I have absolutely no idea why a current Home Secretary and a fair proportion of the current Cabinet (according to the newspaper of record, The Evening Standard, on Thursday 18th July) have decided to admit to smoking cannabis when they were younger.
I can only surmise that the Brown government has decided the British public will be able to digest this information in a mature and reflective manner without doing something completely irrational or have decided upon some ‘cult driven mass expiation’, in advance of a ‘snap’ election, to expurgate their sins and leave WebCameron et al to reflect upon their younger days.
The Facebook saga, with Oxford using Facebook to hunt down miscreant students, continues to promote comment (Cambridge stated that they would not be using Facebook to hunt down their own students.) See: Martin George | Belle de Jure
Labour wins the two by-elections and Cameron is left to reflect on the wisdom of his choice of candidate in Ealing. Guardian report
Absolutely no-one to be charged in Cash for Honours case.
The Guardian reports: “The CPS had to decide two issues before proceeding with prosecutions. They decided a prosecution would be in the public interest, but after examining the evidence came to the view there was not a realistic prospect of a jury convicting. “
UPDATE: It is clear, following the CPS Explanatory Statement (above) that The Guardian got the public interest point completely wrong. The public interest question only comes into play if there is sufficient evidence to mount a prosecution. There was insufficient evidence in the Cash for Honours matter and, therefore, the public interest issue did not arise. Saturday 21st july)
The Police are not happy with this decision. Gordon Brown will, it is suggested, be magnanimous, and Blair tells his aides not to do ‘a Campbell’. There can be little doubt the Police invesitgation weakened the authority of Tony Blair and the CPS will have to explain their decision very clearly in the wake of what will, almost certainly, be a maelstrom of criticism and comment from politicians and the press.
UPDATE: The CPS issued a detailed and very clear explanatory statement on Friday 20th July. See Post above
In the meantime: I am reviewing hundreds of hours of writing blog posts to ensure that I have not been running any phone-in competitions or otherwise putting things in the wrong order to ‘sex up’ my blog and mislead readers. The BBC appears to be doing the same.
Right… it is just after 6.00 am. The rain is pouring down in West London. The prospect of play at Lords today does not look good. I am feeling antidiluvian and I have an hour to wait before I can get on my motorbike, ride down to the High Street and take three espressos, eat breakfast (Today, in a departure from the norm it will be toast and a banana) – sitting outside, as ever, smoking Silk Cut while I catch up on tabloid world.
Hope you didn’t get too wet sitting outside smoking your silk cut, and that the pages of your tabloids weren’t too soggy to read (tee hee)! L2B 🙂
Good morning, L2B… I always sit outside that cafe – a decent awning – wind, rain, snow or shine.
Good morning to you too, Charon…glad to see you have survived the elements! L2B 🙂
Tony Blair, the OJ Simpson of British Politics. Another one he has got away with – I suppose a War Crimes Trial is out of the question as well. Please o please some middle Eastern ‘fruitloop’ group restore our faith in justice, capture him on one of his ‘visits’ and do us all a favour with a rusty knife and a grainy entry on ‘U Tube’.
Good Grief, James…. had a bad morning? Pleased with the by-election results? 🙂
What else but a banana in a banana republic?
BTW, I have done a take on the cash for honours no charges scandal. Those damned politicians have overturned every damn legal principle in the book…
There was insufficient evidence. That is an example of the system working properly. However upset one may be about it, it hardly justifies the sorts of comments above. A reaction which says ‘he got away with it because I don’t like the decision so he just must have done’ is neither sensible nor compelling. The proposition is that the CPS have been ‘got at’ or that the decision is corrupt. Thoase are serious allegations, so let those prepared to make them say what the evidence is. Otherwise, forgive me, they should shut up – no?
Simon: Agree. Have done a short analysis this morning Saturday 21st July. See post immediately above this.
Charon
@Simon Meyerson: A lot of folk are not going to agree. Whilst it remains the case that the CPS has a unilateral duty to determine (a) What is in the public interest and (b) Whether the putative prosecution has a reasonable prospect of success; you do not have to be paranoid to see there is always enough room for manouvere as needed. When the CPS is itself an arm of Government and it’s objectives that is understandable. If you didn’t feel some unease you might not protest so much.
Has anyone read the explanation from the CPS?
http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/146_07_document.html
Thanks James C – had seen it, but thank you. Your comment inspired me, at 3.00 am, to read the explanatory statement and then write my post on the matter above.
Now… I can get back to writing gossip and nonsense.
I’ve read the CPS statement. I does not tell you that the Head of the CPS _ Ken Macdonald was appointed by Blair, after all, Macdonald was the business partner of Blair’s ‘Wide Mouthed Frog’ and worked with her in Matrix Chambers! He was obviously well qualified for the ‘Can’t Prosecute Service since prior to his appointment by Blair, Macdonald had never in his life prosecuted anyone! Appointments such as his, the AG, Lord Chancellor and other ‘cronies’ means that as Prime Minister, you can literally get away with murder when you own the souls of those you appoint!
Ken MacDonald did not take any part in the decision not to prosecute according to the CPS statement.
Well, If the CPS have stated that it’s head played no part in the decision-making process then, as with all such statements of fact issued by Government departments it must be regarded as an autorititive statment of pure ublemished truth within which the complete confidence and trust of the public must rightly repose.
I am sure that the entire world is as reassured as I am by that statement.
[…] Of course, as Simon Myerson QC has pointed out in the comments section on an earlier post: “A reaction which says ‘he got away with it because I don’t like the decision so he just must have done’ is neither sensible nor compelling. The proposition is that the CPS have been ‘got at’ or that the decision is corrupt. Those are serious allegations, so let those prepared to make them say what the evidence is. Otherwise, forgive me, they should shut up – no” […]
OT: Bloggers have no obligation to be sensible or compelling. Generally we like to talk bollix. That is what blogs are for.