Muammar Al Khadafi

Poor old Trevor Phillips, it couldn't happen to a nicer bloke. Fresh from baffling most of Britain with his glowing praise for an integrationist Islam which simply doesn't exist outside of a few deluded imaginations, it seems that the EHRC is in trouble for mismanaging taxpayers money.

It's 2009-2010 accounts - its 3rd set since the quango was formed, none of which have been approved by the National Audit Office - have drawn scathing criticism over the waste and unauthorised use of over £2million of taxpayer cash.

Staff had been given pay rises which were not authorised by Whitehall, and junior staff were allowed to sign off on large procurement contracts without any approval.

A staggering £874,000 was wasted on a website which did not work, and the EHRC eventually decided to write of its losses and drop it.

Over £1million was spent on services, goods and contracts valued at over £50,000 - the figure at which central government approval is needed. None was ever sought.

£2,621,000 in legal grants appears to have vanished somewhere into a bureaucratic nightmare, with no evidence or procedures in place for checking how the money was spent. When asked to produce evidence, the EHRC refused, saying that it would "not be an effective use of resources".

For an organisation which wants to manage every minutiae of what we all think and do it seems that the EHRC are none too keen on being accountable or upon having their own doings held up to scrutiny.

Home Secretary Theresa May said of the accounts that "It is unacceptable that the EHRC has not managed to produce an unqualified set of accounts since its inception"

A spokesman for the EHRC commented "While we regret the fact our accounts have been qualified, we shouldn't lose sight of the commission's many achievements. We have made a real difference for millions of people and we will continue to protect and promote equality and human rights..."

That's alright then, spend away, no need to be accountable to us little people who are being equally fleeced by an intrusive and draconian quango.

Year on year the EHRC accounts are being qualified for wastage. We'd be better off, both financially and as a nation, if we just pulled the plug on this useless organisation now.