| Author | Message | | MADMAX | | Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:14 pm Post subject: |
| .
Free Speech in Europe?
I don't hear people like Geert Wilders or the BNP complaining about Muslims being kidnapped, tortured and killed for what they believe in... so fuck them and Roger Scrotum.
I notice you keep posting this sort of drivel gchq... Britain and America are in deep shit because of the crimes they have committed against the Muslims and other cultures around the world for hundreds of years.
People with a guilty concience are usually paranoid... it is an integral part of the human experience. What goes around, comes around as they say. Those with a clear concience have nothing to fear and they know and feel it. Those who feel the heat have nobody to blame but themselves.
. | |  | | gchq | | Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: |
| | Madmax wrote: | | I notice you keep posting this sort of drivel gchq... Britain and America are in deep shit because of the crimes they have committed against the Muslims and other cultures around the world for hundreds of years. |
It's a two way street! Whilst I don't agree with what Wilders has to say, I do believe that preventing an opinion from being heard is wrong! You clearly missed the finer points of the message!
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | MADMAX | | Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:47 pm Post subject: |
| .
What "finer points"?
Racists, like pedophiles should not be tolerated in civilised society... they need to be given the same treatment that they would give to others. A taste of their own medicine one might say!
. | | | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:01 am Post subject: Now Brown tries to play the great reformer |
| Now Brown tries to play the great reformer
The Scotsman
10 Jun 2009
GORDON Brown will press ahead today with plans to make parliament more accountable and transparent, as he seeks to fulfil his pledge to Labour MPs to learn from his mistakes.
The Prime Minister will make a lunchtime statement to the Commons setting out a timetable for reform in the wake of the expenses scandal and threat to his leadership.
This will be followed by a three-hour debate in which the SNP will seek to rally support for a dissolution of parliament
However, this could backfire on the Nationalists, with Labour MPs likely to use the vote, which will come at 7pm, to publicly declare their new-found faith in Mr Brown's leadership.
His reshuffled Cabinet met for the first time yesterday, with Lord Mandelson, the new "First Secretary" and de facto deputy Prime Minister, sitting opposite Mr Brown. Also present were promoted ministers Alan Johnson (Home Secretary), Andy Burnham (Health Secretary) and Bob Ainsworth (Defence Secretary).
Chancellor Alistair Darling was absent as he was at a meeting of European finance ministers in Luxembourg, while Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband is on paternity leave.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said yesterday the Labour Party had reached a "settled view" on Mr Brown's leadership after his appearance before the party's MPs on Monday night, when he faced down calls to quit.
He dodged the question of whether he had considered following his friend James Purnell, who quit as Work and Pensions Secretary, out of the Cabinet – a move that could have wrecked Mr Brown's chances of survival.
Mr Miliband said Mr Johnson was the "leading contender" to replace Mr Brown but that he was backing the Prime Minister "to the hilt". Asked whether he had flirted with the idea of resignation, he said: "Flirtation is dangerous for married men. I'm not going to get into that."
The Cabinet was followed by the first meeting of the National Democratic Renewal Council, which Mr Brown chairs. This laid the groundwork for his statement today – it will follow Prime Minister's Questions – which will update MPs on the modernisation or parliament. A further Cabinet meeting will follow on Friday, at which ministers will seek to plot Mr Brown's latest fightback by drawing up plans for "a better Britain".
The Prime Minister's spokesman said today's statement was likely to cover a range of issues, some of which would require legislation before they could come into effect, such as the proposal to remove parliament's ability to be self-regulating in terms of MPs' expenses.
He said: "There are a number of issues where we can push forward, for example introducing legislation in relation to the establishment of the Parliamentary Standards Authority, taking forward proposals for a code of conduct for MPs, looking at issues such as how we strengthen the role of select committees, as well as looking at the wider debate around the House of Lords and electoral reform."
Changes to select committees – cross-party groups of MPs that hold ministers to account – are likely to involve the removal of the Prime Minister's ability to choose each committee chairman, thereby reasserting their independence from government.
Reform of the Lords could mean reviving plans for a directly elected second chamber, but any move to replace the first-past-the-post system used for general elections with one of proportional representation is likely to be proposed in a White Paper, effectively kicking the issue into the long grass until well after the next election.
