Straw Raging at Blunkett
It might not be the inquiry Blunkett needs to fear most, it may be his cabinet colleagues.
It might not be the inquiry Blunkett needs to fear most, it may be his cabinet colleagues.
Quoting a mandarin: “Blunkett raised it by asking why there were all these delays. The answer came back that officials were working on the problem but that there weren’t really any delays. At this point Blunkett hit the roof and threw the letter at [John] Gieve [the Home Office's permanent secretary] and said ‘What about this then?’
That would be the same John Gieve who appointed his old mate and ex-Treasury colleague Alan Budd to inquire into what happened.
Following the roof hitting meeting a call was made by a civil servant to the visa processing department in Croydon to get it “sorted” and once the file was found the visa was approved, a mere three days later.
UPDATE: My only caution on this story is that since if it is true, Blunkett will have to go, it may be being deliberately fed to the press, and actually be exaggerated and false. It may be being spun in an effort to save Blunkett. Since false accusations when refuted categorically and comprehensively tend to blunt the lesser and probably true allegations.
Blunkett sources are categorically denying it. Which is a bold and dangerously easily contradicted lie if it is indeed true.
Stephen Pollard manages to interview himself in the Times about his forthcoming Blunkett book. The headline quote above is taken from the article and its completely in context, just like all the Blunkett quotes that Michael Howard threw at a squirming Blair during PMQs this week. Well I suppose Pollard interviewing himself makes a welcome change for him from writing press releases for the pharmaceutical industry dressed up as “research”. Pollard always insists on describing himself as left of centre and a Labour party member. But what left-wing opinions does he hold nowadays, apart from despising the Tories? (Which is a pretty mainstream opinion judging by the polls). He describes himself as a blood thirsty warmonger, he writes for the Express, Times, Daily Mail and he is a senior fellow at the Brussels based free market think tank the Centre for the New Europe. Last time Guido bumped into him was at the Adam Smith Institute bloggers shindig, where he seemed amongst friends.
He is positively cackling about having stuck the knife into Blunkett with great finesse. So how is he left wing?
The London Standard quotes a government as saying that Mr Blunkett is in “twilight time” and could resign. “There is a growing acceptance that David will be gone within a week.” It was clear from Mr Blair’s announcement with Mr Blunkett yesterday that the Home Secretary cannot continue his job as normal.
One minister said they were monitoring reaction among voters and activists. “Overall, there is sympathy, but it is diminishing a bit,” he said. After those quotes slagging you all off, I bet! (Declaration of interest – I actually do have bets with William Hill and DM Andy.)
Slightly bonkers, he is standing down from his Basingstoke constituency at the next election to spend more time with his sash.
Orders of the Day Employment Relations Bill: Orders of the Day Employment Relations Bill (14 Jan 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: I absolutely condemn that, and I agree with everything that my hon. Friend has just said.
WTO Ministerial Conference: WTO Ministerial Conference (17 Sep 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right.
Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation (14 Apr 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right.
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Workplace Rights (8 Jul 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right.
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Postal Services (16 Sep 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right: new services, bringing in new customers, will make our post offices successful in future.
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Women’s Entrepreneurship (10 Jun 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: I warmly welcome my hon. Friend’s contribution to Questions to the Minister for Women. He is absolutely right …
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women and Equality: Gender and Poverty (26 Feb 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right in all her comments.
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Unfair Dismissal (16 Sep 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: I am indeed aware of the case to which my hon. Friend refers. It was absolutely disgraceful and hugely distressing to the woman and her family…
Small Businesses: Small Businesses (2 Jul 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend, who plays such a superb role in promoting science, is absolutely right.
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Return to Work (14 Feb 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right...
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: GATS Initiative (31 Oct 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely wrong….
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Fair Trade (13 Feb 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: I absolutely understand and share my hon. Friend’s anger about the brutality of what was done to the coalfield communities during the Conservative years…
Energy White Paper: Energy White Paper (24 Feb 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right….
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Company Profitability (22 Jan 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Inward Investment (1 May 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Public Appointments (14 Feb 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Gender/Trade Issues (8 Jul 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that we have to…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Entrepreneurship (20 Mar 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right….
US Tariffs (Steel Imports): US Tariffs (Steel Imports) (6 Mar 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is a staunch defender of his constituents who work in the steel industry. He is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Public Health (1 May 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Social Enterprises (13 Feb 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Acas: Postal Services (6 May 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: …That renewal plan, which is absolutely necessary…
World Trade Conference: World Trade Conference (15 Nov 2001)
Patricia Hewitt: The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right...
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: (6 May 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: …the comments we have heard from the Opposition Benches, that is another piece of work that the Conservative party would cut as part of its public spending cuts. The Equal Opportunities Commission is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: National Minimum Wage (11 Dec 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: The hon. Lady is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Sub-post Office Network (11 Jul 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: US Steel Tariffs (11 Dec 2003)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Minister for Women: Women Entrepreneurs (31 Oct 2002)
Patricia Hewitt: My hon. Friend is absolutely right…
Oral Answers to Questions Trade and Industry: Nuclear Liabilities Authority (26 Feb 2004)
Patricia Hewitt: Of course I agree with the comments of Sir John Bourn, and I note that the National Audit Office report on British Energy makes it absolutely clear …
You get the idea. Absolutely ad infinitum…
He basically says that the government had a very thin case for war on WMD grounds and should have made the case on humanitarian grounds, which is what Blair does nowadays. Since there are no WMDs he doesn’t really have a choice. We all know Blair couldn’t do that because his own party wouldn’t vote for it on those grounds. So Campbell cooked up the dossier and Blair lied instead.
He also says that even domineering Wilson and Thatcher thought important decisions should be taken by Cabinet, but Blair decides using cliques of New Labour apparatchiks.
Boris says that Butler claims to have saved John Scarlett’s neck and he would have been ‘toast’, had not his committee specifically recommended that his job be spared. (Incidentally, if you watch the Beeb’s Spooks there is a slimy Spook boss who does political dirty work for his Downing Street masters. Who could they have based that character on?)
From the end of the interview with Boris;
‘I do think Britain is worse governed by the fact that the executive has got so free of any inhibition that is imposed either by Parliament or the public.’ No, says Robin, he doesn’t think it right that Labour should invoke the Parliament Act to overrule the Lords on foxhunting. ‘I don’t think that is what the Parliament Act is there for.‘It is extraordinary and shameful that the House of Lords, which I am proud to be a member of but which is an unelected body, puts the inhibition on the will of the government (on Labour’s law and order agenda) and it is a shameful thing that the House of Commons doesn’t.
No, he says, of ID cards, ‘I don’t think the benefits will justify the cost,’ and he ends with a reminder of his own amazing achievements at the helm of Whitehall. ‘When the Tories came to power in 1979 the Civil Service was 735,000. By 1983, because of Margaret Thatcher’s diktat, it was down to 635,000. By the time I left the Civil Service, in 1998, some 15 years later, it was down to 450,000.’
Unsurprisingly Howard is making much mischief out of the old mandarin’s extraordinary attack, I wonder if Boris served the Butler a drink or three at the Speccie’s offices? Maybe Butler is embarrassed by the timely whitewash job he did with his inquiry. Boris certainly seems to have got some ammunition for his party leader to use. Maybe Boris is actually more use to the Tories as a journalist than a shadow minister.
In any event it looks like the Butler will be off Blair’s Christmas card list.
So it seems the editor of the Spectator’s mistresses’ father asked the Home Secretary of the time to fast-track a passport for her and now she is a columnist on the Spectator, where the publisher was the recent mistress of the Home Secretary who asked him to fast track a passport-visa for her nanny.
The Home Secretary of the time was Michael Howard and is, for now, currently David Blunkett.
So, the question on Guido’s mind? Did Michael Howard have an affair with the nanny? It would complete the mind boggling circle.

