The committee decided not to do that, and instead decided to launch a short internal investigation. This was probably the best possible outcome for Boris. The last thing he would have wanted was a referral to the Standards Board, as it would have had echoes of the time his predecessor was referred and found guilty over his Nazi comments to a Jewish journalist.
However, certain politically motivated members of the MPA subcommittee decided that they would spin this in a rather different manner. The meeting broke up at 12.15pm this lunchtime. Within eleven minutes, Dave Hill, 'blogger laureate' to the London Assembly, had blogged the full details of the meeting. He pointed out that no one could say anything 'on the record' until a formal decision notice had been issued - hence no comment from Boris.
Eight and a half hours later, the MPA had the good grace to email the Mayor's office to inform him of the decision - five hours after all the details had been given to the Guardian's Helene Mulholland.
The very same committee then cleared Labour GLA member John Biggs of misconduct for alleging that Boris tipped Damian Green off - something he patently did not do. [UPDATE: John Biggs has asked me to point out that he totally denies making any such allegation and actually said the Mayor "
This committee is embarked on a witchhunt against Boris. And he should tell them exactly what he thinks of their Kangaroo court. It's entirely politically motivated.
At the time of Ken Livingstone's suspension by the Standards Board I argued that they had no right to suspend a democratically elected mayor from office, no matter what he had done. And I argue the same here - that Boris can only be ejected from office by the electorate, not a bunch of politically motivated individuals (led by MPA chairman and Livingstone lackey Len Duvall) who aren't fit to kiss his sweet white ass.
Having watched at close hand Duvall and Biggs' thuggish rudeness at the last Mayoral Question Time I thoroughly agree with your sentiment, Iain. They are leftie dinosaurs of the worst sort, which is a shame. Nicky Gavron and Boris had some very constructive and impressive discussions/debates at MQT but Duvall and Biggs were concerned with nothing more than interrupting Boris and trying to score cheap political points. They are very much in their master's image!
ReplyDeleteLivingstone's plants are totally noxious, and apparently impervious to weed-killer or elections. Can't someone concrete them over?
ReplyDeleteYou go girl
ReplyDeleteBoris 's call to Green was stupid
ReplyDeleteI hope he's learnt from this one ... ..to stop handing out free ammo to nasties who would destroy London to see him fail.
Ken feverishly plots his demise 24/7 , while feeding his newts....
...a bitter man..
He wanted to strut the world stage at Beijing and Stratford 2012... seeing Boris waddle on must have cut deep !
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ReplyDeleteBoris' call to Green was stupid
ReplyDeleteHuh?!!!!
Not only must Terrorist Police be permitted to arrest politicians and invade their offices without any warrant being issued, but now other elected politicians must stop talking to those arrested.
Give over, you bizarre and deluded lover of totalitarian power.
Boris should never bow to pressure from those who seek the destruction of Britain and her democratic tradition. He can call whomever he likes whenever he likes. Speech must be free and blog commenters who advocate its demise are not connected up.
Might I suggest you try kissing your own ass. Your head will need extracting first.
your missing the point, Tapestry
ReplyDeleteI have a bad back , so my arse is
not going to get any action from my head ....tonight ...urph
so a participating judge can discuss a case with the defendant if he is a mate ? free speech and all that ?
Boris ,due to his position has to be given access to restricted information . he was unwise to discuss this with the person involved, as he was a mate.
stitch up or not
other politicos should be screaming against it....not enough methinks
what ..for an example if the next case the police drop in his lap is a genuine case of say ,terrorism or fraud, and its another mate ...?
what confidence should the police have..?
Incidently ..I voted for boris.... and still will again ...
a "Kangaroo Court". Crikey let's leave the poor old 'roos out of it. This undeserved libel on marsupials has got to stop.
ReplyDeleteI don't hold with the abandonment of Parliamentary privilege, or the reduction of political leadership by the expansion of legal threats.
ReplyDeleteThe effect of all the rules is that no one dares to talk to anyone about anything. Not Boris thank God, who is still willing to move quickly and talk to people to find out what is happening, trying to save the freedoms that are being crushed by the mountains of mind-destroying red tape.
No need to join the tut-tutting Tankus. Just be grateful that Boris has enough balls to ask questions and to tell it as he sees it. They can stuff all their cowardly bullying laws up their recta. We need political leaders and in Boris at last we have got one.
I am glad to see that you haven't sunk to the point of supporting Ken Livingstone, but don't pull ground from Boris. Give him your full support if you want London and Britain to have any future at all worth having.
The world has forgotten that people matter and that leaders matter more than crummy little bureaucrats wielding petty bits of paper, citing obscure laws that mean nothing to any normal person. If you don't hate these cowardly wielders of regulatory powers and their use to silence good man telling us the truth, then start your days' activities with a combined mental and colonic irrigation. Think again.
Iain
ReplyDeleteCheck out the whole Duvall, Greenwich council, Greenwich borough MPs relationships.
This includes his good lady partner, and a whole bunch of others who rotate the dead shoes around.
He was rumoured to have wanted Clive Efford (Eltham mp) to jog on and have himself or his Mrs sit in his seat. But seeing as Eltham should go blue at the next election I think they will wait till one of their pals gets some left wing sinecure.......
Dizzy knows this area well.
Duvall, eh? A blustering posturing blow-hard. Singularly unimpressive, hugely manipulative and devious.
ReplyDeleteAs Half the Story says, check out his history. Count your fingers after shaking his hand or, better still, walk away rapidly when he appears. These guys are toxic.
"Blogger laureate"? Thanks! Do I get a special garland?
ReplyDeleteTo my dismay, i have had dealings with the Standards Board,and they are as corrupt and self serving as the Liebour mob that created them.
ReplyDeleteSweet white ass? But leaving that aside this is a load of drivel. Witch hunt? Boris was cleared or let off Iain. Even though he did the do. And Biggs was cleared or let off too. His though "cut and thrust" of political discourse and likely to recur. Boris = foolish, and let's hope when they come for the next Tory leaker he'll keep his gob and his milky white ass shut.
ReplyDeleteHear, Hear. Hopefully Cameron scraps the Standards Board quickly after becoming PM. It only serves to stifle democracy.
ReplyDelete