Another Sorry Excuse For A Minister!

On the same day Dr Fox finally resigned his post in the cabinet, after realising the ‘sorry’ excuse didn’t work, another minister is forced to try the same tactic.

Oliver Letwin, a minister in the Cabinet Office was observed by the Daily Mirror, on at least five separate occasions, disposing of paperwork in the wastebins of St James Park which is nearby to Downing Street.

According to Letwin, the paperwork was not of a sensitive nature and only concerned correspondence from his constituents.

According to the Daily Mirror, whose jouralists retrieved the torn documents, he is being economical with the truth, and the documents referenced security matters, rendition, David Cameron and George Osborne.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

“Clearly, it’s not a sensible way to dispose of documents. Mr Letwin has agreed he will not dispose of documents in this way again.”

Oliver Letwin has, predictably, activated the ‘sorry’ tactic in the hope of avoiding the inevitable questions concerning his lack of brainmatter.

Perhaps, though, now it has become common knowledge that government ministers frequent the public parks of London, their increased vulnerability to terrorist attacks will make them wish Letwin had been sorry earlier!

Raising The Cost Of Education Is Just A Riot!

Yesterday, was the day the wheels could have come off the Coalition bus but it just managed to wobble home carrying a small majority of 21 votes.

Well, we think it was 21 votes, but after the damning report this week revealing we are behind countries like Poland, Iceland and Estonia in the international league tables of academic achievement, maybe we should ask for a recount.

Yes, the government managed to win the vote on increasing the costs of attending University and predictably, the ‘student’ demonstrations in Parliament Square against the rises in fees turned into violence once again.

Even the car of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla was attacked as they were being driven to the theatre for the Royal Variety Performance.

The Liberal Democrats have demonstrated they are not a party of unity - at least on the subject of student fees - as those of them who have accepted positions around the cabinet table voted against their own election promise to abandon fees altogether.

A spokesperson for London Mayor, Boris Johnson, reported that he is “appalled by the scenes of violence this evening… It is an insult to our democracy,”

Surely, though, while no-one really can leave yesterday's events behind without accepting a share of the blame for the violence, the real insult to democracy is a political party that either misrepresented itself to gain votes at the election or was naive enough to think its promises would be so easily forgotten just because its leaders decide to ‘see things differently’ now they have sold their principles for a seat at the top table.

It seems we are all still learning!

Students Get Police 'Punchy' And 'Over Steamed' From Kettling

I was led to the video below from the Liberal Conspiracy website because I was interested in witnessing the footage of a policeman punching a student at the recent demonstrations in London; I was not disappointed.

I found it horrifying to witness the pure aggression of the officers who were forming the line blocking the students’ exit route from the containment area, used as part of the controversial police tactic of ‘kettling’.

Keep watching, after the punch, to see the attitude of the officer with the moustache and baton.

The police should remember that accountability from video surveillance can work both ways.

Welcome to the future!

The Hacker Who Broke Into US Never-Never Land!

"Cyberspace doesn't exist any more than never-never land. I was no more in America than anyone who is on a long-distance telephone call. The fiction of cyberspace should be properly tested in a British court because it is no more real than Santa Claus. They cannot "return" me to a country I wasn't in, yet they continually refer in court to "returning me". If I was being returned to the place where my crime was committed, I would be returned to Crouch End. I am not a fugitive, I was physically in North London and have remained in North London"

The words of Gary McKinnon the man the USA says could be the most dangerous hacker in the world after he broke into their military computers.

He now awaits the decision of a judicial review in the UK on whether he should be extradited to the USA.

Personally, I think he has a very good point and the Americans should admit they failed to protect their computers behind a firewall powerful enough to shield their secrets!

In reality, it is all about politics and a one sided 'special relationship'

Could this be one of the first real tests for our new Foreign Secretary?

'Terrorism' 'Liberty' And The 'Fear of Fear!'

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, comprised of peers and MPs from all parties, has reached a conclusion that many of us formed a long time ago - the government’s response to the threat of terrorism in the UK far exceeds the probability of an incident.

The committee has questioned whether ministers could legitimately argue, nine years after the 9/11 attacks, whether a “public emergency threatening the life of the nation” remained.

