan Police internal investigations department – with a dispassionate fury that was trailblazing. Originally published in 2004 and then republished in 2012, many of its exposés are now front-page news. The Daniel Morgan murder? Finally there is a public inquiry. The police relationship with the media and the media’s use of private investigators? Long before the Guardian led the charge against News International for phone hacking, Gillard and his then co-author Laurie Flynn, were flagging this up.

So it was with much excitement that I came across a new book by the author For Queen and Currency. And boy does he not disappoint. Gillard has been in the news a lot lately, what with a high court action by an East End “businessman” he linked to organised crime (more on that later) but what I didn’t know is how closely he had followed the tale of Paul Page, the SO14 officer who had operated a massive ponzi scheme. I thought that I knew all there was to know about that sordid story, having followed it closely through the pages of the papers, but reading For Queen and Currency I realised that I didn’t know the half of it.

In forensic detail Gillard tells the story of a rather cocksure young officer’s fall from grace. He paints a picture of an almost unbelievable level of naivety, avarice and just plain stupidity amongst people – police officers from various specialist squads, business people, and accountants – who invested in Page’s schemes all in the pursuit of a quick buck. Not one conducted due diligence. Not one questioned how the rates of returns offered by Page were possible, or where the money was coming from. Gillard ties this all convincingly to both the stupidity of crowds and wider society’s addiction to cheap credit, which helped fuel the credit crunch. He also tellingly points out the banks ran similar schemes with all our money, but unlike Page, not one has ended up in jail.

I suspect that SO14’s reputation might be permanently tarnished. Gillard portrays a sort of Dad’s Army of dodgy blokes, all too lazy to do their job. Rather than crack cops trained by the SAS, they come across as a bunch of skivers looking for the easy life. They sleep on duty, actually having a ring around service to watch out for each other so that they’re not caught napping by superiors; they drink heavily; they pose for photos on the throne. Oh and when justice finally catches up with Page, it’s in the guise of our old friends in the Directorate of Professional Standards (the Met’s version of internal affairs) that Gillard first introduced us to in Untouchables. Once more, he finds them lacking.

This is a superb book and one I will unhesitatingly award five stars. But it was a surprise to me because I was expecting Gillard to turn his recent high court victory against that East End “businessman” into a book instead. Well, according to the author biog page in For Queen and Currency, he is planning on doing just that. I for one can’t wait to read it.