Saturday, March 10, 2007

Reid Furious at Texting Policy

There was apparently more to the John Reid 'texting' story than met the eye (see HERE). It seems Reid hadn't been aware that the proposal to text visa overstayers warning them to leave the country was in the final document which was released to the press. When he found out he lost his temper in a pretty volcanic way and screamed at his junior minister Liam Byrne. Byrne kept his calm and said that officials had signed it off. A normal day at the Home Office then...

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why Oh Why don't they make a 'fly on the wall' documentary about John Reid?

He is far more 'tantrums and tiaras' than Elton John, and the end result would be more interesting than any 'Royal' Documentary ?

They could even turn it into its own 'docu-soap' with a 'who shot JR' cliff hanger...

Anonymous said...

More alarming is the fact that you can be innocent and end up on the DNA and fingerprint database FOR LIFE.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/09/njewish109.xml

Not sure what you make of this, Iain, as a football supporter ??

Anonymous said...

I begin to suspect that some of the officials in the Home Office need to be screamed at. Nothing else seems to work.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 10.27 said...

Why Oh Why don't they make a 'fly on the wall' documentary about John Reid?

How about a revival of 'Porridge' with Reid as Mr Mackay?

He bears an uncanny resemblance to the 'hard man' himself, incompetent chief warden Mackay, who was always twitted by the old lags in that comedy. Reid even has the same neck twitch syndrome.

Blair would make a good lying Fletch, but what about Godber - Ming or Lembit Opik?

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

+++ WT A TSSR +++

Anonymous said...

Flo'; surely the inane and laconic Godber might be better played by that 'space cadet' du jour David Miliband

Anonymous said...

If not a fly-on-the-wall, then perhaps a drama-doc (following up on Blunkett and Prescott)?

I note that the very splendid Bill Nighy has already perfected his impersonation of Mr Reid - he can be seen road-testing it as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean...

Anonymous said...

Trumpeter Lanfried said...

I begin to suspect that some of the officials in the Home Office need to be screamed at. Nothing else seems to work.

...er, and the screaming *is* working, is it?

Anonymous said...

This is very funny. I reported on the bizarre idea as well. It is so funny that a) officials have got no brains, and b) that John Reid who should have worked out what a useless shower they are by now, did not have the brains to check what it was he was announcing.

They deserve each other!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 11.45am said...
Flo'; surely the inane and laconic Godber might be better played by that 'space cadet' du jour David Miliband

Perfect!

Flo'

Anonymous said...

Re: the Porridge revival, could Inspector Yates be persuaded to play Callan, the ruthless detective who always got his man?

Though who would play 'Lonely', Callan's, swarthy, sweaty and stealthy, recidivist assistant who'd a house breaking and petty theft charge sheet as long as your arm? Terribly unhygienic, he gave off a horrible stench when afraid.

It's on the tip of my tongue... now who am I thinkng of?

Anonymous said...

anonymous [10.27] Mr Mackay was not incompetent. As I remember, Fletch never got the better of him.

tom paine [12.04] You've got me there. The screaming isn't working either.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 10.27 said:

Mr Mackay was not incompetent. As I remember, Fletch never got the better of him.

No. Fletch always got the last laugh at Mackay's expense. Mackay would walk out of Fletch's cell preening because he thought he'd finally beaten Fletch, but Fletch would hammer him with a clever comic remark every time - giving Mackay an attack of his neck twitch syndrome.

Anonymous said...

"Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court and it is now my duty to pass sentence.
"You are an habitual criminal who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner.
"I therefore feel constrained to sentence you to the maximum term..." Beggining of Porridge

Bit like that 'War!' video, where Galloway, dressed as a police officer, arrests Blair.

Oooh, lovely jubbley!

Anonymous said...

One aspect of this Porridge revival wouldn't work though.

Porridge gained authenticity by was filmed (from 1973/4 onwards) in a an EMPTY CHELMSFORD PRISON.

All the prisoners had been moved to other prisons while it was redecorated, providing an ideal opportunity for the Chelmsford slammer to double as Slade prison.

No chance of finding an empty cell these days, let alone an empty prison.

Anonymous said...

There is a method in the madness at the Home Office.

While you are laughing at the ineptitude, they are slipping the important stuff through unnoticed.

See here, where if you don't sign up for the ID card and give all your information, you will be denied a Passport.
http://tinyurl.com/yvq2l7

Anonymous said...

I do hope Anonymous 1.54 pm that you did not write that post from memory. It will soon be the turn of some saddo from the "Spanish Inquisition" mob posting about a foreign office blunder.

Anonymous said...

Is this the John Reid that claimed that immigrants were stealing the public services of Britain?

Political correctness only applies to Conservatives now days. It seems that obvious nasty NATIONAL SOCIALISTS like Reid can say whatever they like.

Nick Griffin should watchout someone is after his gob.

Anonymous said...

You state "Reid Furious at Texting Policy", and provide a link which only takes me back to a previous post. Don't you think you should provide the evidence for your assertion, or at least a link to the source of the story?

Anonymous said...

Give John Reid a break. He's probably overwrought and tired from, as he promised when he was appointed, "working 18 hours a day" to fix the mess in the IND. A year of 126-hour weeks with no holidays will tire anyone out.

Anonymous said...

"Give John Reid a break. He's probably overwrought and tired from, as he promised when he was appointed, "working 18 hours a day" to fix the mess in the IND. A year of 126-hour weeks with no holidays will tire anyone out."

Poliitcians should do less, not more. Sell off the Home Office to a private company and let them sort it out.

Anonymous said...

Great idea 'no longwer anonymous said...' (sic?)

Put the whole shower of government out to tender, and as long as their chosen chums don't win, we'll all get value for money :0)

Anonymous said...

Liam Byrne seems to get a lot of stick. He's another Harlow lad made good - or bad, depending on your view of nulab. He's the son of a former General Manager of Harlow Council who's now a local labour party grandee.

Johnny Norfolk said...

Shows how poor he is at his job
He should read every policy document before it is published.
I have never allowed anything in my name that I have not checked. Takes a whole week end sometimes.