Is this a fair question?

"Are you corrupt?"

Is this a fair question? It’s one that was asked of Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Yates by MPs in the Select Committee yesterday in the Wilson Room at Portcullis House.

It may be a fair question, but is it any use?

Not really. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would answer this question with a “Yes.”

The purpose of the question

We need to know what the purpose of this question was. It almost sounds as though the questioner was trying to make a statement rather than ask a question.

The right questions

If you want to know if someone is corrupt, then you need to ask different questions. You need to identify what they did and compare that with the behaviour of an honest person.

Strangely quite a few people who we would consider to be corrupt often don’t seem to think they have done anything wrong (you may recall questioning of the directors of Enron and the looks of disbelief of those questioning them).

Another question, “Are you incompetent?” is of similar value.
The trouble with these questions is that they tell you more about the competence of the questioner than the person who is being questioned.

Get more information on how to ask questions here.