Lord Chancellor's April Evidence on Peerages

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://respect.to/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=LegalInfo.HowToPursueAPrivateProsecution

Anonymous said...

OK scroblene & spy, stand by yer beds:

When I was a lad I made it big
As fixer-in-chief in an Attorney's wig
I cleaned up scandals and I swept up sleaze
And I pandered to the wishes of the Big Big Cheese
(He pandered to the wishes of the Big Big Cheese)
I pandered to the wishes of the Power in the Land
And now I’m sitting here with his balls in my hand

As Attorney General I made such a mark
That he asked me to change my advice on Iraq
I quickly saw the error of my ways
And gave him what he wanted without delay
(He changed his advice without delay)
I told him he could do whatever he planned
So now I’m sitting here with his balls in my hand

Now lackeys all, whoever you may be,
If you want to rise to the top of the tree,
If your conscience isn't fettered by scruple or qualm,
Be guided by this rule and you’ll meet no harm.
(He is guided by this rule and he’s met no harm)
Keep your own head down during Custer’s Last Stand
And you may come away with his balls in your hand

Anonymous said...

Private prosecution eh?....Is George Bathhurst reading this?

Anonymous said...

This whole honours for sale is a smokescreen to hide the real crimes.
Where did the money go?
Who signed the cheques?
was it legal under money laundering regulations?
If the party treasurer was unaware that £16 million was floating about that smells a little fishy.
Blair isnt in a "blind panic" he is a very cunning man, surrounded by some very clever people, this is a ploy to draw our eyes away from the real scandal that would see him in jail.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Jeffrey Archer will bankroll the private prosecution. He has more credibility than Goldsmith. Or best case(!!!) scenario ressurect Jimmy Goldsmith to save the Godsmith honour.

gunslinger said...

oh yes indeedy!

IIRC One of the papers carried it at the w/e - may have been Matthew Parris in the Times.

May be wise to kick it off now, before some hastily drafted legislation gets in the way, would put Goldsmith out of his misery anyway.

Anonymous said...

Are you going to start a slush fund?

Anonymous said...

...now where's my chequebook.

Hedgy said...

Nice pooum Nick...I knew there was some talent here!

And given Andrew Tyrie's sharp line of questions, will he be issuing more, I can feel a little blood letting coming on...

Anonymous said...

Thank you Nick. Much appreciated! Perhaps we could develop this into a full-blown West End production?

Anonymous said...

Nice one Nick.

Confucius say "Shame me once shame on you. Shame me twice shame on me."

Question: Will we(Police, DPP, Public) allow Goldsmith to shame us twice.

Anonymous said...

"My object all sublime
I shall achieve in time
Is to squash the punishment for the crime
(No punishment for our crimes)"

Anonymous said...

So, if our Tone is found guilty, what punishment would fit the crime?.

If he is still in the chair, HM should dissolve Parliament.

He should certainly lose RtHon and pension.

Anonymous said...

There must be a precedent, what happened to LLoyd George, Did he lose his pension? or were there none in those days???

Anonymous said...

Nick Drew,

Perfect!!!

Pirates of Whitehall.

(Mabel sings)

...Poor wandering one!
Though thou hast surely strayed,
Take heart of grace,
Thy steps retrace,
Poor wandering one!
Poor wandering one!
If such poor love as mine
Can help thee find
True peace of mind –
Why, take it, it is thine!

(producer and choreographer's comment...)

"No it bloody isn't, get back up there and try to look important"!

Anonymous said...

Probably not coming to a public stage any time soon:

The Oily Spart Lightweight Opera Company production of "No Trial By Jury" by Pilfer & Sullivan. Starring Honour Blackman and Sir Bung Kingsley. Sponsored by Unity Trust Bank (replaces "Seven Bribes For Seven Brothers").

nsfl said...

This is a good piece on it.

Hedgy said...

this is all very wonderful...now all we need are some tap dancers and a couple of gaily dressed rozzers to haul off the guilty party to the Tower...at Her Maj's pleasure (as I'm sure it will be)

Anonymous said...

To say that "the Attorney General would not interfere in the normal course of decisions being made" does not mean that the A-G has abnegated any role. The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, setting up the CPS, states in relation to the DPP:

3 Functions of the Director
(1) The Director shall discharge his functions under this or any other enactment under the superintendence of the Attorney General.

The DPP can make his decision in the 'normal course' and the A-G can then 'superintend' it!

