political commentator * author * publisher * bookseller * radio presenter * blogger * Conservative candidate * former lobbyist * Jack Russell owner * West Ham United fanatic * Email iain AT iaindale DOT com
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Open Thread
Due to work commitments today and tomorrow, blogging will be light to non existent. Please use this as an open thread to discuss whatever you like (within reason!).
43 comments:
Anonymous
said...
MP salaries- in my opinion we should pay more not less. No more career politicians. We need SW1 to attract the best and the brightest like any other job. How else can we harness the best the city/public bodies/charities etc have to offer? Otherwise we are left with the cabinet of today- career politicans worth a lot less than £30k let alone £70k- we need to give them some decent competition for their seats.
Many earnest Trot types trying to analise, "the dialectical materialism phenomena contradictions inherent among the materialist..." on for a 1000 words.Blah blah yawn yawn
Then a good old right winger sneaks in something like..
I know we have discussed this before but why not make it a rule that candidates must have lived in the constituancy for say 5 years? I am amazed at how many are selected with no interest whatsoever for the area. freedom to prosper
Anon: I agree with your basic premise. However I think MPs should have been born and raised in their constituency or have been a resident for at least 10 years. There again I also think that they should be limited to two terms and the more independent MPs the better. We need skilled businessmen who are prepared to spend a few years serving their country as opposed to the political party numpties that we get foisted upon us now. The West is lacking true leaders with some credibility and we are all going to suffer from their ineptitude.
I think I would be a great MP - and I have just read on Mr Fawkes blog about how much I will earn when elected. I have no obvious political convictions and I will do anything for cash - what party does anyone suggest I should join?
The salary an MP is paid is neither here nor there, it how they represent their constituents (if at all) that matters.
In Newham we have three Labour MPs (two are in ministerial positions) and all three slavishly voted in favour of 42 days detention. Not in synch with the locals - bear it in mind that Newham is the borough that saw the "Forest Gate" terror raid fiasco. The brothers arrested as a result of the raid (Mohammed Abdul Kahar, and Abul Koyair) have reportedly been awarded £60,000 compensation. How much more would that have been had they been held for 42 days.
Rejected medical student Majid Ahmed is peddling his sob story around all the TV news channels and newspapers across the nation.
Imperial College withdrew their offer to him when it transpired he had a conviction for burglary. They discovered this late in the day because he didn't volunteer the information.
He claims he deserves another chance, having paid his dues for a burglary he committed 2 years ago.
Predictably the newspapers have completely missed the point. Ahmed has not lost his place because he's a convicted burglar but because he failed to declare it, as he should have done, on his university application.
That's the top and bottom of it. Had he been candid when answering the UCAS question about previous convictions then all of this could have been avoided.
Of course that slant doesn't sell so many newspapers.
I wonder how long before the race card is played?
It's understandable Imperial are hacked off, given he didn't tell the whole truth from the outset.
Those conservative MP's who voted to clng on to the discredited and abused expenses regime should, indeed I believe MUST, be deselected.
IF Cameron has any leadership qualities now is the time to show the public he means business and will not tolerate the Conservative Party to have such MP's.
However good they are or have been however long they have been an MP hey must GO.
Martin Cole said...Lacking any reaction on the Conservative Party web pages to the Aircraft Carrier announcement, I tried Conservative Home and now here...
Capitalists@work will be posting on it soon. Main concern is.. its not going to be good enough. short take off aircraft. That's limiting. Also there is currently no UK dry dock big enough to take them when built.
As for the cost I think its being 'offset' in a way not done before at the MOD.
The French.. the MOD says "A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between UK and France setting out the framework for co-operation was signed on 6 March 2006." I have no idea what that means.
Did anyone see James Caan the millionare (dragons den)"extract" the level of tax levied on petrol from some nulab MP on newsnight? He finally revealed it was around 70% but was still trying to pedal the story that it was the price of crude oil which was causing the problem. The trouble with this load of nulab dimbo's, Brown included, is that they don't seem to realise that this constant raising of taxes, not only petrol & diesel, is suppressing any hope of an economic recovery..... as Caan was trying to tell him. All down to having useless career politicians with little or no worldly experience? These guys are just out of their depth as Caan demonstrated.
