Speakers Office: "We have nothing more to add to the statement already given"That would be the same Sheree Dodd who used to be a Labour government spin doctor and Daily Mirror hack.
Shane Greer: "But what was the process that was followed?"
SO: "You’ll have to ask your source to clarify the statement"
SG: "So you can’t tell me yourself what the process is?"
SO: "I am not going to tell you what the process is"
SG: "So, to clarify, you followed a process, but aren’t prepared to tell me what it is?"
SO: "Yes"
SG: "Well if you won’t tell me, is there someone else there who will?"
SO: "I can give you a number for someone to speak to"
SG: "Who would that be?"
SO: "Shereee Dodd, a press advisor"
SG: "And she’s the press advisor to the Speaker’s Officer?"
SO: "No, she’s the press advisor to the HoC Commission"
[Gives me her number]
SG: "So you aren’t prepared to say what process was followed?"
SO: "No"
All a bit dodgy if you ask me. Anyway, I gave Sheree a buzz and asked her to clarify the statement. Sadly the Speaker’s Office haven’t um… spoken to her yet.
*Keep tuned. I'll have a list of questions which need to be answered by the various participants in this scandal within the next thirty minutes.
16 comments:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
Martin Niemöller"
Robert Quick, Assistant Commissioner in charge of 'Special Operations', may be able to fill in a few blanks.
Here are a few questions:
1) Are the Tories a big bunch of hypocrites for complaining about this, bearing in mind what was done to Sarah Tisdall and Clive Ponting?
2) In the event of a Conservative government, will civil servants be free to leak exactly what they like to a Labour opposition, without any police action?
3) Why are Tories frothing at the mouth so much when there is not one atom of evidence that the Government had any involvement?
I'm sure there are other questions that ought to be asked.
Boothroyd, do us a favour and p!ss off back to your ivory tower
Douglas Carswell MP confirms the same on his blog.
Boothroyd: "2) In the event of a Conservative government, will civil servants be free to leak exactly what they like to a Labour opposition, without any police action?"
I wouldn't think so. But I doubt the Tories would react by arresting a member of the shadow cabinet instead of the leaker.
"3) Why are Tories frothing at the mouth so much when there is not one atom of evidence that the Government had any involvement?"
This government? The one presided over by the biggest, most paranoid control freak since Howard Hughes (though sadly without the business acumen)?
Yeah, it's a puzzle, isn't it...
And to answer David Boothroyd's point 1) - Sarah Tisdall and Clive Ponting were indeed both arrested.
No Labour politican was arrested for making capital out of the leak.
DB,
Take Gordo with you when you go to Cuba. It is pathetic how you toady up to your stalinistic master. I am sure you like what has happened, using anti-terrorist police and next time when MugabeGordo declares emergency and suspends election you will sing red flag. The leftist like you calling yourselves liberals supported the 42 day detention as long as Gordo said so. It is ZANU-Labour pure and simple
This Gordo govt of all govts micromanages everything from Schools, GP services and hospitals, and if it
did not know a thing about the arrest when parliament was not in session, it is lie and damn lie. It is typical Gordo, the coward who used his underlings to destabilise Blair and not courageous enough to stand up to him and resign. If he and that ineffectual home secretary did not know of the arrest, then we know the worth of this govt.
I have been saying as a 'brown coloured person' that Gordo has let in millions into this country from outside the EU-doctors over 15,000 from India alone when we have our own surplus medical graduates, IT specialists when we have our own thousands of them here plus thousands of illegal immigrants, thus making this country a third world country. I respected Damien when he let the media know what the Labour was up to.
Cameron should put immigration high up with economy to sink Gordo and his Zanu-Labour
Bog off Boothroyd.
Anyway I can confidently predict that Smith knew of the arrest before it happened because she just dodged the question on TV not 15 minutes ago.
She said "as the met police have made clear blah blah blah"
Given an opportunity to say she did not know of the arrest before it happened she refused to say yes or no.
She knew.
It just seems odd to me that Boris knew but Smith was not told.
Unless of-course the outgoing Commissioner deliberately played it that way - ensured Boris was briefed but kept Smith out of the picture ...
http://www.policyholderadvocate.org/meet-the-team-sheree
Her?
"It just seems odd to me that Boris knew but Smith was not told."
It's not just odd, it's impossible. There is no way that both Cameron and Johnson were told but Smith and Brown were not.
I also read on, I think, PoliticalBetting, that a former Home Secretary - unnamed - has told the BBC that under no circumstances would the HS and PM not be told an MP was about to be arrested.
As I say on The Ranting Penguin, we have a politicised police service run by incompetent management.
As for Speaker Martin, he has been unfit for purpose since being elevated above his station.
The Penguin
>>In the event of a Conservative government, will civil servants be free to leak exactly what they like to a Labour opposition, without any police action?<<
Of course not, Boothroyd you fool.
I would expect them to risk losing their jobs, but the use of an obscure criminal offense - whose reform was recommended 10 years ago - is disgraceful.
If you can't see that, you are as one-eyed as the misbegotten son of the manse.
Two alternatives:
1) Ministers knew - we live in an authoritarian state,
2) Ministers didn't know - we live in a police state.
Only took Nick Robinson eight hours or so to find the Speaker Lenthall quote I mangled earlier!!!
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