Mr Brown's spokesman said moves to "clean up parliament" and appoint an independent regulator would be prioritised.
In addition, the Prime Minister had asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell for advice on the procedures for launching an inquiry into the Iraq war, which Mr Brown promised to hold once UK troops had withdrawn from active combat.
First Minister Alex Salmond, who is still a Westminster MP, is expected to be in the Commons today to vote on the motion – proposed jointly by the SNP and Plaid Cymru – that "this House requests the Prime Minister to seek a dissolution of the present parliament".
When the motion was proposed a fortnight ago, it was regarded as a masterstroke in ramping up the pressure on the Prime Minister, with his government mired in the expenses scandal and MPs facing unprecedented public hostility. But Labour has accused the SNP of an "own goal" after a poll for the BBC's Daily Politics show suggested that two-thirds of Scots wanted Mr Brown to remain in post. However, this survey polled only 86 people in Scotland. Across Britain, 52 per cent of the 1,001 respondents believed Mr Brown had lost authority and should stand down.
Angus Robertson, the SNP's Westminster leader, said the European election results – in which Labour's UK-wide support plunged to less than 16 per cent, putting it in third place behind Ukip – showed the government was operating "without authority or credibility".
He said: "We need a general election so that we can restore trust and confidence in parliament and politicians, and let people have their say. There can be no argument against the entire House of Commons submitting itself to a vote of the people who elected them.
"This political crisis was created by politicians, and the SNP and Plaid Cymru are giving parliament the chance to give the people their say."
But Glasgow South West Labour MP Ian Davidson compared today's SNP motion with the situation in 1979, when the Nationalists helped bring down James Callaghan's government – and then lost all but two of their MPs in the subsequent election.
He said: "The SNP's motion to dissolve parliament is a huge own goal for them. Just like in 1979, the people of Scotland will not accept an attempt by the SNP to bring down a Labour government at Westminster. The people of Scotland will once again punish the SNP for this move.
"The next election will be a two-horse race between Labour and the Tories. The SNP's motion to hold an election now is calculated to put a smile on David Cameron's face. Just like in 1979, what they want is not an election, but a Tory government. It is a huge mistake that will backfire on them massively."
Who's going where
LORD ADONIS Transport Secretary from Minister of State for Transport
PETER HAIN Welsh Secretary from backbench
BOB AINSWORTH Defence Secretary from Armed Forces Minister
YVETTE COOPER Work and Pensions Secretary from Chief secretary to the Treasury
SIR GUS O'DONNELL Cabinet Secretary - civil servant)
GORDON BROWN Prime Minister, no change
JACK STRAW Justice Secretary, no change
HILARY BENN Environment Secretary, no change
TESSA JOWELL Minister for the Cabinet Office, and for the Olympics and Paymaster General from just Olympics Minister
BARONESS JANET ROYALL Leader of the house of Lords, no change
SEAN WOODWARD Northern Ireland Secretary, no change
JIM KNIGHT Employment Minister from Schools Minister
NICK BROWN Chief Whip, no change
JOHN HEALEY Housing Minister from Local Government Minister
JIM MURPHY Scottish Secretary, no change
ANDY BURNHAM Health Secretary from Culture Secretary
HARRIET HARMAN Leader of the House and Deputy Leader, no change
ALAN JOHNSON Home Secretary from Health Secretary
DAVID MILIBAND Foreign Secretary, no change
LORD PETER MANDELSON First Secretary of State and Business Secretary from just Business Secretary
DOUGLAS ALEXANDER International Development Secretary, no change
ED BALLS Children's Secretary, no change
JOHN DENHAM Communities and Local Government Secretary from Innovation, University and Skills Secretary
LIAM BYRNE Chief Secretary to the Treasury from Minister for the Cabinet
PAT MCFADDEN Minister of State for Business from Minister of State for Employment and Postal Affairs
Malik returns after 'the worst three weeks of my life'
SHAHID Malik, who was forced to resign as justice minister after being caught up in the MPs' expenses scandal, returned to the government yesterday after "the worst three weeks of my life".
