Charlie surfaces in the Strathy

Via Guido I find that Charlie has surfaced in the Strathy and is at his hypocritical and condescending best. He obviously regards anyone in the area as a hick. Well worth a read just to have a good laugh.

He might just find out that the people of the area are a bit more aware than he thinks about the sort of sewer rat he is.

Already the first letter is in the paper here.

Time to trim the tip top team?

Published: 15 April, 2009

Sir, - As your Labour correspondent Charlie Whelan is implicated in the production of the scurrilous emails by Damien McBride at 10 Downing Street, I trust (not a word the special advisor or political officer group would recognise) that you will ensure his rapid exit from your team. Perhaps across the railing of the Moet roof garden on the 10th floor of Strathy Towers!

Hacked off by hypocrisy - Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

Tory MP Green will not be charged

Amazing that, MP doing his job is not charged!

Will be another embarrassment for Gordon's Government and indeed the Civil Service.

Update: What the CPS said

I have considered whether there is evidence of any additional damage caused by the leaks in question. I have concluded that the information leaked was not secret information or information affecting national security:

It did not relate to military, policing or intelligence matters. It did not expose anyone to a risk of injury or death. Nor, in many respects, was it highly confidential. Much of it was known to others outside the civil service, for example, in the security industry or the Labour Party or Parliament. Moreover, some of the information leaked undoubtedly touched on matters of legitimate public interest, which were reported in the press.

Ouch! Spliffer will not be happy.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Tory MP Green will not be charged

A question for Sir Gus?

If the Civil Service wanted the police to investigate Damian Green over some minor leaks which now appears to have been all hyperbole, makes you wonder why they won't look into the McBride affair a little bit more thoroughly. Even the Sun wants to know!

Perhaps there are still some more e-mails or other embarrassing documents out there just waiting to be found?

Mandarins under fire over arrest of top Tory Damian Green - Times Online

Families of Hercules XV179 crash to Sue MOD

Why the families need to take legal action is beyond me. The Coroner has already issued a verdict of unlawful killing and criticised the MoD's decision not to fit "explosive suppressant foam" (ESF) around the plane's fuel tanks, which experts said could have saved their lives. This means that the MOD surely has a legal liability to pay Compensation and as the report says the MOD have already said

"Our deepest sympathies remain with the families of the RAF and Army personnel who lost their lives when hostile fire shot down Hercules XV179 in January 2005," he said.

"We have apologised to the families for the shortcomings identified at the inquest and by our Board of Inquiry, and we have enhanced the protection of our aircraft, including fitting explosive suppressant foam to all Hercules operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The MoD awaits the full details of this legal challenge from the families' lawyers. Compensation is always paid in cases where there is a proven legal liability."

Compensation should be paid without the need for recourse to taking legal action which can only be more distressing for the families of the victims.

My previous posts on the Hercules crash are here.

Families of 10 servicemen who died when RAF Hercules was shot down launch legal action against the Government - Telegraph

Shurely some Mistake

Surely the mixture of Smeargate and Alcoholics on the bru is a mistake!

Mr Purnell defended Gordon Brown’s response to the smears against Conservatives planned by Damian McBride.

“Gordon Brown acted swiftly and fully as soon as he found about this. He accepted the resignation of Damian McBride he then wrote to every involved expressing his regret and has asked for the system to be strengthened,” he said.

"This was shocking and totally unacceptable way to behave and the Prime Minister has dealt with that".

Mr Purnell also said that the government was taking action to identify alcoholics who were claiming benefits, by sharing data between agencies and offering help to those people,

"It's not of any help to an individual or a families if we just allow them to remain an alcoholic and have their lives blighted by it," he said.

"If we can help people to get sober that can help make a massive difference to their lives”.

PoliticsHome

A Fairy Story

Once upon a time in a far off country their lived some pigs who wanted to rule and they were, the Old Major who sadly died before he came to real power, Snowball who took over from the Old Major and ruled the country for a while trying to do good things but ultimately failing before being knifed in the back by, Napoleon a true tyrant and a villain, who then ruled the country aided by his puppies, Jessie and Bluebell and his right hand man Squealer who manipulated the country to excuse, justify, and extol all of Napoleon's actions.

And then one day Squealer, on his master's orders went just a little bit too far...

... and we all lived happily ever after.

Let us hope!

Gordon Brown draft apology:

Just in from No 10 this apology

"What people have to understand is that this crisis started in America before spreading to Britain. It was in America, not here, that these people started to publish their blogs. When the practice then caught on in Britain we no idea that it would get out of hand so quickly and lead to these problems.

And of course I have regrets that I did not stop the mostly right-wing people who started using these blogs to criticise the government. That's something I am sorry happened. And I also regret that then certain people who used to work for me, and have met from time to time, started planning ways to respond to these unfair attacks on me by right wing bloggers. They were a little too enthusiastic and got caught. Again, that is something I regret.

