Insider trading allegations[edit]

Allegations and rumours about insider trading in Marconi shares involved a number of government ministers, including Lloyd George, the Chancellor of the Exchequer; Sir Rufus Isaacs, the Attorney General; Herbert Samuel, the Postmaster General; and Alexander Murray, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury. The allegations were based on the fact that Isaacs' brother, Godfrey Isaacs, was managing director of Marconi.


Historians have explored the role of anti-Semitism in motivating the allegations. The allegations, whether true or not, were well-founded and serious enough to be brought to public attention. Particularly active in the attack was the New Witness, edited by Cecil Chesterton. This was a distributist publication founded in 1911 by Hilaire Belloc as Eye-Witness, with Cecil's brother G. K. Chesterton on the editorial staff. It had a Catholic perspective and was accused of anti-Semitism.^[2]


In February 1913, the French newspaper Le Matin alleged that Sir Rufus Isaacs and Herbert Samuel had abused their position to buy shares in the English Marconi company. Both men sued for libel and Le Matin withdrew and apologised. During the case, Isaacs testified that he had bought shares in American Marconi and sold some on to Lloyd George and Lord Murray.^[3] It was not made public during the trial that these shares had been made available through Isaacs's brother at a favourable price.^[1] The factual matters were at least partly resolved by a parliamentary select committee investigation, which issued three reports: all found that ministers had purchased shares in the American Marconi company, but while the Liberal members of the committee cleared the ministers of all blame, the other members reported that they had acted with "grave impropriety".^[4] The truth of the matter has been described as "obscure".^[5]