He was appointed a junior minister in the communities and local government department as Prime Minister Gordon Brown completed the changes to his lower ranks following last week's Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Malik had faced newspaper allegations that he failed to declare the benefit he received from supposedly being charged below-market rate rent for his constituency home in Dewsbury. But an inquiry by Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister's adviser on ministerial interests, found that the rent paid – which had been reported at less than £100 a week – was "reasonable" and in line with commercial rates.
However, Sir Philip's report will not be published as it is said to contain confidential details of Mr Malik's finances. He reportedly claimed £66,827 over three years for his second home in London at the same time – the highest figure for any MP.
Yesterday, a relieved Mr Malik said that though he never doubted the outcome of the investigation, it had been an "incredibly stressful period". He said: "It was a terrible price for my family to pay. Everyone has been under incredible stress for the last few weeks.
"Sir Philip's clean bill of health will go some way to mending some of the damage to my reputation and healing some of the hurt caused to family and friends."
Mr Malik, the UK's first Muslim minister, was also said to have claimed £2,600 for a home cinema system – of which only half was paid by the Commons fees office – £730 for a "massage chair", and £65 for a court summons for the non-payment of council tax.
Yesterday, he said the £65 had been paid back some time ago – while he had contributed an amount of money "well in excess" of his claims to good causes in his constituency.
He criticised "false allegations" by the Daily Telegraph, which he said led readers to believe he was being investigated for his expenses claims rather than an alleged breach of the ministerial code of conduct. "It took me 15 years to build my name and reputation and tragically it was trashed in one mad media day," he said.
In his two-week inquiry, Sir Philip received evidence from Mr Malik and the Telegraph and commissioned independent valuations on the MP's home and office. Mr Malik said the inquiry concluded he was "paying the market rate" for both his home and his office.
The final stages of the reshuffle brought few surprises. Chris Bryant, previously deputy leader of the Commons, was promoted to become a junior minister at the Foreign Office.
Glenys Kinnock's appointment to the government was confirmed – amid continuing confusion over whether her role as an MEP ended with last week's European elections. She also becomes a Foreign Office minister.
Infamous 'Duck Island' may be sold for charity
THE duck house that came to symbolise the scandal of MPs' expenses is set to be sold off for charity.
Tory grandee Sir Peter Viggers said he was planning to auction the £1,645 floating "duck island" after receiving a dozen requests for the 5ft wooden ornament.
Sir Peter, 71, who will stand down as MP for Gosport at the general election, said: "I've replied to the dozen or so people that have inquired that my wife and I are minded, in due course, to sell the thing for charity. But in the present atmosphere, we are letting the dust settle. We've had a lot of approaches and we aren't committing to this yet."
The "Stockholm duck house" was meant to protect ducks from foxes, but Sir Peter said the birds disliked using it.
There was controversy after he included the cost of the duck house in a £30,000 bill for gardening, including nearly £500 for manure, at his constituency home over three years. However, it was unclear whether the parliamentary authorities ever paid out for the duck house.
Sir Peter is expected to be ordered to repay a substantial sum following an internal Tory party investigation.
Adam Partridge, an auctioneer from BBC TV's Bargain Hunt, said: "This is the notorious duck house and could get thousands and thousands.
"I've not auctioned off anything like this before; it's really tricky to say how much it could go for, but it may be a lot.
"Someone may want it so in years to come they can say, 'this is the famous duck house from the 2009 scandal'."
Hurdles remain between Brown and election day
GORDON Brown may have survived a second major revolt in two years as Prime Minister, but he faces further potential hurdles in the run up to the general election.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband yesterday insisted the Labour Party had reached a "settled view" on Mr Brown as leader.
However, rebels could repeat last year's attempted coup around the time of the Labour party conference in the autumn.
The leader's speech is the set-piece event of the week and MPs and activists will demand Mr Brown shows a vision of how he will prevent a Conservative victory in the general election, which must be held by June next year.
The other threat to Mr Brown comes in the shape of by-elections. Two are already due to be held – in Glasgow and Norwich as a result of the resignations of Speaker Michael Martin and Ian Gibson MP. A Labour failure to win either seat could reignite calls for Mr Brown to go. | | | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 3:09 pm Post subject: Rogue MPs face being thrown out of Commons under new reform |
| Rogue MPs face being thrown out of Commons under new reform proposals
The Times
10 Jun 2009
Sitting MPs could be thrown out of Parliament for gross misconduct if the House of Commons agrees on new proposals put forward by Gordon Brown today.