The government insists the threat from terrorism remains “real and serious”

A Home Office spokeswoman stated:

“The threat to the UK from terrorism remains real and serious and we are committed to doing all we can to protect our nation's security while protecting individual liberties using the proper safeguards.”

And therein resides the lie...

Individual liberties have been eroded massively since the turn of this century. A knee-jerk reaction, Anti-Terrorism Bill, was rushed through the commons after the attacks of 9/11 and 7/7. It was not properly drafted, or debated, and has introduced all sorts of restrictions on the ‘individual liberties’ we have been permitted to enjoy in recent years.

Local and district councils have used the bill as a ‘snoopers charter’, monitoring the recycling habits of residents within their boundaries, while tourists and photographers have been left open mouthed with shock, when stopped and searched by police officers for the potential terrorist crime of photographing public buildings. Refusal to comply with intrusive questions has often led to unjustified arrest. Nearly every time, the police officers themselves, do not understand the rights of individuals under the act.

Identity cards are still being discussed as a mandatory requirement for all of us residing in the UK and ministers use every opportunity to hype up the terrorist threat, to ensure we comply with their wishes to introduce even more controls over our everyday lives.

I have not bothered to go into the number of surveillance cameras operating in the UK since 7/7 or the diversity of their use, which cannot even be slightly justified by any terrorist threat.

I do not question whether the UK is a target from an act of terror in the foreseeable future. We have always been threatened by terror of one sort or another. The seventies were a far more dangerous period than that we are in now and it became a common occurrence to be within range of an IRA bomb going off in London. We were not, however, stopped in the streets for no reason, or surveilled by faceless camera operators while going about our daily lives.

I find it surprising that none of the mainstream political parties have mentioned the present erosion of our civil liberties as being something worthy of discussion in the forthcoming general election debates - or is it really that surprising?

Hitler’s Reich Marshall, Hermann Goering summed the politics up thus:

“…it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”

It seems nothing has changed!!

Surprise Surprise...It Is Winter And It Is Snowing!!

If you were watching the TV news this evening you would think we were approaching the end of the world.

Shock horror....it has been snowing!

The white stuff has already caused chaos in Northern parts of the country and now there is more panic as it is heads to the capital and into the South East over the next few hours.

Hello...newsflash.... it is winter and this sort of thing happens at this particular time of year!

I grant you that people have short memories and the last few winters have been fairly mild but the snow that has fallen this year is no more than in the average winters I remember from my past.

People living in other countries, where snow is a regular part of their lives, must roll on the floor and wet themselves laughing at how such a small amount of adverse weather can cause such chaos here in the UK.

Lets be positive: kids are getting more time off school to play, workers have a believable excuse for not getting into their workplace and the best bit of all....we do not have to listen to the empty election promises of our political leaders while the cold front takes over the headlines.

See?......it isn't all bad!!

A 'Charge' Harriet Harman Won't Be Claiming!

Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, is to face prosecution after all, following a police investigation into her alleged car smash back in July (see earlier post).

The Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement:

'The Crown Prosecution Service has decided there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to prosecute the Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP for the offences of driving without due care and attention and driving whilst using a hand-held mobile telephone in relation to an incident on 3 July 2009 in Peckham, London.'

If found guilty, Ms Harman could face a £6,000 fine, penalty points on her licence or a driving ban.

Her spokeswoman said:

'Ms Harman strongly refutes the allegations and will deny the charges.'

Hmmmm...... now where have we heard that one before?

Life On Planet Concussion!

It has been a while since I last posted on here, following my spectacular dive down the stairs and my teeth numbing stop, using my head as a brake, against a doorframe.

Since my unplanned flight, I have been living on Planet Concussion. It is a strange world I entered after needing the rather confusing quality of service available from the NHS (could do better – maybe more written later) and where I have imagined strange things to be happening all around me.

For instance, I had visions of the leader of the over hyped and allegedly racist BNP being grilled on Question Time while outside the studios, demonstrations were taking place ; of MPs being made to re-pay and apologise for the expenses they had inadvertently claimed while “just following the rules”; of X Factor contestants taking up more space in newspapers than proper journalism; of footballer’s wives miraculously being able to give birth to babies; of even more of our troops losing their lives in a mystical land called Afghanistan; of senior scientific advisors to the government being sacked for not agreeing with the political will of our rulers; of bankers being curbed from receiving huge bonuses for doing what they are already paid to do and of the next prime minister of our great country performing a complete U-turn over holding a referendum over Europe.

