Claire Perry: On her way out – but how many Tories will follow her example?
After Jo Johnson, the deluge: Conservative MPs are lining up to quit as candidates in any future election in a mass display of disloyalty to Boris Johnson.
Claire Perry might say she backs BoJob’s Brexit strategy but she is unwilling to campaign under his banner and that tells us everything we need to know.
Michael Fallon and Nick Hurd (who?) are also on their way out – and more may follow.
They may be top of the opinion polls at the moment, but it seems the Conservatives are self-destructing.
Former Tory minister Claire Perry announced her intention to quit as MP if there’s a snap general election but said she backed Boris Johnson’s ‘brave’ Brexit strategy.
The Wiltshire MP, who campaigned to remain in the EU, tweeted her support for the PM – but her resignation has sparked fears of a mass exodus.
Sources say 10 more could announce plans to quit rather than fight for their seat if Britain heads to the polls, The Sun reports.
Her announcement comes after former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and London Minister Nick Hurd said they also wouldn’t stand in an election.
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Gavin Williamson: If anybody has benefited from the Tory sex scandal, it isn’t women – it’s him [Image: David Mirzoeff/PA].
Isn’t it ironic that former Conservative Chief Whip Gavin Williamson has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary after Sir Michael Fallon’s resignation?
You see, Mr Williamson is the man who, we’re told, compiled the weekly “Ins and Outs” reports on Tory MPs’ sexual offences. Sir Michael’s name was on the Tory sleaze spreadsheet apparently compiled by the whips’ office and it is now being alleged that further claims were made about his behaviour to minority prime minister Theresa May yesterday afternoon (November 1), right before the former Defence Secretary resigned.
It also looks very much like a case of life imitating House of Cards – not the US knock-off starring the now-disgraced (due to a sex scandal) Kevin Spacey, but the superior BBC version of the 1990s, in which fictional chief whip Francis Urquhart uses the sexual indiscretions of fellow MPs to climb the Parliamentary heirarchy, eventually becoming prime minister. And it is said that Mr Williamson has prime ministerial ambitions himself.
Already, Twitter is abuzz with information about him:
So. The chap who sat on the dossier of indiscretion is the new Secretary of State for Defence. I won’t reveal the words used in the newsroom
As I write this, some Tory is on the BBC News spewing tripe that Theresa May has been strong, having zero tolerance for the kind of behaviour that has triggered this minor reshuffle. It is ridiculous. Michael Fallon is just one of dozens of Tory MPs who stand accused, and she has done nothing about it at all. The allegations themselves merit suspension. Just look at the contrast with Labour:
Jared O'Mara, whip withdrawn, investigation set up for Bex Bailey assault, and still all is quiet on #TorySleaze, sickening, #Newsnight
The new Chief Whip is the former Deputy Chief Whip, Julian Smith (who?).
And the new Deputy Chief Whip is none other than Esther McVey.
That’s right – Fester McVile is in the whips’ office. This woman was ejected from the Wirral West constituency in the 2015 elections, in response to her abominable treatment of jobseekers, the sick and disabled as an employment minister. She spent a couple of years shoehorned into a cushy job as chair of the British Transport Police Authority before being parachuted into the Tatton constituency after George Osborne quit to become a newspaper editor (among multiple other jobs).
What a revolting development.
Meanwhile, the lashing of Sir Michael Fallon continues. People in his Sevenoaks constituency – and the usual commentators – are angry that he seems to think his behaviour fell short of the standards expected of a defence minister – but was fine for a constituency MP. They want to know why he hasn’t resigned from politics altogether:
‘I’m much too predatory to be defence secretary. I’m just about the right amount of predatory to be an mp’. Doesn’t make sense, tho, does it
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A few months ago, Michael Fallon was considered to be the Conservative Party’s strongest attack dog. Today (November 1), he became a sacrificial lamb.
Sir Michael previously admitted a historical incident of touching Julia Hartley-Brewer on the knee in an attempt to dilute the sex scandal that has called the reputations of at least 37 Conservative MPs into question (the 36 MPs on the so-called “sleaze spreadsheet” plus minority prime minister Theresa May, who knew about all the allegations and did nothing).
But earlier today he submitted his letter of resignation to Mrs May. Here it is:
The operative part reads: “I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honour to represent. I have reflected on my position and I am therefore resigning as Defence Secretary.”
