Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Cash for Peerages: Blair Pleads Abu Hamza Defence

Until today, if I'm honest, I wasn't too sure that the Cash for Peerages inquiry would result in any formal charges. But reading a story in Her Majesty's Daily Telegraph over my cornflakes has convinced me that it's only a matter of time before charges are laid against at least one leading member of the New Labour ruling elite.

It seems that Downing Street is hiring lawyers (at our expense?) to question whether there could possibly be a fair trial after all the negative publicity. This is the Abu Hamza defence and shows that things are getting pretty desperate. Downing Street is trying to put the line out that the Police are leaking like a sieve and this is soooooo very unfair. Come again? Who is it who keeps encouraging journalists to write that the Police have found nothing and the Inquiry is going nowhere? We've already had various kites flown by Downing Street, all of which have failed to fly. Believe me, this one won't either.

John Yates does not strike me as the sort of policeman who is likely to be easily deflected from the task in hand. The Inquiry has taken so long because there have been so many people to interview and I suspect that after each interview further lines of inquiry are developed. My suspicion is that this will run way into next year and while the Prime Minister will be interviewed by Yates while he is still office, the interesting bit will come after he departs. According to Lauren Booth, on I'm a Celebrity this could be in January. Although as Blair and his wife never speak to her I'm not sure how she would know.

25 comments:

Dr.Doom said...

There are too many people to interview?

one Prime minister.
One tennis player
Six Lords
one nearly Lord
Two innocent Tories (bollocks)

Done and dusted in one day.

Come on Iain the biggest non story of the decade to see Tony into retirement.

No loans, no Labour victory.
Many would be Tory MPs were left wrongfooted and crying into their post election cornflakes.

This is why Dave got rid of the Tory party and has replaced it with a more successful model, rolled by Tony.

Doom.

Anonymous said...

Downing Street accusing someone else of leaking information? An outrage. I'm sure those inside No. 10 are shocked by the way Scotland Yard have stooped so low, using such disgraceful and cheap methods to muddy public life. I can imagine the Press Office must be particularly horrified by these cynical tactics.

Anonymous said...

Blimey O'reilly Iain, you must be right. After all if it's based on stories in the Telegraph and comments on "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" it is just bound to be true.

And they say web journalism doesn't match the standards of print.

Iain Dale said...

Marqueza, do you know the difference between journalism and commentary? ! Apparently not.

Anonymous said...

ooohh..marqueza hits the target!

Anonymous said...

Bring this subject up and you can expect a flood of NuLab supporters pooh-poohing the whole idea - or alternatively claiming that the tory bloggers/press/police are being vindictive and oh! so partial. And that there's something equally suspicious about elevations to the peerage made by Pitt the Younger, or whoever, so why don't they dig into the CP accounts? And everybody does it, so that makes it all right doesn't it?

Take no notice.
This is the most entertaining bun-fight since the Lavender List.

If anyone deserves a peerage it's Guido for shoving it into the faces of those that are in denial.

Hubris ("whiter than white") and Nemesis ("I take full responsibility." - "Right sir, if you'll just provide a DNA sample for the Database,") combine to give a warm glow to all those who are sick and tired of this lying, hypocritical little creep.

Anonymous said...

We don't have to worry about this "abuse of process" ploy. Defendants are always trying to block their prosecutions with an "abuse of process" argument. But they very, very rarely succeed.

Reactionary Snob said...

I am happy to represent the police pro bono. I'd actually pay money to grill that Blair.

And yes, I'm a member of both the Scottish Bar & English Bar.

RS

Guido Fawkes said...

Told you this was going all the way...

Anonymous said...

Iain

It really must be made abundantly clear who is paying for Downing Street legal advice. As it is a labour matter- without any doubt -they should pay any and all costs

Dr.Doom said...

Perhaps the telegraph should run one of their FuckYouGuv polls bankrolled from their offshore account:

Who would make the best Prime Minister?

A. Tony Blair
B. Abu Hamza

Need we wait in anticipation for the foxhunting reply?

Doom

Anonymous said...

How can anyone know if the police are leaking information without knowing what information the police have?

Unless you know the truth and it is the truth that is leaking!

Who would be most likely to release the truth?

Anonymous said...

Thank god for the Scottish National Party and Angus Brendan MacNeil, the young but energetic MP for Na h-Eileanan an lar (Western Isles to the rest of you). for exposing the Emperor's new clothes.