King Abdullah says "These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel, if they want to contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers". The problem is that the the Gay Moron's spending habit is dependant upon the fuel taxes. Whilst I am not in favour of a monarchy, can we have King Abdullah instead of Flash Golden.
"Rejected medical student Majid Ahmed ...Had he been candid when answering the UCAS question about previous convictions then all of this could have been avoided."
I thought he said on th ePM programme that it was UCAS that advised him not to declare it?
Subsequently, so he said, he received different advice and wrote to his colleges before they had decided whether to interview him.
The Speaker - following on from Iain's post below about how he repeatedly allows Brown to fail to even pretend to answer questions in PMQs (this, let us remember, from the man who refuses a televised debate with David Cameron on the basis that PMQs exists). What's to stop some brave soul questioning this on a Point of Order? Anyone know why this hasn't happened?
Mutley, i think you could join any party; if interviewed you could point out that your colouration matches ideally the ethnic makeup of the country. Mainly white but with black brown patches is good..... and don't you usually wear a gay little neckerchief ?... excellent all boxes ticked. I think dogging is approved by all major parties also.
"I thought he (Majid Ahmed) said on th ePM programme that it was UCAS that advised him not to declare it?"
I'd be astounded if that was the case. We're talking a conviction for burglary - an inherently dishonest offence - that occurred only 2 years prior to applying to medical school.
That's the sort of face saving story a convicted burglar would come out with!
If you apply for a medical degree you expect to undergo an Enhanced CRB Disclosure that reveals everything. That being the case you don't keep quiet until the CRB people let your skeletons out of the closet - you volunteer the information and any mitigating circumstances beforehand.
Medicine as a career features on the Exception Order to the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, meaning that all previous convictions can be taken into account by employees (or universities).
Any serious medical student knows these rules inside out before applying.
Majid Ahmed is after a free lunch. He's no better than thousands of other potential medical students who have accepted heartbreaking rejection with dignity.
Oscar India said... "The Speaker ...repeatedly allows Brown to fail to even pretend to answer questions in PMQs ... What's to stop some brave soul questioning this on a Point of Order? Anyone know why this hasn't happened?"
As was pointed out by several people on yesterday's thread, the PM is not obliged to give a direct answer to a question.
Regarding the aircraft carriers. They will be nothing more than glorified helicopter platforms if the Joint Strike Fighter prgramme goes pear shaped. In particular the vertical take off version isn't really wanted by the yanks. If that gets the chop these two aircraft carriers will be useless.
As this is an "open thread" can we replace Iain Dale on this blog with someone who will really stir things like "Guido" does, instead of boringly following the establishment line.
at the next election,could we have,printed on the ballot paper,a box by the side of each candedate,telling the public how they voted in last nights ballot on the expenses of m.p.s
The Conservative MP's who voted to keep their noses in the trough! The Conservative MP's who David Cameron should insist are DESELECTED.
David Amess (Southend West), James Arbuthnot (Hampshire North East), Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West), Brian Binley (Northampton South), Sir John Butterfill (Bournemouth West), Christopher Chope (Christchurch), John Greenway (Ryedale), Gerald Howarth (Aldershot), Bernard Jenkin (Essex North), Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove), Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest), Anne McIntosh (Vale of York), Andrew Mackay (Bracknell), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), Hugo Swire (Devon East), Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth & Horncastle), Angela Watkinson (Upminster), Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone & The Weald), David Wilshire (Spelthorne), Lady Ann Winterton (Congleton), Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield)
David Cameron, for I am sure you and your mates read this blog - Yes, get rid of those snouts in the trough. Set new high standards that all Tories must adhere too.It is a right thing to do AND it will pay off at the polls.
Hands up who thinks this blog is reaching a 'jump the shark' tipping point ?? This used to be my first port of call for news, views and gossip of a morning, but one senses that there are fingers in too many other pies these days ?