For those who can’t read images, the relevant part states: “Michael Fallon has resigned as defence secretary because he was aware that his behaviour with women over many years would be regarded as inappropriate if disclosed.
“According to one of his friends, he found the stress of waiting for someone to make a complaint debilitating. And therefore – after a conversation with the prime minister this afternoon – he has quit.”
So he wasn’t pushed – he jumped, in order to avoid further revelations that would damage his reputation more than has happened already. Bear in mind that he is on the spreadsheet as having “odd sexual penchants” and being “a drunk” – as has been discussed previously on This Site and elsewhere.
"Michael Fallon" Defence Secretary says he resigned bc his past behaviour may have fallen short. No, he's resigned bc he's been found out.
Sources say Fallon went because what he did with @JuliaHB1 was not a one-off and others he “flirted with” may have been “less understanding” than her. Though no one has yet come forward to complain about him
This Site discussed whether Sir Michael’s confession in The Sun earlier this week was an attempt to dilute and defuse the Tory Sleaze scandal; this resignation could be a further attempt along the same lines, as the furore has not died down.
If so, it will also fail. There are 35 other names on the spreadsheet and all are now in the public domain.
Not only that, but Theresa May was utterly defeated in Prime Minister’s Questions today, when Lisa Nandy raised the fact that she had brought evidence to her that whips had used information about sexual abuse to demand loyalty from MPs – asking her to act no less than three times, in 2014.
And Mrs May did nothing.
She asked May 3 times to act. This is massive from Lisa Nandy and could be critical for Theresa May's future. #PMQspic.twitter.com/oTVBaeM8NO
The prime minister’s stuttering attempt at an answer says everything: She had been found out, and she could not save herself.
Mr Fallon’s resignation at least provides a distraction – but also a dilemma for the failing prime minister.
Many want her to launch a full Cabinet reshuffle, ridding the government of the liabilities named in the spreadsheet. But the Cabinet’s current membership was balanced carefully, in order to ensure the loyalties of as many Tory Parliamentarians as possible. Even Sir Michael’s departure could fatally alter that balance.
So all she can do is replace him and wait for the next blow to hit her administration.
One more word on Sir Michael himself:
If his behaviour has fallen short of the standards required of the armed forces, then it must certainly fall short of those required of a knight of the realm. When will we see him stripped of his knighthood?
*Apologies for the awful pun. I simply couldn’t resist.
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UPDATE 15:44 OCTOBER 31: Owen Jones has just clarified that it is the Sun story about Michael Fallon that is not on the sex spreadsheet. That document is now available publicly, if you know where to look, so you can find out for yourself whether Mr Fallon is included for other reasons.
Michael Fallon: If he’s looking worried, think how the other Tory MPs on the ‘Pestminster’ sex spreadsheet feel – not to mention the prime minister who had weekly briefings on their activities and did nothing to stop them.
It seems This Writer was mistaken in speculating that Michael Fallon was a particular person mentioned on the spreadsheet of 36 Tory MPs and their sexual indiscretions – Owen Jones, Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar (among others) have seen the unredacted list and he isn’t on it.
Some of us live a long way from the Westminster bubble and aren’t afforded these privileges.
This information has led to speculation on the reason for Mr Fallon’s confession – on a very narrow spectrum, as it seems obvious:
Mr Fallon’s confession was a distraction from the far more serious crimes committed by other people who are named on the spreadsheet.
I’ve read the uncensored spreadsheet of allegations concerning Tory MPs and it is deeply disturbing.
Michael Fallon apologised for groping, but hasn't for calling female journalist 'slut'; being Apartheid supporter; UK bombs killing children pic.twitter.com/trjmBVQUSG
At least now we can suggest a reason for Mrs May’s silence after Michael Gove made his appalling rape joke (if it can be called that) on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
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Theresa May: The minority prime minister has serious questions to answer [Image: Carl Court/Getty Images].
Michael Fallon has owned up to touching Julia Hartley-Brewer inappropriately, marking him out as possibly the first sex pest on the Tory spreadsheet to be identified.
Perhaps he thought there was no point trying to deny it – after all, we already know he had to be peeled off a female Russian agent while drunk, and also that he referred to a female journalist as a “slut” – to her face, not recognising who she was.