But I don't think focussing on such tittle-tattle for a minute longer helps anyone, least of all me. Instead, we need to remember that this blogging started in America and spread here. Now we must focus on taking the decisive action to stop this blogging doing any more damage to me, I mean before it does any more damage to public confidence in our political process. And it started in America. Thank you."

Source: Three Line Whip

Update: The Excuse, I didn't do it, a fat boy snuck up and did it and now i'll stop all the fat boys

Dear Gus
I am writing about the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, and the proposals I want to make to tighten this up. I am assured that no minister and no political adviser other than the person involved had any knowledge of or involvement in these private emails that are the subject of current discussion. I have already taken responsibility for acting on this - first by accepting Mr McBride's resignation and by making it clear to all concerned that such actions have no part to play in the public life of our country.
I have also written personally to all those who were subject to these unsubstantiated claims. Mr McBride has apologised and done so unreservedly. But it is also important to make sure such behaviour does not happen again. Any activity such as this that affects the reputation of our politics is a matter of great regret to me and I am ready to take whatever action is necessary to improve our political system. I would therefore now like a more explicit assurance included in the special advisers Code of Conduct that not only are the highest standards expected of political advisers but that the preparation or dissemination of inappropriate material or personal attacks have no part to play in the job of being a special adviser, just as it has no part to play in the conduct of all our public life. I also think it right to make it a part of the special advisers contract by asking our political advisers to sign such an assurance and to recognise that if they are ever found to be preparing and disseminating inappropriate material they will automatically lose their jobs. I think you will agree that all of us in public life have a responsibility to ensure that those we employ and who are in involved in our parties observe the highest standards. Like the overwhelming majority of figures in public life across the political spectrum, I entered politics because of a sense of public duty and to improve the lives and opportunities of those less fortunate than me. My undivided focus as prime minister is on acting to make Britain a fairer, safer and more prosperous nation and, in particular, on guiding the country through the current economic difficulties. The public would expect no less and would also expect the highest possible standards from all their politicians and all those who work for them.

Yours sincerely Gordon Brown

Why bother the current code of conduct for SpAds already covers what McBride did and he should have been sacked and not allowed to resign.

Gordon Brown draft apology: blog crisis is global :: Iain Martin

Crisis hits North Sea oil search

Two articles in the last couple of days highlight the impact the current recession is having on the Oil and Gas industry and how it will impact Aberdeen and the North-East of Scotland in particular. The first in the FT is here and the second in the Herald is here.

As usual at the root of the causes is the way this government has such a short-term view on how to tax the industry and the time it takes them then to react to changes. Labour has consistently managed to ensure that companies regard the North Sea as a risky place to invest because of the ever changing taxes and rules that they apply. This is detrimental to the long term investment decisions that the Oil and Gas companies must make to develop new and modified sources of Oil and Gas and drives them to invest in other areas of the world where the fiscal model is more geared to the long term.

A year ago I had this to say on what Gordon was doing to the Oil industry. It seems that what I was saying then has come to pass quicker than even I expected. I reiterate what I said then

This just goes to show that despite our "Jonah" trying to sell himself as a wonderful Leader and former Chancellor is nothing of the sort. He has dug the UK into a deep hole and now has nothing to extract us from it.

Now, in this difficult period, we see the huge impact that this has on the Industry and its future in the UK. Investments dry up quicker than in other areas as risk is lower. As a result of this the government itself loses, not only just now, when the tax revenues are at their most needed, but also in the future, when we will need to pay off the huge debts that Gordon Brown has burdened the country.

It is worth reflecting on the fact that the FT quotes the fact that about 1 in 8 of the 400,000 jobs in the the Oil and Gas Industry may well go in the next two years, the majority centred around the NE of Scotland. If this does come to pass this will be a disaster for the area which has little other sustainable industries to fall back on. Urgent action by the Government is required, unfortunately, having taken and spent the money in the good times, they have nothing now left to fall back on, which gives rise to a pretty bleak outlook for the future of the industry and the whole area.

FT.com / Companies / Oil & Gas - Crisis hits North Sea oil search

Guido Fawkes lights a bonfire under the Telegraph

The following was written by Guido on the My blogs part of the Telegraph. Makes interesting reading on their part in this whole shabby affair.

I quote

There are a lot of bitter, jealous journalists at the Telegraph and you have behaved shamefully over the McBride story. You even tipped off Downing Street in advance as to exactly what I was up to. It reflects on you a lot more than it does on me.

You revealed sources, broke a confidence, breached a signed non-disclosure agreement and behaved like patsy's for McBride.

You still failed to spoil the story. Your political team is about as weak as it gets, that is why you sucked up to Downing Street.

The Telegraph was once run by gentlemen for gentlemen. This would never have happened under Deedes or Charles Moore.

Do Your Worst

Guido Fawkes : My Telegraph