The suggestion was the surprise element in Mr Brown's much-trailed statement on democratic reform, which he gave at the conclusion of the first Prime Minister's Questions since last week's tumultuous Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Brown said that the current system, largely administered by the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House, was no longer “fit for purpose.”
The last time a person was expelled from the House was 55 years ago and MPs can still keep their seats even if they are sentenced for up to a year in prison, Mr Brown said.
He has asked all parties to agree to proposals under which MPs could be “recalled” by their constituency parties and asked to face an immediate by-election or stand down.
The misbehaviour would be identified by the new independent regulator of standards, which is to be included in an emergency Bill to be brought before the Commons shortly. That, and a new statutory code of conduct for MPs, will be rushed through Parliament in autumn, before the end of this session.
The power of recall is used in the United States but there had been no suggestion that Mr Brown was to table it so soon. During lengthy exchanges today, the Prime Minister ruled out an early referendum on electoral reform, although he hinted strongly that he may propose a change - possibly to the Alternative Vote system - in Labour’s election manifesto.
Today’s statement was an attempt by Mr Brown to reassert his political authority. In a wide-ranging Commons speech on future constitutional reform, he said that changes to the electoral system could only be made if there was a “broad consensus in the country” and also said consideration would be given to lowering the voting age.
The Justice Secretary Jack Straw was considering whether the scope of the Freedom of Information Act should be extended to further bodies which spend public money, Mr Brown told MPs.
Plans for the “final stages” of House of Lords reform will also be published before the summer recess and Mr Brown also outlined plans to review peers’ “system of financial support”.
The Prime Minister said Britain “deserves a political system equal to the hopes and character of our people” and urged politicians of all parties to “stand together for integrity and democracy”.
The Tory leader David Cameron said he “real change” that was needed was for Mr Brown to call a general election.
“The last few months have shown us that the public require, as an urgent imperative, higher standards of financial conduct from all people in public life and an end to the abuses of the past,” he said.
He said Westminster’s politicians “have to have the humility to accept that public confidence has been shaken and the battered reputation of this institution cannot be repaired without fundamental change”.
Mr Brown said the long-awaited official publication of MPs’ expenses on the internet would happen “in the next few days”.
Setting out the measures to be brought forward before the summer, he said: “We propose that the House of Commons - and then subsequently the House of Lords - move from the old system of self-regulation to independent, statutory regulation.”
The new Parliamentary Standards Authority will regulate the allowance system and also scrutinise expenditure at Westminster so that “Parliament costs less”.
Mr Brown said: “No more can Westminster operate in ways reminiscent of the last century, where the members make up the rules and operate them among themselves.”
The creation of the new body and a code of conduct for MPs will be included in a self-standing Bill before Parliament rises for its summer recess on July 21. But these measures were “only the first stage of our legislation on constitutional renewal,” Mr Brown said.
The Prime Minister also set out plans to reduce from 30 to 20 years the delay before secret Government papers are published - with exemptions for Cabinet papers and documents relating to the Royal Family.
And he revealed that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the Briton who invented the worldwide web, will lead a drive to open up access to Government data via the internet.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 2:04 pm Post subject: 'Further action' against Shahid Malik not ruled out |
| MPs' expenses: 'further action' against Shahid Malik not ruled out, says Gordon Brown
The Telegraph
11 Jun 2009
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has not ruled out "further action" if any impropriety was found in the MP's expenses of minister Shahid Malik.
Shahid Malik admits charging taxpayer for expenses relating to two
houses Photo: REUTERS
Mr Malik has been able to return to the Government as a junior communities minister after he was cleared by Sir Philip Mawer of any breach of the ministerial code of conduct following an investigation into his finances.
This morning, Mr Brown said he was "right" to take the advice of Sir Philip.
"The issue for Shahid Malik was the ministerial code," said the Prime Minister on a visit to Stepney Green School in Tower Hamlets, east London.
"He was investigated by Sir Philip Mawer who independently assessed whether he broke the ministerial code. Sir Philip reported that there had been no breach.
"Of course, if there is any element of expenses that becomes an issue, that will be discovered by the independent auditors to be appointed by the House of Commons.