"That's the sort of face saving story a convicted burglar would come out with!"
Tom: I understand all the points you are making. All I can say is that in his interview he seemed (to me) to be a credible witness. If he was telling the truth UCAS should have his letter on file. Imperial (I think that was the college) should also have his subsequent letter on file, dated to show it was received before he was interviewed. The statement issued by the college (as Majid Ahmed correctly pointed out) was merely a restatement of their policy - they did not deny any of the points he was making.
According to DM on line, 140 Labour MPs voted for snouts to remain in the trough. Only 21 Tory MPs did so. Of those 21, some are the usual suspects, ans some have stated that they are retiring at the next election. So thats 140 versus 21.
I support the MPs decision on their expenses merely as a gesture of cussedness and contrariness. The media and the public have been so intemperate and hysterical in their attacks on MPs that it brings a crooked smile to my face to see them thwarted. There may be a case to be made for sensible, progressive reform of the arrangements for determining MPs salaries and expenses, but it’s hard to see how such reforms could be made in the McCarthyite atmosphere that prevails at the moment.
The public and the media will hopefully learn a salutary lesson about how to conduct themselves towards their leaders. Just think: if we continue with this perverse hostility, who is going to want to become an MP? I heard one MP on the radio yesterday saying that they were concerned that people from poorer backgrounds would be unable to enter the Commons if an MPs salary failed to keep pace with comparable jobs. Perhaps. But surely the greater danger is that conscientious and intelligent people will not want to be MPs because MPs are the objects of an almost automatic revulsion.
Just look at the coverage that MPs are getting at the moment - the day after they rejected an independent commission's recommendation of a 4% pay rise and took 2% instead.
To read more of my views link to my blog, Just who the hell are we?, on wordpress.com: http://adammcnestrie.wordpress.com/
What a surprise, the piggy Wintertons led the charge to the trough. Is trousering money from the taxpayer to pad out a property portfolio in London not enough, without having to have us pay for their £10,000 kitchens and sky TV too?
I was just doing a bit of research about my recent publicity (which has been a surprise to me as well - the fact that it has caused so much interest) and I came across this blog. Despite wanting a medical place so bad, it is not possible for me to comment on every blog that is about me.
I have found that when sifting through peoples comments, people generally tend to side with Imperial because they have not got the correct details of the circumstances or are lacking the details in knowledge.
Let me first make one thing clear – a lot of people are saying that I am not accepting responsibility for what I did. This is very wrong. I fully accept responsibility for my actions and I am very clear that my actions on that night wrong. I would like to say sorry for any distress that my inappropriate behaviour has caused and express every regret for my actions. Everyday I wish I had just thought more about what I was doing and not gone into that house and, if that was the case, then I would have completed my first year of medical training this June. However, 'such is life' is the saying in Yorkshire but do you not think that I should be able to move on from this incident given that I have done everything possible to reform myself and it was one point in life where I did not think logically about my actions. I made a mistake; it's what makes us human.
Now the greasy bit - Tom said "Imperial College withdrew their offer to him when it transpired he had a conviction for burglary. They discovered this late in the day because he didn't volunteer the information...Ahmed has not lost his place because he's a convicted burglar but because he failed to declare it, as he should have done, on his university application." I actually sought advice from UCAS (the University and Colleges Admissions Service) and they advised me that I do not have to mention spent convictions. This is the reason I did not mention it. Can you please tell me who you think is better to give advice on an application than the people that create it and send it out to universities?
Let me explain it further. The year when I applied to Imperial College, I also applied to Biomedical Sciences at the University of Manchester which does not require spent convictions to be declared. Now the same application went to each course I applied to so how would I be able to mention it to one university and not the other?