George Galloway, writing in Socialist Worker says;
I am honoured to accept the nomination from Respect in East London to stand as the candidate in the next general election in the seat of Bethnal Green & Bow.One hundred years ago a new force broke through in London’s East End…. Keir Hardie’s movement… east London.
In the Evening Standard tonight the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow told that “A British Labour MEP offered me £10,000 out of his cost allowance if I’d sleep with him. I told him to go to hell and I complained to some other politicians, who had a go at him.” Ms King, who is now a parliamentary aide to Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, said that the man’s harassment fuelled her determination to become an MP herself.
She is about to suffer a lot of further harassment from Galloway, though probably not of the sexual kind. Her heavily Muslim seat is being targeted by the former MP for Baghdad South and she is right to be worried. Worried enough to pay special attention to courting the Muslim vote – despite supporting the war in Iraq. Her trick of sending Eid festival greeting cards to Muslim sounding names has not gone down too brilliantly with the Hindus who actually received them. Never mind, still time to send her Jewish constituents Christmas cards just to balance things up.
Incidentally, Guido would.

Maguire in the VIP Enclosure at Cheltenham – EyeSpy.MP
BBC Bias Investigation Collars Basil Brush – The Sun
Drug Cartels Say “Ban Mephedrone!” – ASI Blog
Boot-Boy Tebbit Chases the Dragon – Telegraph
Can Gordon Brown Handle the Real World, Honestly? – Times
Labour’s Brave New Strategy - Dizzy
Mephedrone: Dealing with the Facts – ASI blog


Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon said of LibDem MPs…
“The effect of members not making over these payments to the House was to put their private interest above their public interest, contrary to the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.”

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