April 2006 Archives

The Daily Mirror reveals that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has admitted to having an extra-marital affiar with his secretary.

This scoop would normally have been the headline story in the rest of the media, but for Home Secretary Charles Clarkes attacks on the media on Monday, followed by yesterdays admission of utter incompetence by the Home Office in not considering for deportation, at least 1023 foreign criminals who hhd been sent to prison over the last 7 years.

Apparently over 160 cases were ones where there was an reccomendation from the Court which sentenced these offenders that they should be deported when they had serveed their sentence.

How is it that the bureaucracies of th ePrison and Probation and Immihration services, all of which report to the Home Secreatry, cannot coordinate something so simple, where the people to deported are not hiding somewhere "underground" as illegal immigrants, but are actually physically locked up in prison ?

Apparently 288 of the total were not delat with properly since August last year, when Charles Clarke had been warned by the National Audit Office of the problem back in July.

It therefore appears as if the problem has got even worse, directly under the mis-management of Charles Clarke

Charles Clarke is refusing to resign, so far, but how why should he be allowed to continue as Home Secreatry ?

Surely he has no special skills or experience which would make sorting out the problem immediately any swifter ?

Charles Clarke now seems to be claiming that he did offer to resign before last Christmas, according to this Press Association report

Ironically, even doubly disgraced ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett has, apparently, called for "heads to roll" , although, not, of course that of Charles Clarke, at least in public.

It was Blunkett who also presided over the same incompetent and shambolic Immigration and Nationality Directorate scandals, which lead to the resignation of Home Office Immigration Minsiter Beverkly Hughes is, of course partly to blame.

WIll this latest demonstration of sheer bureaucratic incompetence be blamed on the "computer system" and lead to a demand for "more resources" and even more legislation ?

Who is the likely replacement for Charles Clarke as Home Secretary, ?

Will he or she actully concentrate on getting the Home Office to fulfill its plain vanilla basic statutory duties competently, instead of trying to social engnieer society with a flurry of ill thought out and ever more complicated legislation and unworkable high tech "magic" technological fixes, which they are incompetent to implement ?

Will the other NuLabour Cabinet Minsters like Tessa "9 mortgaes" Jowell and Lord "Honours for City Academies" Adonis and Margaret "Let's hype up the BNP" Hodge, be thankful that the limited attention span of the press and broadcast media have now seemingly forgotten about, their recent scandals ?

Where is the Tony Blair / Lord Levy "Loans for Peerages" scandal being reported now ?

More good analysis and comments at Blairwatch

It is hard to comment sensibly on NuLabour. We are frightened and disgusted by this Labour regime.

Apart from the ongoing Loans for Peerages and City Academies scandals, we have been reading:

• The Observer has some emails between Henry Porter and Tony Blair which show just how out of touch Tonty Blair is The Devil's Kitchen has some mild crticisism - " Tony Blair: you fascist fuck!"

• Tony Blair's email to Henry Porter promises banishment from theUK, presumably even for British citizens, deportation without trial, merely on suspicion:

  I would impose restrictions on those suspected of being involved in organised crime. In fact, I would generally harry, hassle and hound them until they give up or leave the country.

  How about some actual evidence of wrongdoing and a proper trial before punishments are handed out by the state ?

• It is no surprise that the disgraceful David Blunkett is milking his Parliamentary expenses for his country cottage love nest, to the tune of £20,000, according to the Sunday Times

• Tim Worstall has an opinion piece in the The Times , but also writes "Fuck him" on Charles "The Safety Elephant" Clarke and his evil plans to refuse financial compensation to people who have suffered miscarriages of justice.
  
  
• Mayor of London blog asks "So what is the difference between NuLabour and the NuBNP ?" over the NuLabour's Margaret Hodge inspired free publcity and scaremongering for the British National Party just before the Local Council Elections.

• The Terrorism Act 2006 has now been commenced, except for the 28 days detention without charge provisions, for now.

  Watch out for Section 3 "takedown notices" which will curb and chill free speech on the internet . If any "constable" decides, " that your website, or blog or discussion forum should, in his "opinion", be censored - you have 2 working days to comply or else you will be deemed to endorse "encouraging terrorism" or "disseminating a terrorist publication" -and face up to 7 years in prison and / or an unlimited fine. Even a forged Section 3 notice will be enough for your website to be censored by your ISP or webhost.

  You could also face imprisonment for life under the vague, catch-all Section 5 Preparation of terrorist acts even if you have not actually committed an act of terrorism

The Times reports the arrest of the former City Academies advisor Des Smith:

The Times
April 14, 2006

Tycoons face police on cash for honours
By Andrew Pierce, Rajeev Syal and Rosemary Bennett

Head teacher arrested over city academies

12 millionaires face questions

MILLIONAIRE businessmen who secretly lent money to the Labour Party have been warned that they will be questioned by Scotland Yard in the criminal investigation into allegations of peerages for sale.

The Times has learnt that 12 businessmen, including four whose peerage nominations were blocked by the House of Lords Appointment Commission, have been told by Labour to expect the police to approach them after Easter.

The revelation comes after detectives yesterday arrested Des Smith, 60, a head teacher and former adviser to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), which recruits sponsors for the city academies, specialist schools partly funded by the private sector.

Mr Smith resigned after being taped by an undercover reporter apparently promising potential donors OBEs, knighthoods or peerages in return for funding an academy.

[...]

Thw original Sunday Times story of 15th January 2006 "Revealed: cash for honours scandal" which led to Des Smith's resignation from the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust

Other bloggers such as Guido Fawkes have made the obvious link with Lord Levy, the NuLabour fundraiser, who was the chairman of this Trust..

However, we seem to remember that the Downing Street Special Advisor who was the architect of the City Academies scheme was Andrew Adonis.

Asttonishingly, immediately after the May 2005 General Election he was enobled by Tony Blair and made Lord Adonis into the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools: whose Ministerial duties include "Delivery of the Academies programme".

Surely Lord Adonis must have been involved in this City Academies funding and honours / peerages scandal ?

Will the police also be interviewing Lord Adonis ?

ITV reports

Blunkett to publish memoirs
10.46AM, Mon Apr 3 2006

Former Cabinet minister David Blunkett is to publish his memoirs in October.

[...]

Bloomsbury Publishing promised The Blunkett Tapes will be a "rigorously honest self-portrait as well as an astonishingly cogent and intimate insight into New Labour's years in power, the personalities, the triumphs and the debates".

The memoirs were originally recorded on to tape as "journals" by Mr Blunkett but have now been transcribed and will also be published in Braille.

Mr Blunkett said: "I have chosen to work with Bloomsbury because they understood the nature of the book I wanted to write and will harness all their publishing expertise to the project."

Presumably the inevitable leaks from this book will be used to manipulate the Gordon Brown / Tony Blair power struggle before and during the Labour Party Conference in the Autumn.

Why are former Cabinet Ministers allowed to reveal confidential discussions from whilst they were in office, but nobody else is ?