To This Writer, it suggests that he is the person described as “perpetually intoxicated and very inappropriate with women” on the spreadsheet.
I may be wrong! In that case, I stand ready to be amazed at the name of someone whose behaviour is even worse.
The recipient of Mr Fallon’s unwanted attention was Julia Hartley-Brewer, a very strong supporter of the Conservative Party who has played down the incident:
A statement from me on the Westminster sex pest rumour mill currently doing the rounds… pic.twitter.com/0NDAjPmZmJ
Note that her tweet clearly identifies Mr Fallon as the man the Sunday Times claimed “placed his hand on the thigh of a senior female journalist in full view of his frontbench colleagues at a party conference dinner some years ago and announced: ‘God, I love those tits.'”
But Ms Hartley-Brewer stated: “I believe it is absurd and wrong to treat workplace banter and flirting – and even misjudged sexual overtures – between consenting adults as being morally equivalent to serious sexual harassment or assault.
“It demeans genuine victims of real offences… I have not been a victim and I don’t wish to take part in what I believe has now become a Westminster witch hunt.”
Others may have a strong opinion about that!
Perhaps Ms Hartley-Brewer was able to put off a sex pest, but others – in a similar situation – may not be able to do so. Perhaps she did not consider that when she wrote her tweet.
As a man writing about this subject, perhaps I should pause and make it clear that I have spent a considerable time thinking about what may be deemed appropriate behaviour, and what may not.
I would agree that workplace banter should not be equated with serious sexual harassment or assault – but what do you call workplace banter? I would imagine it would be joking about another person – perhaps about their sexual nature, life or abilities – in a way that the other person does not find offensive (or at least, they can get their own back), and I would strongly suggest that it would be with at least one other person present and aware of the behaviour in question. Even then, there is a danger that it could cross the line. Workplace banter should not be a sexual advance, I think.
Flirting should be obvious as such, and it really shouldn’t be possible for anyone to infer threat from it. I have enjoyed flirting with other people very much, and would be absolutely desolate if any of the people with whom I enjoyed those moments considered them anything more than humorous and complimentary. The key is that both people should be at their ease, I think.
As for misjudged sexual overtures – would inappropriate touching come under this heading, or is it going too far? I think the answer to that question is found in the overall demeanour of the person making the overture. If they’re aggressive in any way, then perhaps it’s a little more serious than a misjudgement.
In the case of Mr Fallon, we have examples of the language he is alleged to have used – and it seems entirely inappropriate to me. If I was trying to attract a woman sexually (and I admit it has been a while, as Mrs Mike and I are quite happy in that department, thank you very much), then I would not make a habit of using words like “slut”, or phrases like “God I love those tits”!
Also mentioned by Ms Hartley-Brewer are the words “witch hunt”. Let’s consider that aspect of this story.
The Independent has run an article claiming: “May knows she can’t sort this out: she’s the figurehead of a boys’ club whose male members would scream ‘Witch hunt!’ if she ever dared to try”.
The piece imagines that Mrs May takes a dim view of various potential shenanigans, before making the very serious point that bemusement at the behaviour of her errant MPs is “no excuse to tolerate abuse”.
It continues: “While the case of Mark Garnier, minister for ‘Brexit trade’ … has no criminal implications [he described his behaviour as “good humoured high jinks], it is less hilarious than our more Neanderthal MPs will think. In the hours since the Mail on Sunday broke the story, the gallant Garnier has admitted addressing his secretary as “sugar tits”, and sending her into a Soho shop to buy a brace of choicest vibrators on his behalf.
“Even Chuckles Gove, the Rumpelstiltskin of sexual wit, couldn’t spin that into comedy gold. And whether or not this is a relatively trivial abuse of the power imbalance between male boss and female employee, it simply isn’t funny.
“With Stephen Crabb … it is worse. Having quit his leadership bid when outed for sexting, Crabb now fesses up to having sent “explicit messages” to a woman of 19 he interviewed for a job in 2013 when a minister for Wales. What he calls ‘foolish’, I call ‘an abuse of power for which the Speaker should drag him from the Commons by the penis, promising to remove it with rusty garden secateurs if he ever tries to return’.”
