Sunday, July 16, 2006

Sunday Papers: Blair Looks into the Abyss

MAIL ON SUNDAY

Cherie Blair accused of using her position to help private firm to lobby for NHS contracts

Two page feature on Prescott’s many visits to the house of Health Minister Rosie Winterton

Prescott accused of affair with former press officer Tricia McDaid – and her sister

More on Prescott’s gifts from Philip Anschutz

Ruth Turner, Blair’s Director of Government Relations at centre of invesitigation into procurement irregularities at Liverpool City Council involving her boyfriend and a business she started

Why Labour donor Richard Caring refuses to be interviewed by the Police

Levy: I won’t be the fall guy for Blair

Article by Dominic Lawson on what Levy’s dinner parties are like

SUNDAY TIMES

Mystery honour for Labour donor Derek Tullett

Whitehall smears former Ambassador Craig Murray – bugging claims regarding Murray’s talks with Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay

Labour spinners to smear Cameron as slippery estate agent

Prescott forced to declare Anschutz gifts

Two page feature: Blair isolated as Police close in

Michael Portillo: Sleaze could finish Blair – and political parties too

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Levy passes buck to Blair on cash for Honours

Prescott DID talk about casinos says dome firm

Three page feature on Labour donations

Editorial: Blair’s no longer fit for purpose

Matthew D’Ancona: Blair is already under a citizen’s arrest

INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

Front page: PM’s secret talks with £250,000 lender at height of cash for peerages investigation

Two page feature on Levy headlined: Prime Suspect

John Rentoul: Kindly leave the stage Mr Plod

Editorial: Blair will have to explain & apologise

Alan Watkins: Blair doesn’t have to put the money under the mattress to be guilty

THE OBSERVER

Cash for peerages trail leads to Downing Street

Andrew Rawnsley: High Noon for the Lone Ranger of Number 10?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks as if Blair is in a little difficuly.

By they way, have we heard the full story about Vlair and Mandelson ?

Theo Spark said...

Total meltdown!

strapworld said...

Whilst the sunday's are belatedly 'hot' on the trail..and good luck to them all. The other discredited journalists those highly renumerated 'politica correspondents' of television/radio 4 (John Humphries honourably excepted) fame! are on yet another freebie, there to ensure that they give Blair a good press on the world stage! One may ask a question on sleeze but will accept the standard answer 'I cannot possibly comment' NONE will try a kidney punch nor even a low punch to get a reaction.

No, its invites to my wedding and dinner at Chequers and cosy private briefings.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, at the end of all this, the public reaction caused a major re-think in the BBC and Murdochworld about their standards of reporting. I note that skynews 8pm slot are trying to re-create a blog-on-air! Give them credit for actually acknowledging the power of this and other blogs!

More power to your elbow Iain.

Anonymous said...

Has Tony Blair murdered sleep?

Anonymous said...

Excellent summary Iain. I expect seats with Labour majorities of about 7000 are starting to look attractive to Tory candidates!

Tom Paine said...

Blair *is* the abyss. We fell into him, or least fell for his lies.

Maybe the game is up for this particular specimen of homo politicus, but I cannot be optimistic about where we go from here.

The expectations of an electorate set a ceiling on the conduct of politicians. In countries where it is assumed that "they are all they same" and "they are all on the take", it soon becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as respectable people avoid politics. We are now such a country.

President Putin was able to get a cheap laugh in St Petersburg by referring to Lord Levy. Our standing in the world; our locus standi to advise others on how to advance their civilisations has already been lost. I don't see how it can be recovered; certainly not by a Conservative Party led by a lightweight, soundbite-merchant, Tony Blair impersonator.

Anonymous said...

There's some good stuff in Scotland on Sunday about Sleazy and the likelihood of him not levy-ing the building without taking some others with him.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1033762006

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised you didn't mention Rory Bremner's article in the Sunday Telegraph.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=T2WLRC5XOB5U5QFIQMFCFF4AVCBQYIV0?xml=/opinion/2006/07/16/do1606.xml&posted=true&_requestid=320532

It seems to me that without freedom we're doomed. Freedom of speech etc. is of a different class of 'thing' when compared with behaviour of an individual politician or hanger on. Without freedom those behaviours are likely to become censored and thus invisible to us lesser mortals.

Both Freedom and Sovereignty belong in secondary and a higher class of abstaction than day to day behaviour. This is why Dave was so wrong in dodging the EPP issue (not to mention keeping his word).

Freedom and Sovereignty should 'trump' all lower class (in the mathmatical sense) issues such as internal harmony in the Tory Party and anti terrorist measures.

Set the lead Dave before Rory B. organises a new party which I would most certainly join as things stand at the minute.

You're still a young man Iain (well.... youngish). If things go on the way they have been these past nine years, I'm willing to bet you'll be deblogged long before you're old enough to collect the 'Heating Allowance'.

strapworld said...

Tom Paine and others are right..we do not know where we are going.

I do not think, if this present scandal ends,as it should, in criminal charges and conviction. That this Country will fall for a 'straight kind of a fellow' Blair clone that is Cameron.

Perhaps, and I cannot believe I am about to say this, BUT perhaps the Lib Dems have got it spot on by having an 'elder' statesman in charge. Perhaps the Lib Dems will take centre stage and win!

God help us!

Anonymous said...

How much can Tony and John get away with? Aren´t there too many damaging stories allready, and so many pissed off MPs and activists, that can force them out?

UK is a country where your greatest PM was stabbed in the back in 1990, but where a lying crook can hang on and on (well i must admit I liked Tony a long time for being a tough leader who changed Labour, but no, surely the time has come for him to go??)

And is´nt it so, that most politicians want to go, at a time where they still has dignity left, like Clinton, which I regard as one of the best and most competent presidents ever. Tony has now, absolutely no dignity left whatsoever.

The right frace surely must be Shame, Disgrace, Resign??

Anonymous said...

>And is´nt it so, that most politicians want to go, at a time where they still has dignity left, like Clinton, which I regard as one of the best and most competent presidents ever. Tony has now, absolutely no dignity left whatsoever.

Well apart from the fact that Bill went when he had to go, at the end of his second of two permitted terms, just how much dignity do you think using an intern as a humidor left him with?

Anonymous said...

Strapworld wrote:

"Perhaps, and I cannot believe I am about to say this, BUT perhaps the Lib Dems have got it spot on by having an 'elder' statesman in charge. Perhaps the Lib Dems will take centre stage and win!"

I can hardly believe I'm about to write this, BUT, if it came to the crunch, yes, I'd vote Ming.

nsfl said...

Like a flutter? Ladbrokes is offering 5/2 that the Antichrist is "replaced" this year. (4/7 to go in 2007.)

5/2 feels like it's over the odds...

Anonymous said...

How far ahead are you in the polls?

The words "hit", "couldn't" and "barn door" spring to mind!

Tommy said...

NEWS OF THE WORLD
"Sven dumps Nancy for toy girl"

Come on Iain, you're missing the good stuff ;o)