Evening Standard: Dale Was Right About Reid & Brown

Last night, just before midnight I posted this story...



The usual anonymous commenters accused me of making it up. Quelle suprise. Quite why anyone would read this blog if they thought I habitually did that, I have no idea, but I digress.

Today, lobby journalists have been on the case. They asked the PM's Official Spokesman about it, but he stonewalled. The Evening Standard's Paul Waugh & Nic Cecil have now had the story confirmed by two separate sources to my own and splashed with it in their final edition tonight. Here is the story...

Labour heavyweight John Reid has told Gordon Brown that he should consider quitting, the Standard has learned. The former home secretary refused to categorically deny that he had told the Prime Minister that he should consider standing down.

If Mr Reid has issued such a warning, it would be a bombshell intervention as he would be the most influential MP currently calling for Mr Brown to go. Downing Street sources sought to play down the significance of a private meeting between the two men by insisting that they had spoken mainly about football. The talks are said to have taken place in Downing Street.

A No 10 source confirmed that Mr Reid and Mr Brown had met but said it was “rubbish” to say that they had discussed the leadership. Mr Reid dismissed reports of the alleged conversation as “inaccurate”.

The speculation over their talks was sparked by political blogger Iain Dale who reported that at a meeting between Mr Reid and Mr Brown, allegedly on Tuesday night, that the following conversation took place:

Brown: “Will you be my Home Secretary?”
Reid: “No”
Brown: “You have to support me.”
Reid: “No, I don't. I have to support my country and my party, and that means you have to stand down.”

After this was repeated on another blog, Mr Reid's office this morning issued a statement saying: “They are not an accurate account of the conversation between the Prime Minister and John Reid.” The Standard, which has also been told by a Labour source that a conversation along these lines took place, then put the following questions to his office: Did John in any way suggest to Gordon Brown that he should consider standing down? And did they discuss the leadership?

His office failed to fully address these questions in a later statement, saying: “Conversations with the Prime Minister are always confidential. We have never commented on them. Alleged accounts of such conversations are inaccurate.” One MP said: “This shows that John has got the balls to stand up to Gordon.”

It's interesting that there is no categorical denial from Reid. Using the word "inaccurate" sends the signal that the words may not be 100% accurate but the content was. The story is important for several reasons. John Reid is a highly respected former cabinet minister. He speaks for a significant section of the Labour Party. And he had the bravery to do what few others have done. His intervention, which he has not denied, could be a game changer.

Could Reid's words act as a spur to others to have courage? After all, courage is something the Prime Minister admires. In others.

EXCLUSIVE: John Reid told Brown He Should Resign

Reports earlier today said that Gordon Brown offered John Reid the job of Home Secretary in a secret meeting last night in Downing Street. What the media haven't reported is that not only did John Reid turn the job down, he told the Prime Minister he should resign. I am told that this is how the conversation went.

Brown: Will you be my Home Secretary?
Reid: No
Brown: You have to support me.
Reid: No I don't. I have to support my country and my party, and that means you have to stand down.

I don't know what Brown's reaction was, but I think we can all guess.

The Dirty Past of Dr John Reid

Last Sunday I wrote THIS about John Reid's announcement that he wouldn't stand against Gordon Brown and would be leaving the Cabinet. I gave several reasons, and ended the piece with these words...

But even worse than that, he got to hear of a big tabloid scandal brewing, which portrayed him, shall we say, in a less than chivalrous light. It was clear that the newspaper concerned was preparing to run the story if and when he announced his candidacy.

The newspaper concerned was the Mail on Sunday, although I didn't know it at the time. Today they run the story on page 5. If Reid had still been in the running it would have been front page. Apparently Reid has been guilty of sexually harassing Dawn Primarolo. On several occasions he tried to get her to go to bed with him. The full story is HERE. Here's an extract...

The second incident, shortly before the death of then Labour leader John
Smith in 1994, when Mr Reid was Shadow Defence Secretary, was witnessed by
several people. One said: "John came lurching up and said to Dawn 'I want to
have sex with you, I want to f*** you, you want it as well." Ms Primarolo's
friend and neighbouring Bristol Labour MP Jean Corston intervened and, according
to a source, told Mr Reid: "You are a disgusting creature. Get away from her,"
adding: "That's it, I'm going to report him." Ms Corston, who is now a Baroness,
told colleagues she raised the matter with John Smith, commenting: "It won't be
happening again." One Labour insider said: "Dawn was on the verge of tears. She
said Reid had been harassing her over a period of years and had propositioned
her in the bar. It was very painful for her." When Mr Reid was summoned by the
Labour leader, he gave Mr Smith a sealed envelope containing his resignation and
told him that if he misbehaved again, Mr Smith should open it.

What a disgusting individual Reid is. British politics will be better off without him. The MoS will have had to be very sure of their facts to have published this story. There's certainly nos ign yet of a writ from Reid.

He's been a Cabinet Minister in nine different departments and left a trail of destruction behind in each of them. No wonder he's known as "Wreck it and Run". He's just done the same at the Home Office.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Why Did John Reid Bottle It?

On Friday lunchtime on The World at One Dr John Reid was asked exactly the same questions about his future, which he was asked on the Politics Show today. Yet on Friday he prevaricated and today he bared his soul and announced that he would step down as Home Secretary at the end of June. The big question is what changed over the last 48 hours. Here's the exchange with Martha Kearney, who must be spitting with blood at missing out on the big story...

