Reasons to be cheerful
Thursday 14 December 2006. A day that proves - yet again - that we, the people, are treated a whole lot more like Blockheads than Ian Dury by our elected representatives.
Prove it I hear you say. Well, you can take your pick.
It is the biggest news story for months. The official publication of the police report in to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Acres of newsprint are given over to debunking the conspiracy theorists and I mean acres.
And what also happens? Just the trifling matter that our PM is interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives investigating the peerages for loans scandal. It has been on-going for none months so purely coincedental that the news is confirmed today that Blair has become the first ever sitting PM to be questioned by police conducting a criminal investigation.
As if that wasn't enough, there is confirmation that the Serious Fraud Office's investigation in to the alleged bungs by BAE Systems has been squashed by the government. The figures are mind-boggling. A £60M sweetener which threatened a £10 billion arms deal.
The SFO said: "It has been necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest."
We may all be equal before the law but plainly, some of us, notably those with the odd £10 billion burning a hole in their pocket, are more equal than others.
It would be nice to think that the government's probity in such matters was beyond dispute but that is difficult to do when the leader of the government has been "assisting the police with their enquiries" relating to other aspects of his conduct. What really sticks in my craw, however, is the crass manipulation over the release of this information: bury the bad news on a huge story day in the hope no one will notice. Compounding my anger is the expectation that most people - Guardian editors notable among the exceptions - are so lethargic that the strategy may well succeed.
It's enough to make a law-abiding citizen feel all warm inside.
Prove it I hear you say. Well, you can take your pick.
It is the biggest news story for months. The official publication of the police report in to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Acres of newsprint are given over to debunking the conspiracy theorists and I mean acres.
And what also happens? Just the trifling matter that our PM is interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives investigating the peerages for loans scandal. It has been on-going for none months so purely coincedental that the news is confirmed today that Blair has become the first ever sitting PM to be questioned by police conducting a criminal investigation.
As if that wasn't enough, there is confirmation that the Serious Fraud Office's investigation in to the alleged bungs by BAE Systems has been squashed by the government. The figures are mind-boggling. A £60M sweetener which threatened a £10 billion arms deal.
The SFO said: "It has been necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest."
We may all be equal before the law but plainly, some of us, notably those with the odd £10 billion burning a hole in their pocket, are more equal than others.
It would be nice to think that the government's probity in such matters was beyond dispute but that is difficult to do when the leader of the government has been "assisting the police with their enquiries" relating to other aspects of his conduct. What really sticks in my craw, however, is the crass manipulation over the release of this information: bury the bad news on a huge story day in the hope no one will notice. Compounding my anger is the expectation that most people - Guardian editors notable among the exceptions - are so lethargic that the strategy may well succeed.
It's enough to make a law-abiding citizen feel all warm inside.
posted by Andy at 1:18 PM
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