"Mr Malik, like every MP, all 650, will have to go through that process. It there is any difficulty or impropriety, action will have to be taken.
"In all cases were MPs are investigated, repayments will have to be made if they are necessary, punishment will have to be meted out, discipline will have to be enacted.
"It is utterly important that every MP goes through this process."
Earlier, asked whether the Prime Minister was confident that Mr Malik had been completely frank with Sir Philip about the financial arrangements surrounding the Dewsbury property, Mr Brown's spokesman said: "We would expect all Government ministers to comply fully with the independent investigator and we have no reason to believe that's not the case with Shahid Malik.
"There were specific allegations made against him on specific issues arising in relation to the ministerial code. They were investigated very thoroughly by Sir Philip Mawer.
"Sir Philip did a thorough investigation and concluded that there were no violations of the ministerial code."
The Cabinet Office released Sir Philip's full report late on Wednesday night.
In his report, Sir Philip, the Prime Minister's adviser on ministerial interests, said that he was satisfied that Mr Malik had been charged a commercial rent on two properties in his Dewsbury constituency.
But he also expressed concern at the way in which payments were made on the second of the two houses.
Mr Malik had been unable to produce receipts or a rental agreement to back up his claims over the rent of that constituency home.
In his report, Sir Philip, said that he was satisfied that Mr Malik had been charged a commercial rent on both properties, but expressed concern at the way in which payments were made on the second house.
He concluded, in relation to the first property: "I am satisfied that Mr Malik was charged a market, not a discounted rent... I am also satisfied that Mr Malik paid the rent agreed."
On the second, larger property, Sir Philp said he was "clear" that Mr Malik had also been charged the market and not a preferential rent.
"However," he added, "there is no tenancy agreement in relation to the house stating the rent", before noting that there were also no receipts available for cash rental payments involved.
"I conclude that... it is more likely than not that these cash payments were made."
"It is unfortunate, particularly given his public position, that, in respect of that house, Mr Malik did not think of obtaining at the outset a rental agreement specifying in writing the rent to be paid," Sir Philip said.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 3:41 pm Post subject: Whatever happened to Tigmoo? |
| Whatever happened to Tigmoo?
Ian Jack
The Guardian
13 Jun 2009
Islington is one of the last bastions of what used to be called Tigmoo: This Great Movement of Ours. Last week in the Rhondda, ex-miners and their children voted Tory. In Glasgow, the sons and daughters of shipyard welders switched to the Scot Nats. In Lancashire, the descendants of mill workers stayed at home and let in the British National party. These are the landscapes that laid the foundations of Labour. It seems incredible that their ancient political loyalties should have withered so quickly and completely.
And where did the Labour vote hold solid – no, better than that, increase? A place whose Georgian terraces are stuffed with City lawyers, where no collier has ever walked blinking into the sunlight or a weaver been deafened by her loom. In the European elections Labour topped the poll in the Islington division of the North East London constituency with 12,400 votes – up by 1,771 on 2004 and with a percentage share almost double Labour's nadir of 15.7% at the national level.
It isn't easy to understand this triumph, demographically. Islington's caricature as the place where Tony Blair met the sundried tomato is deceptive. The borough is fairly equally divided between the well-off and the poor, and the well-off are no longer a sea of Guardian-reading academics and media types; their heyday in Islington died around the time of the sundried tomato, when houses became unaffordable to almost anyone outside the finance industry.
One of that earlier era's bequests, however, is an unusually large number of Labour party members – about 1,500. It may not sound many, but some constituencies count their members in dozens.
Labour's success in Islington may stem from several causes – the diligence of its two MPs, the not very popular Lib Dem council – but perhaps the most important is that it can still rouse enough people to knock on doors, including mine.
I am a member. It used to be a journalistic convention never to make such an admission, party membership being thought to stain some unrealisable notion of impeccable "objectivity".
I can't really say why I'm a member. It has nothing to do with family tradition. My earliest political memory is of stepping off a bus on a foggy evening in Lancashire. Dad has me by the hand. A man is saying some jubilant words to him like, "Ee, I see we won then," and laughing. But Dad isn't gleeful and replies neutrally. The incident could have occurred in 1950, when Attlee's government scraped home, or in 1951, when Churchill succeeded. Dating is difficult because Dad, a Scottish Labour idealist disillusioned in the 1930s, could have reacted to either victory in the same way; "They all piss in the same pot," was a favourite saying in our house, and many houses, 50 years before duck islands appeared on expense sheets.