Now it gets interesting - I actually wrote to Imperial in Dec 2006 to declare my spent conviction, after gaining this advice of an admissions tutor at the University of Bradford, and this was prior to even being interviewed for the place on the course (so BEFORE I got an offer). I have got a letter from Imperial college saying the following -
"Thank you for your letter of 20 december...Since your conviction is regarded as spent my understanding is that you would not be expected to disclose it in your application. Consequently, the information you have provided me will not be attached to your application..." Professor John F Laycock (Admissions Tutor)
I think I have said enough. I would like to thank everybody who has supported my case and I just hope that we can all come together to ensure that this very bad decision is overturned. Furthermore, I would like to say Imperial is a fantastic university, one that has inspired me since the first time I set my eyes on it. It would be (or shall I say would have been) a great honour to study at this world-class institute but it seems on this occasion that the decision they have come to is appalling and I only hope they find it within their hearts to admit that it was wrong and reconsider this decision. However, I know how stubborn some people can be so I have decided not to raise my hopes.
43 comments:
MP salaries- in my opinion we should pay more not less. No more career politicians. We need SW1 to attract the best and the brightest like any other job. How else can we harness the best the city/public bodies/charities etc have to offer? Otherwise we are left with the cabinet of today- career politicans worth a lot less than £30k let alone £70k- we need to give them some decent competition for their seats.
Cool..
Go to Dave's Part
http://www.davidosler.com/2008/07/the_politics_of_brownism.html.
Seven words to describe 'Brownism'
Many earnest Trot types trying to analise,
"the dialectical materialism phenomena contradictions inherent among the materialist..." on for a 1000 words.Blah blah yawn yawn
Then a good old right winger sneaks in something like..
"What is he good for! Absolutely nothing"
A good outlet for your frustrations.
Iain - hope you're not loosing interest in your blog in favor of the dead tree press! - too much going on to takes days off!
The picture that appears when you accidentally mouse over the TotalPolitics advert is alarming to say the least.
Few of us would chose to have a picture that large of someone so obviously insane on our screens.
I know we have discussed this before but why not make it a rule that candidates must have lived in the constituancy for say 5 years? I am amazed at how many are selected with no interest whatsoever for the area.
freedom to prosper
Fantasy Conservative Cabinet Choice?
Alvaro Uribe for Home Secretary.
Kylie, OBE. Would you or wouldn't you? (I would.)
Can I introduce a theme of moral conundrums ?
Suppose you were in a room with two bullets in your gun and Harriet Harperson , Rose West and Osama Bin Laden. Who would you shoot ?
Personally with the first bullet I would shoot Harriet Harperson and then with the second I would shoot her again to make sure.
( Anyone read Standpoint this month its very good ? )
Anon: I agree with your basic premise. However I think MPs should have been born and raised in their constituency or have been a resident for at least 10 years. There again I also think that they should be limited to two terms and the more independent MPs the better. We need skilled businessmen who are prepared to spend a few years serving their country as opposed to the political party numpties that we get foisted upon us now. The West is lacking true leaders with some credibility and we are all going to suffer from their ineptitude.
I think I would be a great MP - and I have just read on Mr Fawkes blog about how much I will earn when elected. I have no obvious political convictions and I will do anything for cash - what party does anyone suggest I should join?
The salary an MP is paid is neither here nor there, it how they represent their constituents (if at all) that matters.
In Newham we have three Labour MPs (two are in ministerial positions) and all three slavishly voted in favour of 42 days detention. Not in synch with the locals - bear it in mind that Newham is the borough that saw the "Forest Gate" terror raid fiasco. The brothers arrested as a result of the raid (Mohammed Abdul Kahar, and Abul Koyair) have reportedly been awarded £60,000 compensation. How much more would that have been had they been held for 42 days.
Rejected medical student Majid Ahmed is peddling his sob story around all the TV news channels and newspapers across the nation.
Imperial College withdrew their offer to him when it transpired he had a conviction for burglary. They discovered this late in the day because he didn't volunteer the information.
He claims he deserves another chance, having paid his dues for a burglary he committed 2 years ago.
Predictably the newspapers have completely missed the point. Ahmed has not lost his place because he's a convicted burglar but because he failed to declare it, as he should have done, on his university application.
That's the top and bottom of it. Had he been candid when answering the UCAS question about previous convictions then all of this could have been avoided.
Of course that slant doesn't sell so many newspapers.
