The bungling Labour Government and Gordon Brown's mis-handling of banking and financial market regulation, as Chancellor and as Prime Minister, makes him personally at least as much to blame as anybody else on the planet, for the current international financial and banking crisis of of confidence. Even when the financial markets sort themselves out, there will be long lasting damage to the international reputation of Gordon Brown, and, unfortunately, also to that of United Kingdom.
There is a recent recent Hollywood film called How to Lose Friends & Alienate People , and that is exactly what Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling have managed to do to our friends and allies, in the strategically vital country of Iceland.
Icelanders are not terroristsHelp us stop abuse of the Anti-terrorism Act
Gordon Brown unjustifiably used the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 against the people of Iceland for his own short-term political gain. This has turned a grave situation into a national disaster, affecting families in both Iceland and the United Kingdom. Help us avert greater damage by signing this petition now.
See Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001 Part 2 Freezing Orders
On Wednesday October 8th, the British Government invoked Anti-terrorist legislation, which was in effect aimed at the people of Iceland. This devastating attack on our society was received with disbelief here in Iceland. The people of Iceland have always considered themselves great friends of the United Kingdom. Our nations have a long history of mutually beneficial trade and have been close allies in NATO and Europe.Hour by hour and day by day the actions of the British government are indiscriminately obliterating Icelandic interests all over the world and, in so doing, diminishing the assets that could be used to reimburse depositors with Icelandic banks in the United Kingdom and Iceland. The government's actions are also endangering the future of nearly all Icelandic companies and of the entire nation, in addition to over 100,000 employees of British companies with Icelandic connections. In this regard we would like to stress that the Icelandic authorities have always maintained their intention to honour their obligations in this matter, contrary to claims made by Chancellor Alistair Darling and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
In these trying times, it is vital that we all work together to meet the troubles that lie ahead. We cannot let leaders, like Gordon Brown, destroy the long-term relations of our nations for their own short-term political gain. Mr. Brown would never have reacted to the collapse of a bank from a larger and more powerful nation by tarnishing its people as terrorists and criminals.
We, the people of Iceland, ask you, our friends from the United Kingdom and elsewhere, to join us in the common cause of ending diplomatic hostilities between the Icelandic and UK governments. It is our hope that this will stop the unnecessary economic damage on both sides, so that we can start to rebuild and make amends.
The Government media spin line is that somehow the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is not just "anti0terrorism" legislation, but that is not how it was sold to Parliament and the public at the time, with worthless promises of safeguards by Ministers, who did not actually amend the detailed text of the legislation accordingly, a political trick which has been used time after time by this Government and its torrent of complicated repressive legislation.
The toothless Intelligence and Security Committee, tried, in producing their Annual report for 2004 / 2005 (.pdf), to get a single, coherent definition of "the Economic Well-being of the United Kingdom", which is one of the vague definitions of "National Security", in various bits of legislation.
They failed in this seemingly simple task - each Whitehall department and agency seems to have its own slightly different definition (most of which are kept secret from the public).
Apart from using Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 against Iceland it's about time he sent them the repair bills for all our Leander Class frigates damaged in the last 'Cod War.'
I've never seen such a snotty nosed and pretentious country - and there's only around 400k of them.
I reckon we could invade the place, make the kurtow to our will and fill it up with all our unwanted so called refugees. I'm sure the place could bnefit from that as I'm sure we could also.
@ Sal ibn Hari -
There are more "snotty nosed and pretentious" people in London than that !
Just like in Basra in Iraq or Helmand province in Afghanistan ?
Sadly, thanks to this Labour Government, and, it has to be said, their Tory predecessors, the Royal Navy no longer has enough serviceable warships to compete with the Swiss or Afghan navies these days, let alone the Icelandic trawling or whaling fleets.
The Royal Navy now has more Admirals (41) than it has active frontline warships (40) !
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/3073680/Admirals-outnumber-warships-in-Royal-Navy-report-shows.html
What will happen if the Icelanders are forced to get a big loan from the Russians, who will then demand and get to use the former NATO airbase at Keflavik to menace the RAF's air defences from ?
Gordon Brown's incompetence over this terrorist insult public relations disaster is now threatening the NATO alliance !
Understandably, the Icelanders are now objecting to having to pay for Royal Air Force participation in a forthcoming NATO exercise.
The Financial Times reports:
NATO seem to have cancelled the RAF participation in the exercise over Iceland next month
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5158568.ece