I am a member; but also a useless member. Sceptical, indolent, disloyal. I last canvassed to encourage votes for Harold Wilson and last week, not for the first time, I voted Green. Blair's criminal Iraq war, Brown's blind belief in financial capitalism: for these and other reasons I should have torn up my party card long ago (though that spontaneous renunciation is no longer so easy – the cards are plastic, scissors need first to be found in drawers) and cancelled the direct debit, now £38 a year. That I haven't owes something to residual and inchoate feelings about being "on the right side" and making a £38 annual gesture to political and civic involvement.
Similar reasons drew me this week to my first party meeting since 1974, where our MP, Jeremy Corbyn, was to talk to us on the question "What kind of democracy do we want?" It was held in a nursery school just round the corner. England were playing Andorra on TV and the tubes were on strike. The audience comprised about 35 people, most of them aged between 50 and 70. Only one or two had the kind of London voices that suggested Labour had its roots in the working class. Corbyn told us that the facts were stark. Only six out of every 100 people eligible to vote in last week's elections chose Labour.
Corbyn is a popular MP locally, despite or because of his position at the party's left-most edge. He voted against Iraq and champions asylum seekers. In terms of his expenses he ranks 539th out of 645 MPs and his house off the Holloway Road is "my first home, my second home, my third home, my fourth home".
"Why do you have bars in the Commons?" my neighbour asked. "Nobody else has bars in their place of work."
Corbyn made some affable reply, which included parliament's up-itself tradition of referring to drunks on the benches as honourable gentleman who have "lunched too well".
"Why can't you just call them drunk?" my neighbour said. "Why should we take you seriously about reform if you can't be straightforward about something as simple as that?" The questioner's heat gave Corbyn his most awkward moment. The rest of the time he sailed through the questions by agreeing with them.
"Markets have failed," said a woman economist, "but I haven't heard a mention of any new economic strategy at all." That was true and, from his point of view on the left, sad.
I asked if he thought Brown had an ideology and, if so, could he describe it. Corbyn smiled. No, he didn't think Gordon had an ideology; or if he had, it would take many paragraphs to explain.
Two things struck me. The first was that the meeting and Corbyn were at their most passionate when discussing the BNP. The Tory party was never once mentioned – it was as if Nick and not Dave might be the next prime minister. This may be because the BNP offers Labour both a political difference and a moral high ground denied to them by the Tories and is therefore much easier to attack.
Labour history – Tigmoo – also made Corbyn passionate. That was the second striking thing. He invoked the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the Chartists and the many other struggles that have marched Britain forward to universal suffrage, the NHS and the job seeker's allowance. No other party in Britain would now search for its raison d'etre so far back in history.
I came home to watch Labour man v Tory man on Newsnight arguing about who would be most generous and sensible at cutting public spending.
Unenlightening, untruthful, shameless, shameful. It was at this moment, rather than at any time during the meeting, that I remembered the drawer in which the scissors were kept.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 12:56 am Post subject: Communications minister Lord Carter is latest to quit |
| Communications minister Lord Carter is latest to quit the Government
The Times
12 Jun 2009
Gordon Brown’s Communications Minister, who was made a peer after a brief period in Number 10, is to leave the Government, The Times has learnt.
Lord Carter of Barnes, previously Stephen Carter, hired by Mr Brown to mastermind an earlier government relaunch, is now set for a highly lucrative return to the private sector.
The former public relations executive was recruited just 18 months ago to revive the Prime Minister’s fortunes, which were flagging because of election speculation and gathering economic woes.
Mr Brown had high hopes for Lord Carter, formerly the chief executive of the City PR firm Brunswick, where he earned a reported £500,000 salary. The Prime Minister was delighted when he agreed to serve as his chief of strategy and principal adviser for just £140,000 a year.
After little more than ten months, however, he left Downing Street after falling out with Damian McBride, Mr Brown’s subsequently disgraced spin doctor. His attempts to rebrand the Prime Minister were opposed by Mr McBride and a number of other long-serving aides, who regarded him as politically naive.