I wonder how long before the race card is played?
It's understandable Imperial are hacked off, given he didn't tell the whole truth from the outset.
Lacking any reaction on the Conservative Party web pages to the Aircraft Carrier announcement, I tried Conservative Home and now here.
Do the Tories have a view? It appears not - "Security" on the party policy page is entirely devoted to prisons.
How does any policy on the Aircraft Carriers fit with the ever-growing banking and oil price crisis?
Were not the French also involved? Have the Conservative Party also signed up for this EU Imperialism?
One answer to any of the above would be of interest!
US court action against YouTube.
It's amazing how the copyright cartel try to get everything stitched-up for their own obscene fat profit.
Those conservative MP's who voted to clng on to the discredited and abused expenses regime should, indeed I believe MUST, be deselected.
IF Cameron has any leadership qualities now is the time to show the public he means business and will not tolerate the Conservative Party to have such MP's.
However good they are or have been however long they have been an MP hey must GO.
Martin Cole said...Lacking any reaction on the Conservative Party web pages to the Aircraft Carrier announcement, I tried Conservative Home and now here...
Capitalists@work will be posting on it soon.
Main concern is.. its not going to be good enough. short take off aircraft. That's limiting.
Also there is currently no UK dry dock big enough to take them when built.
As for the cost I think its being 'offset' in a way not done before at the MOD.
The French..
the MOD says "A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between UK and France setting out the framework for co-operation was signed on 6 March 2006."
I have no idea what that means.
Do you fancy being Deputy Mayor
Boris
Hero to Zero
Did anyone see James Caan the millionare (dragons den)"extract" the level of tax levied on petrol from some nulab MP on newsnight?
He finally revealed it was around 70% but was still trying to pedal the story that it was the price of crude oil which was causing the problem.
The trouble with this load of nulab dimbo's, Brown included, is that they don't seem to realise that this constant raising of taxes, not only petrol & diesel, is suppressing any hope of an economic recovery..... as Caan was trying to tell him.
All down to having useless career politicians with little or no worldly experience? These guys are just out of their depth as Caan demonstrated.
King Abdullah says "These countries must reduce their taxes on fuel, if they want to contribute to easing the burden on ordinary consumers".
The problem is that the the Gay Moron's spending habit is dependant upon the fuel taxes.
Whilst I am not in favour of a monarchy, can we have King Abdullah instead of Flash Golden.
Looks like Boris has got off to a good start.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7488006.stm
Tom said...
"Rejected medical student Majid Ahmed ...Had he been candid when answering the UCAS question about previous convictions then all of this could have been avoided."
I thought he said on th ePM programme that it was UCAS that advised him not to declare it?
Subsequently, so he said, he received different advice and wrote to his colleges before they had decided whether to interview him.
Anonymous 6:28 PM said...
"Those conservative MP's who voted to clng on to the discredited and abused expenses regime should, indeed I believe MUST, be deselected."
They're as bad as each other. MPs are the stinking maggots feeding off the rotten heart of a corrupt system.
Bill Quango MP said...
"Go to Dave's Part"
Word verification = audpox
The Speaker - following on from Iain's post below about how he repeatedly allows Brown to fail to even pretend to answer questions in PMQs (this, let us remember, from the man who refuses a televised debate with David Cameron on the basis that PMQs exists). What's to stop some brave soul questioning this on a Point of Order? Anyone know why this hasn't happened?
Mutley, i think you could join any party; if interviewed you could point out that your colouration matches ideally the ethnic makeup of the country. Mainly white but with black brown patches is good..... and don't you usually wear a gay little neckerchief ?... excellent all boxes ticked.
I think dogging is approved by all major parties also.
Bugger! I haven't got a dog ...
Anonymous said:
"I thought he (Majid Ahmed) said on th ePM programme that it was UCAS that advised him not to declare it?"
I'd be astounded if that was the case. We're talking a conviction for burglary - an inherently dishonest offence - that occurred only 2 years prior to applying to medical school.
That's the sort of face saving story a convicted burglar would come out with!