Cash for peerages has been going on for decades under Labour and Tory PMs (and probably the Lib Dems too), yet you have all sat back and turned a blind eye. Well hell mend ye.

No wonder we want out of the Mother of all Parliaments, because frankly she is becoming the whore of all democracies!

AnyonebutBlair said...

Whoa. This is pretty serious stuff. Information in leaked to the press by "Third Parties" which predjudices potential prosecutions of Blair & cronies? If its Inspector Knacker doing the leaking then he/they should be sacked. If the leaks are from the government and that can be proven (not that theres much NuLab form here!), and lets assume those leaks do predjudice the prosecution. There is another more serious law that Blair and cronies can be prosecuted under, it's called Perverting the Course of Justice:
The offence of Perverting the course of justice is committed when an accused (our dear leader) :
* does an act or series of acts;
* which has or have a tendency to pervert; and
* which is or are intended to pervert (i.e. leaking predjudicial information and evidence (emails);
the course of public justice.

It carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The course of justice must be in existence at the time of the act(s). The course of justice starts when:-

* an event has occurred, from which it can reasonably be expected that an investigation will follow; or
* investigations which could/might bring proceedings have actually started (i.e. Insp. Yate's investigation); or
* proceedings have started or are about to start.

I wonder why the MSM has not metioned this?

Anonymous said...

I, too, have been saying that this *is* going to court, but I don't brag about it, Guido. Oh...

Anonymous said...

Cash for questions from the Conservative Party, Cash for Peerages from the Labour party. when exactly will people stop being so binary and wake up to all politicians are crooks. And if they are not, they are kept out of the both power and the trough.

David Cameron looks like Blair in his younger days. I'll give him 2 years before he takes his shilling. CEF.

Anonymous said...

Can't get a fair trial because of all the negative publicity? Rubbish. A properly directly jury should be sufficiently impartial (Montgomery v. Lord Advocate 2001).

Hell in this country even members of the Royal family are prosecuted when they break the law, albeit for speeding. Why does a here today gone tomorrow politician think he is any different? Jonathan Atkin thought he was above the law and look what happened to him....

Fiat justitia, ruat coelum.

Anonymous said...

Cornflakes Iain? Wonder how Blair feels about porridge?

As for 'Marqueza' - well that was pretty pathetic.

Dr.Doom said...

Grant Thoms, I always thought that the term Na h Eileanan meant 'Greater England'.

My apologies for your mistake.

Doom.

Anonymous said...

I believe that Bliar won't be interviewed, at least properly, until he has left office, and then I feel sure that Brown...or the Labour NEC, will drop him right in the shite.

But you need to ask yourself if once he out of office, is it in the publics best interests to pursue such a case? If you can answer nom, then the CPS certainly can too and the whole think can be quietly hushed up.

Bliar is dirty and a liar, we all know that, and his cumuppance will be over Iraq or some other fiasco and piece of real incompetence, but rest assured that he will get his cumuppance.

You can also rest assured and take great pleasure in knowing that the fuckers place in history, that he puts so much store by, is assured...by him being remembered as a sleazy, incompetent and weak lying fucker and one of the worst PM's in British history.

New Labour wanker acolytes out in force on all the blogs...but unfortunately not mine...take no notice of them; they are true wankers whose time is now limited whether Bliar leaves early or late, and then the gravy train comes to a grinding halt...tossers.

Anonymous said...

Iain,

do you get all your interesting stories from Guido?

Blogwatch

Anonymous said...

Q: Abu Hamza Defence

A: Diplock Court

Anonymous said...

Dream on Iain. The Torygraph's fantasies are amusing over breakfast, but it will never happen in a million years that her majesties prime minister will end up banged up in the scrubs. The outcome will be - everyone hold their breaths - a sap will be thrown to the dogs! We should be speculating on who that sap will be. My prediction is Lord Levy - he is after all a Jew, and no politician ever lost votes going down that road. Good ol' New Labour - things can only get better! Thank goodness they ended Tory sleaze. Where's the man in the white coat when we need him? Pass the teddy bear Piers.

Anonymous said...

Grant thoms - I think you're right about the Scot Nats - but I wonder if there will be one or two mysterious deaths amongst Scot Nat MPs and MSPs in, say, 3 or 4 years time? Watch the skies.

Anonymous said...

Blair always said he had a good song to sing in his defence. he just nneded a 'good hook to hang it on."