And the article concludes, in agreement with This Writer, that the problem lies in a whips’ office that covers up MPs’ behaviour – especially if it is criminal – in order to use it for political gain.
Theresa May, who receives weekly reports on these “Ins and Outs”, is a part of this process.
The Independent piece states – again rightly – that “wherever there is strong evidence of a sexual offence, moral or criminal or both, it should be removed from the whips’ safe and exposed to the cleansing light of day… But I don’t imagine May will do that. She can’t afford to, as the figurehead of a boys’ club whose male members would scream “Witch hunt!” if she did, and the hostage of a tottering Government that could fall at any time for any number of reasons.”
I think the Independent is far too lenient on Mrs May. She has serious questions of her own to answer – starting with how long she has known about the sexual harassment allegations against her MPs and cabinet ministers – of whom we are told at least six are implicated, among 21 serving ministers, ex-Cabinet ministers and a permanent private secretary.
Cathy Newman from @Channel4News says she has a copy of the unredacted list of 36 Tory MPs. Many are Ministers. No wonder PM looked ill.
A spokesperson for Theresa May today repeatedly refused to say when the prime minister first heard about dozens of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour made against Conservative MPs and serving cabinet ministers.
May’s spokesman told Business Insider that May acted once the allegations were “made public” but was unable to say when the prime minister was first informed about them.
So she was quite happy to let these people carry on with their nasty pastimes while the wider public remained unaware – and is only acting, half-heartedly, now that the revelations are starting to fly. Now that they – and she – have been found out.
This fits the “boys’ club”/”witch hunt” scenario, certainly – but then there’s the allegation that her advisors, silenced a survivor of historic child sexual abuse in order to keep Mrs May’s way clear to Downing Street during the 2016 Conservative leadership selection process (we can’t call it an election).
Sharon Evans claimed that the contracts panel members were made to sign by the Home Office were used to stop them from speaking openly about “very serious allegations about very public figures” – allegations which she says were taken back to the inquiry leaders, but ‘nothing was being done about” them. She said:
I suggested that we wrote to Theresa May, who was the Home Secretary, to express our concerns. At the end of the day I was taken to one side and it was made clear to me – this is what I was told – that Theresa May was going to be Prime Minister, that this inquiry was going to be part of this, and that if I didn’t toe the line and do as I was told, if I tried to get information out I would be discredited by her advisors.
If true, why would Theresa May do this?
As the evidence mounts, it seems reasonable to conclude that the rot is not limited to “workplace banter”, “flirting”, or even “inappropriate sexual advances”, but goes much further and involves people in positions of enormous power – possibly even the person with the most power.
That is why it now seems increasingly possible that this so-called “Pestminster” crisis could topple the minority Conservative government.
Not only has the Conservative Party lost its credibility as a responsible party of government but serious questions – indeed, the most serious questions – must now be asked of that party’s, and the government’s leader. Now – not at her convenience.
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Laughing at the Tory: Former shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry once made a fool of current defence secretary Michael Fallon on Andrew Marr’s TV show.
This is Conservative policy on the international stage: Never mind human lives, never mind international law – we’ll sell anything, to anyone, and damn the consequences.
That’s the reason Michael Fallon doesn’t want any inconvenient facts raised in Parliament (or, one is to suppose, the media) about the uses to which UK-built weapons are being put by Saudi Arabia.
He doesn’t want you to know that British jet fighters are being used to kill innocent citizens of Yemen because the bad publicity it would create for the customer – Saudi Arabia – would create what This Writer believes is termed “consumer resistance”, and they’ll cancel any deal.
Good.
I know there would be an immediate effect on the UK’s balance of trade deficit, and on the future of contractor BAe Systems, if this multi-billion-pound trade deal were to be cancelled but the effect on our international reputation is even more chilling.
BAe is already in trouble and it would be better if the company re-tooled itself to pursue peaceful commercial enterprises instead of weapon-building, as This Site has already reported.
And the UK would be in a better position to market such products across the world if ministers like Mr Fallon weren’t intent on staining our reputation with concerns that we are breaking international law to make a fast buck.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has told MPs to stop criticising Saudi Arabia so we can sell them more weapons.
He told MPs criticism of the regime’s brutal bombardment of Yemen is “unhelpful” while Britain is trying to finalise a deal with BAE Systems to sell the Kingdom a further batch of Eurofighter jets.