Martha Kearney: Who is going to be the man taking on DC. Tony Blair's endorsed him. Will you now support Gordon Brown?
John Reid: I know it is terribly tempting to go on to the next election before we have finished this one. If you wouldn't mind...
MK: We're only talking about next week.
JR: Once we know this election.... I will make my views known. It was 5 years ago people started asking me this question. Because it was all part of the process of trying to...
MK: OK, You're still not going to give me answer, fair enough.

So Reid is the latest Blairite Cabinet Minister to step back from being smashed by the Great Clunking Fist. The truth behind his uncharacteristic backdown makes interesting reading. Until the last two weeks it had been his firm intention to stand. But he knows that his mismanagement of the Home Office is about to catch up with him. Not for nothing is he known as "Wreck it and Run" in David Davis's office. Several chickens are about to come home to roost for the good Doctor and he will pay for his policy of making a big announcement and then letting his officials do the legwork.

But even worse than that, he got to hear of a big tabloid scandal brewing, which portrayed him, shall we say, in a less than chivalrous light. It was clear that the newspaper concerned was preparing to run the story if and when he announced his candidacy.

And so Dr Reid shuffles off into the great political waiting room muttering "Enoch was right". All political careers do indeed end in failure.

John Reid on Collision Course with the Guardian

The Guardian's front page made interesting reading this morning. Click HERE for the full story. Here's the relevant bit...

As Tony Blair rejected calls for an inquiry, and Liberal Democrats called upon
the police to investigate, it emerged that journalists received up to three
separate briefings about an allegation that a group of men was planning to
abduct and behead a Muslim British soldier... The Guardian has been told that an
aide to John Reid, the home secretary, was responsible for one of those leaks,
and has also learnt that there is strong suspicion among the highest-ranking
police at Scotland Yard that one of their own officers also briefed the media...
Since the arrests that Guardian has learned that:
· Journalists on at least one tabloid paper were tipped off the night before the raids, with the result that some travelled there before anyone had been arrested.
· The following morning, while one suspect remained at large, a small number of journalists were receiving briefings on lurid details of the alleged plot.
· A senior Whitehall official told reporters from two tabloids that a number of Muslim soldiers had agreed to act as bait in an attempt to trap the plotters.

The Guardian has been told by a well-placed source that this information - which later proved to be inaccurate - came from one of Mr Reid's officials.

Now take this set of correspondence between Shadow Attorney General Dominic Grieve and the Home Secretary Dr John Reid. Note the dates. It took Reid six weeks to reply and he only did that four weeks after a PQ was put down. Let's start with Grieve's letter... (click on the images to enlarge and to read them)

On 26 February, frustrated by a lack of a reply, Dominic Grieve put down a PQ asking when the Home Secretary intended to reply. He answered a month later, saying he had replied on 19 March.



And this is the text of Reid's letter. Pay particular attention to the final paragraph.


This letter is in total conflict with what the Guardian are alleging on their front page today. It is also a much harder line than the approach dopted by the PM at PMQs yesterday. What do we make of that?

Now the thing is, the Guardian knows the identity of the Ministerial aide, the Opposition do and so do all the newspapers who were briefed by him. Surely it can only be a matter of time before a brave newspaper editor takes the bait being laid by the Conservatives and names him.

Bye Bye Lord Falconer

The Sun speculates that Gordon Brown will make Geoff Hoon the new Secretary of State for Justice if he becomes PM. John Reid made clear yesterday that the holder of the office would need to come from the House of Commons, so it's bye bye Charlie Falconer. The gossip around the House of Commons yesterday was that Jack Straw would be favourite for the job.

Of course the big question is how long John Reid will stay in his job. He thinks he's going to be the long term National Security supremo. My prediction is that his tenure in the job will last a matter of weeks.

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...

John Reid Tells Immigrants to 'Text Off'

When we were doing the newspaper review last night on 18DS I saw a headline in The Sun which said John Reid would now clamp down on illegal immigrants by texting them and asking them to leave the country. A thought stuck me. If the immigrants are illegal, how is it that the government doesn't know where they are but has their mobile phone numbers? Bryan Appleyard is also slightly nonplussed...

John Reid today managed to lead the BBC news with a scheme to text foreigner visitors telling them when their visa is about to expire. In what kind of depraved civic realm does such footling nonsense come to be regarded by our 'flagship'
broadcaster as worthy of any attention at all?

Ah, so that explains it. Reid is aiming this at Visa 'overstayers'. Quite why he thinks a text message will have any effect isn't immediately obvious.

John Reid Doesn't Quite Get It

I'm watching John Reid make a speech on the South London shooting. Unfortunately he doesn't quite get it. He's banging on about there being a 'huge reduction in cimre over the last ten years'. No one believes it because their everyday experience tells them he is not telling the truth. And what is the point of saying this during a speech on the South London shootings when even his own figures show that gun crime has doubled.

Reid is speaking in front of a backdrop with the Home Office logo plastered all over it with the slogan BUILDING NEW PRISONS underneath. Catchy, eh? Indeed they are building new prisons. Two. Ready in 2011. Well done Dr Reid.

But back to that slogan. I think we can do better. A slogan challenge for you. Complete this sentence...

THE HOME OFFICE - ................................

Graphic hat-tip Theo Spark