The weirdest vision of all was the one where Transport for London insisted that actress Kelly Brook should have her own 'buns' concealed with...even bigger buns on a poster advertising the play Calender Girls on London's underground trains.

Planet Concussion is a scary place to be and I am really looking forward to returning to the real world, where things like these would never happen!!

London's 'Mayor Boris' Tries to 'Stuff' Paxo

I have only just caught up with this interview between London's somewhat eccentric Mayor, Boris Johnson and BBC Newsnight's 'Rottweiler' frontman Jeremy Paxman. It was recorded at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on October 5th.

I am not sure if it is really about politics or is just an audition for the lead roles in a situation comedy. Judge for yourself - and weep!

Is Harriet Harman More Equal Than Anyone Else?

"I'm Harriet Harman, you know where you can get me."

Those are the words of Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman.

They were not the reassuring words of an MP to a worried constituent but, instead, are alleged to have been made to a witness, who saw a parked car hit by Ms Harman's vehicle, while she was apparently driving and using her mobile phone.

Ms. Harman denies the allegation and that she left the scene of the accident without supplying details of her registration or insurance.

The accident is said to have occurred in Dulwich, South London, on 3rd July and the police are waiting to question Ms. Harman. The reason for their delay is said to be because officers wanted to wait until after Labour's party conference last week. By anyone's calculations, that seems to be a long time to delay such an enquiry and we can only wonder why.

Ms. Harman is of course best known for officially promoting the case for women's equality.

It seems, though, that she sees herself, as being far more equal than anyone else.

I await with interest, the result of the police investigation!

BBC Bans The Word 'Butcher'

I am irritated!

Tonight, while travelling home from work, I was listening to the excellent Eddie Nestor who hosts the drivetime programme on BBC London 94.9FM.

Eddie is one of the few broadcasters who has the rare gift of being able to discuss any subject, however sensitive, in a fair and amiable way, while still being able to express his own opinion without causing offence.

Tonight, he was engaged in a telephone conversation with respected financial expert, David Kuo, about a new London initiative called the Brixton Pound. It is a concept that is aimed at promoting trade in the locality of Brixton and David was explaining why it might not work in reality.

To help his explanation, he was using the examples of a Butcher's shop and a Grocer's shop to demonstrate how the Brixton Pound might be used in practice.

However, half way through his explanation, he was told by Mr Nestor that he could not use the example of a butcher as it could cause offence to those with certain religious beliefs, or non-meat eaters. Nestor had been told to explain this, by his programme producer, while Kuo was talking.

Are you getting irritated yet?

Has the normally excellent BBC finally become a censor for the political correctness movement?

Surely the whole point of a phone-in show is to exploit the values and principles of free speech and to hear the views of the callers by promoting discussion? It is not to publically admonish a guest expert for describing a profession that has been the mainstay of most high streets and food stores for as long as commerce has been in existence.

Sadly and unusually, Mr Nestor did not challenge the instruction he was given by the time I arrived home. I can only hope this is because he was in a state of shock at being given such a pathetic instruction by his producer.

In reality, though, I fear incidents like this will become more common.

If you are one of those whom the BBC assume would be offended by the mention of professions to which you do not approve......tough!!

Last time I checked, the majority of us were still sane.....just!

Baby P - Should The Gagging Order Have Been Lifted?

The case of the torture and death of Baby P, two years ago, is still shocking.

The 17-month-old child had been abused over a period of months during which his back and ribs had been broken along with other horrific injuries. I still cannot bring myself to read all of the details.

The fact the social services had failed to either notice, or act on his behalf - even though he was on the Child Protection Register - was criminal.

The fact his mother had stood by while her boyfriend had dealt the abuse was also criminal. Both her and her lover have now been convicted of causing or allowing the death of the child. It is worth remembering their actions were not a 'heat of the moment loss of control' but deliberate and systematic abuse of a small child.

A judge ordered their identities should be protected because they were involved in a second trial where the boyfriend was found guilty of the rape of a two-year-old girl, while Baby P's mother was acquitted of child cruelty after it was alleged she witnessed the rape but did nothing to stop it.