In October last year he moved from being Mr Brown’s chief of strategy to become a communications minister with a salary of around £72,000 a year and a peerage. He was given a powerful role in shaping internet and media regulation.
His departure will surprise Westminster, where Mr Brown’s enemies will see it as more evidence of an administration low on energy and ideas.
Lord Carter, 45, was listed as one of ten ministers below Lord Mandelson in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills after the reshuffle on Tuesday. He is believed to have told Mr Brown that he was willing to serve only until July and hoped to return to business after a low-key exit over the summer recess. Lord Carter declined to deny that he was planning to leave the Government after the publication of Digital Britain, a report intended to shape the future of creative industries. “I’m beavering away feverishly on my report, that’s my only preoccupation,” he told The Times. He dismissed suggestions that he had already lined up another job but failed to say whether he would still be a minister by the autumn.
The sensitive nature of his current role means political and industry opponents will be watching closely to see what he does next. His report, to be published next Tuesday, will propose measures to extend access to broadband internet services and changes to how public service broadcasting is funded. Most controversially, it will tackle the rapid growth of illegal downloads, which are hitting the revenues of the film and music industries.
The Government is thought to have backed away from proposals to require internet service providers to bar customers caught repeatedly accessing pirated material.
Instead, insiders expect Lord Carter to recommend the introduction of premium-rate internet services that will allow users to access what they wish. Providers would then be expected to compensate music and film producers from a share of the additional revenue.
His sudden departure would theoretically give him a chance to be a candidate to replace Michael Grade as the chief executive of ITV, although any attempt by him to apply for the job would be highly controversial. An unsuccessful candidate when Mr Grade was appointed three years ago, Lord Carter has had access to commercially sensitive information about ITV’s main rivals, the BBC and Channel 4, who are trying to negotiate a partial merger to safeguard the future of the broadcaster of Big Brother.
Such an appointment would have to be approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which tests whether an ex-minister has been “in a position where he or she has had access to trade secrets of competitors”.
But Lord Carter, who has also previously run Ofcom, the communications regulator, is seeking a high-profile business post and some in broadcasting believe his strategic knowledge of the media means that he would be well suited to the £1 million-a-year job of running ITV. Others suggest he is eyeing a move to Brussels.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:04 pm Post subject: Minister Shahid Malik facing new expenses inquiry |
| Minister Shahid Malik facing new expenses inquiry
The Times
16 Jun 2009
Communities minister Shahid Malik is facing a fresh investigation
Shahid Malik, the Communities Minister, is facing a fresh investigation into his financial affairs only a week after he was cleared of breaching the ministerial code.
John Lyon, the Parliamentary standards commissioner, announced today that he was going to investigate Mr Malik after receiving a complaint from a group that campaigns for open government.
Mr Malik has already spent more than a week suspended from government after reports that he rented a three-bedroomed home in his Yorkshire constituency at a below-market rate of less than £100 a week. The arrangement risked a conflict of interest, it was claimed.
Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister's adviser on breaches of the ministerial code, investigated the reports. Last week he concluded that while it was 'unfortunate' that Mr Malik could produce no receipts for payments he had made, nor any written rental agreement with his landlord, he had not broken the rules.
The rent was not preferential and was reasonable in the light of market conditions, Sir Philip concluded. His report gave the green light for Mr Malik to return to the ranks of the Government.
The following day, however, fresh allegations appeared in The Daily Telegraph that in addition to claiming the maximum second home allowance of around £23,000pa on his London property, the Dewsbury MP was also claiming £6,500 for maintaining an office in his constituency home.
Mr Malik already has a taxpayer-funded constituency office in Dewsbury.
Mr Lyon, who acts as Parliament's anti-sleaze watchdog, said that he had decided to investigate Mr Malik after a complaint from the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics.
News of Mr Malik's fresh political woes came as Ian Taylor, the Conservative MP for Esher and Walton, became the latest member to announce he was standing down at the next election as a result of the expense scandal.
Mr Taylor, 64, became embroiled in the expenses controversy when the Daily Telegraph revealed he had a second home in London even though his main home is within the capital’s commuter belt.
In his resignation letter, the MP defended his decision not to live in Esher and Walton. “It is clear ... that many constituents have little concept of what an MP does or where his attention should be focused,” he wrote.