Anonymous said...

All said some months ago and things can change quite radically under NuLab when they realise that a loophole has been left open.

Anonymous said...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6124052.stm
Seems Lord Goldsmith will step aside after all.

Anonymous said...

Could the powers in the Regulatory Reform Bill bill save blur? cos they could change the law and noone gets a vote the minister would just do it no announcement
till plod turns up.

Anonymous said...

Hedgy & co

Getting altogether a bit heavier than Whitehall farce or tap-dancing, chaps: the Fat Lady seems to be clearing her throat, so what we need next may be something Wagnerian.

Anonymous said...

The bbc published this list of monies paid to to it's not clear who:
Rod Aldridge - £1m
Richard Caring - £2m
Gordon Crawford - £500,000
Prof Sir Christopher Evans - £1m
Sir David Garrard - £2.3m
Nigel Morris - £1m

Sir Gulam Noon - £250,000
Dr Chai Patel - £1.5m
Andrew Rosenfeld - £1m
Lord Sainsbury - £2m
Barry Townsley - £1m
Derek Tullett - £400,000
Total: £13,950,000
The bbc further states:' Mr Dromey sparked uproar ... when he said that he, and all the other elected party officials, had been kept in the dark about the loans arranged by Tony Blair's chief fundraiser Lord Levy.'
Now, who received the money, and who authorised its expenditure? Is the Labour Party treasurer ( and all other elected officials) not responsible for keeping the books and making sure accountancy and tax rules are met? The honours offers are not the point.

Anonymous said...

The role of the police as an institution should be considered.

Certain organisations have had their reputations dragged through the mud with regard to "dodgy dossiers" and have suffered damage in other ways under this bunch. The Armed Forces are likely to suffer long-term damage to capability, retention and recruitment through fighting two wars at once.

The Chief of the General Staff spoke out on behalf of the Army, and his remarks were clearly off-message but designed to draw a line in the sand.

I am sure that there are many officers in the police who realise the reputation of their service is as low as it has been in decades - particularly after the De Menezes shooting and the blunderings by the Commissioner - and they will also realise that complicity in any whitewash would inevitably leak out and cause more damage.

Every instance of government mendacity has been leaked - he "dodgy dossier", intelligence dissatisfaction with the WMD case, conflicts of conscience at GCHQ and the FO, the Attorney General's equivocable advice. If not for the Hutton and Butler "inquiries" (the evidence in Hutton, not the conclusion)then I believe there would have been many more leaks. The notion that there is an impregnable "establishment" is simply not true. This establishment is riven with cracks and Bliar has blown all his political capital.

I am confident charges will be brought, although I doubt Bliar will be in the dock - simply because he is not stupid enough not to operate an arm's-length blissful-ignorance policy with regard to the dodgier of his many dodgy dealings.

Curly said...

Has Guido become a paid 'hack' for the Daily Mail, or was it just sheer temerity that allowed them to virtually 'copy and paste' your well thought piece?

Anonymous said...

De Goldsmith is waitin for his chance to look good an save his pal.

The only way to save Blair is to drop de prosecution of Levy who has made de public threats.

Dis is de "reverse domino" gambit. If Levy escapes den der is no case against anyone.

Fear is de key and Levy is to be feared. Let's sees whether Goldsmith is as bright as he thinks an can get Levy off.

Anonymous said...

Just to add. In de words ods of de Bob Dylan:

"If it keep on rainin de Levy gonna break"

Dat Yates is sure some smart norman.

Hedgy said...

so prescott and broon are going to be questioned...that just leaves his tone......should be a good Xmas

Anonymous said...

As Gordo and Jack Dromey are denying all knowledge of the 'loans' to the Labour party, could there a large elephantine tax bill nestling soon in Downing Street?. Lets hope saviour Goldsmith is up to speed on taxation law.

Anonymous said...

From the Liberty website re private prosecutions:

"There is no duty on the state to prosecute a person suspected of a crime simply because there is sufficient evidence."

"However you can choose to initiate private proceedings. [snip] The Director of Public Prosecutions - ie the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service - may take over the case at any time, and decide to discontinue it."

Certain crimes need the A-G's permission for a private prosecution to be brought but the real kicker is the second quote above so our Tone is safe.

Anonymous said...

So the Teflon boys are to be questioned.
With attitude i hope, trust that Yates will remember the hose pipe and the knuckle dusters.