Last night the judge removed the anonymity order and today the media has been busy discussing the pros and cons of whether they should have been publicly named.

A Professor of Psychology, even insisted during a radio interview, they should remain anonymous because they had probably themselves been abused as children and therefore were not totally responsible for their actions.

What total Cock!!

If they did not know the basic difference between right and wrong, then they should not have been allowed to have control of a child - far less have been living openly within our society.

Justice needs to be seen to be done and now we all know who was responsible for Baby Peter's death.

It is worth remembering that if his death had been caused by a vicious dog, the law would have ordered the immediate destruction of that dog.

His death was, instead, caused by people he should have been able to trust as his protectors.

Maybe it is time to change the law with regard to people!!

BNP? - One Lump Or Two?

There's been much ado in today's press about a guest attending one of the Queen's annual garden parties to be held in June.

Nick Griffin is the leader of the British National Party (BNP) and is being taken to the event as the guest of a BMP member of the London Assembly.

London's mayor, Boris Johnson has publically accused the far right BNP of trying to turn the garden party into a "political event" which seems to be a bit rich coming from someone with the track record of Boris.

Last time I checked, we were living in a democratic society where freedom of speech is paramount and people of differing views are tolerated. The Queen is the figurehead of our society and during her reign has met people with all beliefs and attitudes - many far worse then those of the BNP. She is the ultimate professional and I am sure she will be able to handle the situation with both grace and charm.

Whatever mainstream politicians may think of the BNP and its moral standing, after recent events, now is not really the perfect time for the 'pot to be calling the kettle black!'

UK Is Slave Trade Destination.

One week after my post Heathrow Children Trafficked For Sex revealing children going missing into the slave trade from a children's home in Hillingdon, Parliament's Home Affairs committee has declared that the UK is fast becoming a destination of what amounts to a modern-day slave trade.

The MP's from all parties that make up the committee, have said there are at least 5,000 victims of trafficking in Britain.

Most of them are women and children and most are being forced into the sex trade or used as professional beggars on the streets.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said:

Yes we have good information on the scale of the problem, enforcement is patchy, prosecution rates are low and there is little protection for victims"

Why is this being allowed to happen in 21st century Britain?

It seems that the Home Office need to bring together the UK Border Agency and the police and make them work together as a priority to bring this situation to a speedy end.

Heathrow Children Trafficked For Sex!

Q. How do you lose 80 children in just over two years?

A. Put them in a children's home run by Hillingdon council.

As incredible as it may seem, that is what has happened to many of the children - mainly of Chinese origin - who have arrived unaccompanied at Heathrow Airport.

They are taken to the home while their individual cases are investigated by officials and it is supposed to be a place of safety.

However, according to a confidential report written by the UK Border Agency and leaked to the Guardian newspaper two thirds of the children taken to the home disappear within a week. It is thought they are targeted by organised criminals and made to work in the sex industry or as street sellers for the drugs trade.

In the just one year, 77 children fled the centre and only four were traced; one was pregnant after having been forced to work in a brothel in the Midlands.

A spokesperson for Hillingdon Council tried to excuse their lamentable failure by saying;

"We cannot lock the doors because it's a breach of their human rights"

Surely, the real breach of human rights has been the total failure of the authorities to protect these children in the first place. It seems almost unbelievable that the situation has been continuing for so long and has only now been revealed because of a leaked official report.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling commented:

"To have such a large number of children going missing when they are supposed to be in care is unacceptable. We need an urgent explanation from the Home Secretary"

Therein lies the problem - it's that woman again!

London Marathon - Life's Lesson To All!

The London Marathon is the ideal example of what human nature is really about. It should be absorbed by everyone, but especially politicians, teaching professionals, life advisers and anyone with an 'ology' at the end of their profession.

Not only is it a vast spectacle, run through the most beautiful city in the world, by people of all abilities and all having a common aim and coming from differing backgrounds, it is a reminder that life is really just a simple thing.

It is proof that whatever our ability, social standing, disability or academic achievement we can all be successful and share a common dream.

We just achieve it at different times and by feeling different levels of hardship and pain.

See? The meaning of life...it's simple really!!