Iain Dale's Diary: Cherie Scrapes the Barrell by Signing Hutton Report for Auction

Iain Dale's Diary: Cherie Scrapes the Barrell by Signing Hutton Report for Auction
Following stolen from Iain Dale's page

"This piece seems to have caused such outrage that I'm reprinting selected exercpts of the article by the Mail on Sunday's Jonathan Oliver below..."

"Cherie Blair was last night accused of 'bad taste' amd 'insensitivity'after helping the Labour Party to cash in on the suicide of Governmet scientist Dr David Kelly. Mrs Blair signed a copy of the Hutton Report into the weapons inspector's death, which was then auctioned off to raise money for the party. The document, which was also signed by Alastair Campbell, fetched £400 at an after dinner auction. Last night Reg Keays, whose Red Cap son Tom was killed by an Iraqi mob in 2003 said: "Cherie and Campbell have shown very bad taste. The coffins draped in the Union flag are still returning from Iraq. To auction off a report which inquired into the suicide of a very eminent, respected scoientist is effectively profting from other people's misery. But themn that is just typical of this government's attitude." Mrs Blair also came under fire from Labour MPs, shocked at the way the tragedy which rocked the government was now the subject of jokey fundraising events. Jeremy Corbyn MP said: "It is incredibly insensitive and in seriously bad taste. The Hutton Report is not a triumph of anything except obfuscation and secrecy." The auction took place on Wednesday at London's Arts Club in mayfair and was organised by James Purnell, the newly promoted pensions minister. The auctioneer was Rhondda MP Chris Bryant who explained to the audience this was not the first time a Hutton Report had been sold for party funds. To excite interest in the sale he pointed out that even unsigned copies cost £70 from HMSO. He boasted that at the previous event the buyer was able to make a profit by reselling the document signed by Alastair Campbell on Ebay. But Mr Bryant insisted this year's lot was unique becasue it also bore the imprint of Mrs Blair. One guest told the Mil on Sunday: "Even at the time there were a lot of people wondering whether it was really appropriate - even in jest." Among the 200 guests were Rosie Winterton, Gerry Sutcliffe and Tom Watson".

Updated 13:15

BBC now reporting on this see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5007874.stm

Updated again at 14:45

And I love this
Hat Tip to Beau Bo D’Or