He said that he commuted most weeks, spending Friday, Saturday and Sunday in and around his constituency.
Mr Taylor was an opponent of the Iraq war and a pro-European who found himself at loggerheads with his own party when it hardened its stance on the EU.
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWCF/petition.html | | | | gchq | | Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:36 pm Post subject: Party leaders could have prevented expenses scandal |
| Party leaders could have prevented expenses scandal, says departing Speaker
The Guardian
17 Jun 2009
Deeply disappointing that MPs did not vote to change allowances system, says Michael Martin in farewell speech
Michael Martin today hit out at party leaders over the expenses scandal that led to his becoming the first Commons Speaker to be forced out in more than 300 years.
In his farewell speech, Martin said it was "deeply disappointing" that MPs did not vote to change the allowances system when they had the chance last year.
"I wish that party leaders would have shown then some of the leadership that they have shown now," he said.
The crisis, which began when expenses details were leaked to the Daily Telegraph, had caused an "understandable loss of public trust and confidence in us all", said Martin. He had seen "nothing like it" in his 30 years as an MP.
Following his last prime minister's question time, Martin said: "Let me say to the men and women of this country: I am sorry.
"But also let me remind this house that it passed up an opportunity of dealing with this emotive issue less than a year ago."
The members' estimate committee had produced a "blunt and straightforward" report with 18 recommendations that was presented to the Commons in July 2008.
"The response from this house was deeply disappointing," Martin said. "Half of the members did not attend to vote and more than half of those who did vote rejected the proposals.
"I regretted that then, I deeply regret it now and I expect that many members of this house now share my regret."
The recommendations would not have solved "every difficulty" but would have ended many practices for which MPs had been "attacked" in recent weeks, he said.
"I wish that party leaders would have shown then some of the leadership that they have shown now."
His speech, which preceded tributes from party leaders and other MPs, received a 30-second burst of applause from across the house, with a handful of MPs getting to their feet.
Martin announced last month that he would be stepping down after nine years as Speaker, following the scandal that revealed the full extent of controversial allowances in parliament.
A new Speaker will be elected on Monday from a field of 10 candidates.
Gordon Brown offered "heartfelt thanks" on behalf of the whole house for Martin's "long and dedicated service to parliament".
He said that the Speaker's background, rising up from the streets of Glasgow to high office, was "an inspiring story of commitment and determination in the service of your community, your party, this parliament and our nation".
It "tells of a man both of unique parliamentary abilities and of dedication, self-belief and tireless hard work", Brown said.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said "the whole house" shared responsibility for what had happened over expenses.
He acknowledged there had been easier times to be Speaker but joked that several of Martin's predecessors had been beheaded.
Praising Martin's service to the Commons and to his constituents, he said: "It is a remarkable record of distinguished service, matched only by the huge dedication that you have shown to your constituency in Glasgow starting from your period as a councillor."
Cameron also highlighted Martin's "decency and kindness" and "approachability", and offered personal thanks and those on behalf of his party.
Nick Clegg said it was "especially generous" of Martin to call him to speak, after the Liberal Democrat leader had led calls for the Speaker to resign.
"Personal kindness had been the outstanding characteristic of your time in the chair," he said.
"Mr Speaker, whatever differences there have been, you and I share a belief in the vital importance of our democracy. Our political institutions, as you have pointed out, have come under immense, unprecedented pressure in recent times.
"But democracy remains an idea that is bigger than every one of us, an idea that must be defended no matter the personal cost. And I know, and everyone here knows, that you gave yourself heart and soul to the job of Speaker and above all you have shown us all how to temper great authority with great kindness – and that will be your legacy."
Mohammad Sarwar, the Labour MP for Glasgow Central, said he had been "incredibly sad" when Martin announced his decision to resign. "Many young people look to you as a source of inspiration that anything can be achieved through dedication and hard work," he said.
William McCrea, the DUP MP for South Antrim, told Martin he could leave the Commons "with your head held high", having been the defender of ordinary MPs.
The Father of the House – or longest serving MP – Labour's Alan Williams praised the Speaker's "love and commitment" to the Commons, insisting this had "never, never been questioned".
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Tony Blair - War Criminal
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