If you apply for a medical degree you expect to undergo an Enhanced CRB Disclosure that reveals everything. That being the case you don't keep quiet until the CRB people let your skeletons out of the closet - you volunteer the information and any mitigating circumstances beforehand.
Medicine as a career features on the Exception Order to the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, meaning that all previous convictions can be taken into account by employees (or universities).
Any serious medical student knows these rules inside out before applying.
Majid Ahmed is after a free lunch. He's no better than thousands of other potential medical students who have accepted heartbreaking rejection with dignity.
Oscar India said...
"The Speaker ...repeatedly allows Brown to fail to even pretend to answer questions in PMQs ... What's to stop some brave soul questioning this on a Point of Order? Anyone know why this hasn't happened?"
As was pointed out by several people on yesterday's thread, the PM is not obliged to give a direct answer to a question.
Pigs have voted to fill their troghs agian... I have some rope, plenty of lamppostrs around, any one fancy some politician hunting?
Regarding the aircraft carriers. They will be nothing more than glorified helicopter platforms if the Joint Strike Fighter prgramme goes pear shaped. In particular the vertical take off version isn't really wanted by the yanks. If that gets the chop these two aircraft carriers will be useless.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,101369,00.html
Many people think that the small number of vertical take off aircraft required by the British won't make that version economically viable.
It would have made more sense to install a traditional catapult system and produce a naval version of the Eurofighter.
As this is an "open thread" can we replace Iain Dale on this blog with someone who will really stir things like "Guido" does, instead of boringly following the establishment line.
at the next election,could we have,printed on the ballot paper,a box by the side of each candedate,telling the public how they voted in last nights ballot on the expenses of m.p.s
The Conservative MP's who voted to keep their noses in the trough! The Conservative MP's who David Cameron should insist are DESELECTED.
David Amess (Southend West),
James Arbuthnot (Hampshire North East),
Henry Bellingham (Norfolk North West),
Brian Binley (Northampton South),
Sir John Butterfill (Bournemouth West),
Christopher Chope (Christchurch),
John Greenway (Ryedale),
Gerald Howarth (Aldershot),
Bernard Jenkin (Essex North),
Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove),
Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest),
Anne McIntosh (Vale of York),
Andrew Mackay (Bracknell),
Andrew Rosindell (Romford),
Hugo Swire (Devon East),
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth & Horncastle),
Angela Watkinson (Upminster),
Ann Widdecombe (Maidstone & The Weald),
David Wilshire (Spelthorne),
Lady Ann Winterton (Congleton),
Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield)
David Cameron, for I am sure you and your mates read this blog - Yes, get rid of those snouts in the trough. Set new high standards that all Tories must adhere too.It is a right thing to do AND it will pay off at the polls.
THE WINTERTONS !!! A DISGRACE !!!
They should be 'excommunicated' from the Tory 'church' forthwith !!
Hands up who thinks this blog is reaching a 'jump the shark' tipping point ?? This used to be my first port of call for news, views and gossip of a morning, but one senses that there are fingers in too many other pies these days ?
Tom said...
"That's the sort of face saving story a convicted burglar would come out with!"
Tom: I understand all the points you are making. All I can say is that in his interview he seemed (to me) to be a credible witness. If he was telling the truth UCAS should have his letter on file. Imperial (I think that was the college) should also have his subsequent letter on file, dated to show it was received before he was interviewed. The statement issued by the college (as Majid Ahmed correctly pointed out) was merely a restatement of their policy - they did not deny any of the points he was making.
According to DM on line, 140 Labour MPs voted for snouts to remain in the trough. Only 21 Tory MPs did so. Of those 21, some are the usual suspects, ans some have stated that they are retiring at the next election.
So thats 140 versus 21.
Says it all, really.
I support the MPs decision on their expenses merely as a gesture of cussedness and contrariness. The media and the public have been so intemperate and hysterical in their attacks on MPs that it brings a crooked smile to my face to see them thwarted. There may be a case to be made for sensible, progressive reform of the arrangements for determining MPs salaries and expenses, but it’s hard to see how such reforms could be made in the McCarthyite atmosphere that prevails at the moment.
