As Parliament prepares to disband for the summer, a vast supercell hangs poised to send tornado after tornado ripping through the political establishment. Rumours have long-circulated about paedophile MPs, and the absence of several dossiers submitted to the Home Office by the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens have forced Theresa May to establish a wide-ranging enquiry. […]
Posts under ‘Crime/Justice/Prisons’
Effacing Rolf Harris
Jul 3rd, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.We now see him for what he is. For decades, Rolf Harris was adored by millions. His was a warm, avuncular presence on our screens. Whether introducing kids to classic cartoons, or shedding a tear over a dying puppy, Harris was a reassuring fixture and one of those very few celebrities to reach national treasure […]
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Rebekah Brooks: “Not Guilty”. OK?
Jun 28th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Now that the case is over, it is worth noting some of the details which hitherto could not be reported. Milly Dowler was a child who was abducted and then killed by a predatory paedophile. News of the World (NoW) journalists chanced on a voicemail which suggested she might still be alive and working in […]
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Dealing with the Murdoch empire requires far more than jailing Coulson
Jun 26th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Coulson is only a medium-sized cog in the web of industrial scale phone-hacking, lying, deceit, and intimidation that is Murdoch’s News International. If this was any other company rather than one of themselves, the newspapers would be raising a hue and cry demanding a full public inquiry, resignations or sackings of key executives in the […]
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30 years of foot-dragging over Orgreave must end
Jun 24th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It is bizarre that the so-called Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has now spent 18 months dancing round the maypole trying to decide whether to launch a full inquiry into police corruption surrounding Orgreave in June 1984. With a typical establishment euphemism they are engaged in a ‘scoping inquiry’ (for which read: time-wasting) as to […]
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Boris Johnson’s decision to buy water cannons is misguided and bizarre
Jun 16th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.What is Boris Johnson frightened of – apart from losing the Tory party leadership (for which he is a racing certainty loser already)? He says he needs to be ready for trouble on the streets in the summer. But there’s not the slightest evidence for this – more’s the pity considering what Tory austerity has […]
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The authoritarian state keeps trampling on liberty
Jun 7th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.A judge has ordered that the criminal trial of two persons accused of terrorism (or rather of ‘preparing for terrorism’) should be held in secret, and that even the existence of this trial should be kept secret on the grounds provided by the crown prosecution that “there was a serious possibility that the trial may […]
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Relax – Cameron says spy agencies acting entirely within the law
Apr 11th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It was the Blairite press officer Jo Moore who in 20o1 on the day of 9/11 coined the infamous phrase: “This is a good day to bury bad news”. Cameron seems to have learnt the lesson when yesterday he used the furore over Maria Miller’s avarice and arrogance to quietly give a welcome to a […]
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Duggan decision is bad for everyone: new system needed to deal with police violence
Jan 10th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.This is a sad, bad day for British justice. It seems impossible to combine the view of 8 out of the 10 members of the jury in the Duggan inquest, on the one hand, that he did not have a gun in his hand when he was shot with the decision reached by 8 out […]
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Mark Duggan: now there’s no doubt the police are above the law
Jan 9th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Trials or inquests by jury are the most democratic means of bringing a legal process to a conclusion. Recruited from the electoral roll, jurors provide an important corrective to magistrates and judges, who might be hardened by the number of cases that come before them and/or be out of touch with the pace of modern […]