Both the UN and Human Rights Watch have said the intervention is in breach of international law.
[Mr Fallon] told the Defence Select Committee: “We’ve been working extremely hard on the batch two deal. I’ve travelled to Saudi Arabia back in September and discussed progress on the deal with my opposite number, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia – and we continued to press for a signature or at least a statement of intent as we’ve done with Qatar.
“I have to repeat sadly, to this committee, that obviously other criticism of Saudi Arabia, in this Parliament, is not helpful and …I’ll leave it there, but we need to do everything possible to encourage Saudi Arabia towards batch two. I believe they will commit to batch two and we need to work away on the timing.”
Labour’s Emily Thornberry has voiced the concerns we should all feel:
“These comments are extremely concerning. The sale of arms should never be prioritised over human rights, the Rule of Law and the lives of innocent children in Yemen.”
Not only are the Conservatives determined to destroy the UK’s economy – they are ruining our good name abroad so that it will be even harder to claw our way out of their mess after they are removed from office.
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How can Tories complain about anybody’s attitude to women or minorities when Boris Johnson is Foreign Secretary?
Tory MP Nusrat Ghani reckons she will demand an urgent debate in the House of Commons about the incident in which Clive Lewis used the word “bitch” during a social event connected to the Labour Party, a month ago.
Some of us may find it worth comment that she wants an “urgent” debate about an incident that is a month old and is only being discussed now in order to distract the public from the growing list of the minority Conservative government’s failures. Where’s her demand for an urgent debate on her own government’s failure to support the will of Parliament and suspend the Universal Credit rollout?
Here are her tweets:
Monday will ask for urgent debate from Speaker @HouseofCommons. Clive Lewis used position of power & establishment to undermine parliament. https://t.co/FGSyHKuDlp
Oh, right. Using the word “bitch” implies a lack of respect for women. This Writer can certainly get on board with that – but not with the hypocrisy of saying it after reading an article about Mr Lewis on the Guido Fawkes blog, which has a record of abusing that word:
Interesting that Guido Fawkes says Clive Lewis is pure evil for using the B-word when he uses it openly himself on twitter. #ToryLogicpic.twitter.com/v5fWnPDgpK
The event at which Mr Lewis misspoke was run, presented and owned by women – and no objection was raised at the time. Some have tried to raise indignation because a female voice was heard saying, “This is supposed to be a safe space”. Here’s the owner of that voice:
On top of all the foregoing is the fact that Mr Lewis himself has apologised for his words, which he accepts were completely inappropriate (even though the way they were said ran counter to the misogynistic use that is correctly vilified).
So we’ve established that the fake outrage over Mr Lewis is a storm in a teacup. But a debate could still be useful – to point out the many similar outrages caused by Conservative MPs.
I mean, opponents of the government could raise the obvious policy points:
So Conservative MPs refuse to turn up for a vote on pausing Universal Credit but now they want an “urgent debate” on Clive Lewis calling another man a bitch. #HeadsGone
I'm supporting my friend & colleague @Nus_Ghani on Monday. Unacceptable language & mysogigny from Labour MPs cannot be allowed to continue. https://t.co/lvL7rYB9i2
— Anne-Marie Trevelyan #HandsFaceSpace (@annietrev) October 21, 2017
Where was this Tory MP’s outrage when her colleague Philip Davies filibustered a debate about domestic violence? https://t.co/8SVFcYxdb3
But let’s admit it – the time would be far better-used discussing the transgressions of individual Tories. Aaron Bastani, whose social media organisation Novara hosted the event at which Mr Lewis said his offending words, listed a few possibles – including, for the sake of fairness, one example concerning a Labour MP:
Boris Johnson is worth an article in his own right – and the Metro has obligingly provided one. In it, Yvette Caster comments on his claim that women go to university because “they’ve got to find men to marry”, that female graduates are responsible for rising house prices – and are making it difficult for other families to get housing, that working women should get back to the home because they are responsible for young people’s antisocial behaviour.
There’s this: “Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3.”
I strongly recommend that you visit the article to experience the full horror.
But Mr Johnson isn’t the only Tory transgressor. What about James Heappey?