The public and the media will hopefully learn a salutary lesson about how to conduct themselves towards their leaders. Just think: if we continue with this perverse hostility, who is going to want to become an MP? I heard one MP on the radio yesterday saying that they were concerned that people from poorer backgrounds would be unable to enter the Commons if an MPs salary failed to keep pace with comparable jobs. Perhaps. But surely the greater danger is that conscientious and intelligent people will not want to be MPs because MPs are the objects of an almost automatic revulsion.
Just look at the coverage that MPs are getting at the moment - the day after they rejected an independent commission's recommendation of a 4% pay rise and took 2% instead.
To read more of my views link to my blog, Just who the hell are we?, on wordpress.com:
http://adammcnestrie.wordpress.com/
What a surprise, the piggy Wintertons led the charge to the trough. Is trousering money from the taxpayer to pad out a property portfolio in London not enough, without having to have us pay for their £10,000 kitchens and sky TV too?
Are the Wintertons friends of yours Iain.
Is Ray Lewis a friend of yours Iain?
More Labour sleaze? - http://donalblaney.blogspot.com/2008/07/exclusive-more-labour-sleaze.html
I think burglars are under represented in the Medical Profession and we need to promote many more.
Hi Tom,
I was just doing a bit of research about my recent publicity (which has been a surprise to me as well - the fact that it has caused so much interest) and I came across this blog. Despite wanting a medical place so bad, it is not possible for me to comment on every blog that is about me.
I have found that when sifting through peoples comments, people generally tend to side with Imperial because they have not got the correct details of the circumstances or are lacking the details in knowledge.
Let me first make one thing clear – a lot of people are saying that I am not accepting responsibility for what I did. This is very wrong. I fully accept responsibility for my actions and I am very clear that my actions on that night wrong. I would like to say sorry for any distress that my inappropriate behaviour has caused and express every regret for my actions. Everyday I wish I had just thought more about what I was doing and not gone into that house and, if that was the case, then I would have completed my first year of medical training this June. However, 'such is life' is the saying in Yorkshire but do you not think that I should be able to move on from this incident given that I have done everything possible to reform myself and it was one point in life where I did not think logically about my actions. I made a mistake; it's what makes us human.
Now the greasy bit - Tom said "Imperial College withdrew their offer to him when it transpired he had a conviction for burglary. They discovered this late in the day because he didn't volunteer the information...Ahmed has not lost his place because he's a convicted burglar but because he failed to declare it, as he should have done, on his university application." I actually sought advice from UCAS (the University and Colleges Admissions Service) and they advised me that I do not have to mention spent convictions. This is the reason I did not mention it. Can you please tell me who you think is better to give advice on an application than the people that create it and send it out to universities?
Let me explain it further. The year when I applied to Imperial College, I also applied to Biomedical Sciences at the University of Manchester which does not require spent convictions to be declared. Now the same application went to each course I applied to so how would I be able to mention it to one university and not the other?
Now it gets interesting - I actually wrote to Imperial in Dec 2006 to declare my spent conviction, after gaining this advice of an admissions tutor at the University of Bradford, and this was prior to even being interviewed for the place on the course (so BEFORE I got an offer). I have got a letter from Imperial college saying the following -
"Thank you for your letter of 20 december...Since your conviction is regarded as spent my understanding is that you would not be expected to disclose it in your application. Consequently, the information you have provided me will not be attached to your application..." Professor John F Laycock (Admissions Tutor)
I think I have said enough. I would like to thank everybody who has supported my case and I just hope that we can all come together to ensure that this very bad decision is overturned. Furthermore, I would like to say Imperial is a fantastic university, one that has inspired me since the first time I set my eyes on it. It would be (or shall I say would have been) a great honour to study at this world-class institute but it seems on this occasion that the decision they have come to is appalling and I only hope they find it within their hearts to admit that it was wrong and reconsider this decision. However, I know how stubborn some people can be so I have decided not to raise my hopes.
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