I’m pleased to say that last week’s great parliamentary mystery – just what exactly did Bob Marshall-Andrews actually say to Jim Dowd to cause this altercation – has now been solved courtesy of Bruce Anderson, writing in today’s Indy. It seems Bob did not, as has been suggested, […]

One thing that’s bothered me throughout the whole debate around extending the period for which terrorist suspects can be held before being charged is that I’ve never quite seen what the police would actually get out of such an extension to their statutory powers. Obviously I’ve read Andy […]

Royal Dutch Shell – third quarter (2004) net profits £4.123 billion City watchdog drops action against ex-Shell chairman Watts The main City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, ignored the advice of its own specialist enforcement staff yesterday by announcing that no further action would be taken against Sir […]

My hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Alison Seabeck) raised the issue of identity fraud. She is entirely correct. In 2004, an average of 50,000 people in the UK were victims of impersonation fraud. On average, it takes each victim 60 hours to resolve their case and […]

What was the central plank of Blair’s argument for handing the police the power to detain terrorist suspects for 90 days without charge? Why, that it was was the police that had asked for this power and as the ‘experts’ they know best. Forget all the stuff about […]

I wonder how many people really understand how the NHS works? I ask this because I’ve noticed that over at Non-trivial Solutions, Andrew has managed to get a little too carried away with Tory rhetoric over a BBC story about opposition amongst doctors to proposals to give specially […]

If you’re the kind of who worries that that the government are watching you all the time – and I mean all the time – and tend to favour aluminium headgear then you may not want to read this particular piece of research… … especially these conclusions: The […]

He that is proud eats up himself. Pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle; and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the praise. The History of Troilus and Cressida (Agamemnon at II, iii) When defeat is inevitable, it is […]

Both Lenin’s Tomb and Davblog have picked up this story from the Guardian. This is using my image to push through draconian and utterly unnecessary terrorism legislation. Its incredibly ironic that the Sun’s rhetoric is as the voice of the people yet they don’t actually ask the people […]

Tim’s already done a first class job of pulling The Sun down a few pegs over it’s ‘phone and tell Tony you love him poll‘ and with him having taken the night off for a well-deserved beer or two, I suppose it falls to me to put the […]