They really aren't very good with social media are they, they have an MP tell a schoolgirl to Fuck off, that's ok, but go ape over Lewis!
Remember all the right-wing MP and gutter blog outrage over this….? No, me neither. Can't work out what the difference was…. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LGWjIWaprP
I wrote an article on Vox Political about this – ahem – “gentleman”, along with Tory Nick Harrington who said Ireland could “keep its f’king gypsies”. What charming men!
Moving back to the Cabinet, what about Michael Fallon, who called a journalist a “slut”, although it seems he would be more accurate if he applied the term to himself:
Fallon’s people have denied that he used the word but they would, wouldn’t they (to paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies’s words about another Tory defence minister, in another scandal)?
And then there’s the deputy chairman of Bermondsey and Southwark Conservative Association, Rupert Myers QC. Journalist Kate Leaver has alleged that he “forced himself” on her – and I hope everybody reading this knows what that means. If it is true, then not only should he be imprisoned but he should be stripped of his Tory membership and dismissed from the bar (of the court – although it seems he should also be banned from reputable drinking establishments):
This incident happened in the House of Commons itself, during a Parliamentary debate. Ms Soubry’s words were not picked up by any of the many microphones in the chamber, but she certainly appears to be using those words.
These are just a few examples of incidents in which, mainly, Conservatives have used their “position of power and establishment” abominably and it could easily be argued that they have undermined Parliament by doing so.
So, yes, Nusrat Ghani – let’s have that debate – and let us use it to expose your Tory colleagues as sexist, misogynist, and criminal vermin.
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Michael Fallon dismissed concerns about arms sales to dictatorships [Image: Getty].
The man who once tried to claim that the UK had a moral responsibility to bomb people in the Middle East is now saying he wants the UK to become the world’s biggest armaments marketplace after Brexit.
Yes, Michael ‘Bomber’ Fallon, speaking at the World’s largest arms fair (which is, to all our shame, held in London), said demand was going “through the roof” because of increasing war and terror.
How insensitive of him, at a time when it is known that the UK provides weapons to Saudi Arabia, which has used them against Yemen. Saudi citizens were also among those who planned and carried out the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre back in 2001 (unless you believe the conspiracy theorists).
And how insensitive of him at a time when the UK is suffering an increase in undetected terror attacks, due to the short-sightedness of his prime minister, Theresa May, who cut police budgets while she was Home Secretary.
But then, Mr Fallon isn’t interested in your feelings. He’s got his eye on the massive profits to be made from killing people abroad. If a few of you get caught in the crossfire, he couldn’t care less.
Britain will “spread its wings across the world” with increased arms and equipment exports after Brexit, the Defence Secretary has said.
Addressing the world’s largest arms fair in London, Sir Michael Fallon outlined his vision for the UK to take a bigger share of the international defence market and claimed demand was going “through the roof” because of increasing war and terror.
Hailing programmes to build frigates, marine patrol aircraft and the F-35 fighter jet, the Defence Secretary claimed the industry could strengthen international alliances.
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Reyaad Khan (L) and Ruhul Amin (R), who were killed in a drone strike by the RAF in August.(YouTube)
Someone should tell David Cameron that getting his retaliation in first is not an act that is recognised by the law; people need to commit crimes before being punished for them, and even then the punishment must be appropriate according to the law.
It seems strange to be discussing the Cameron-supported killing of Reyaad Khan, a Cardiff man alleged to be a member of Islamic State, so soon after This Blog expressed concern over the legality of the killing of Osama Bin Laden by US troops, supported by President Obama – but that is how recent events have transpired.
Cameron has told us that Khan was planning terror attacks on the UK, so the Conservative Government ordered his death in a drone strike on August 22.
How do we know this man was planning terror attacks on the UK? Where is the evidence? Is it in another ‘dodgy dossier’, similar to that in which, according to Tony Blair, he had evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
Had this man participated in previous terror attacks? If so, when? Where is the proof that shows him taking part?
Cameron said the UK had taken action in “self-defence”, invoking the right to do so under Article 51 of the UN charter – but Article 51 specifically states that an “armed attack” must take place against a UN member state before any such response.
Apparently, under the ‘Caroline principle’, a pre-emptive strike is permissible if the “necessity of self-defence was instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation”. We have no evidence to show that this was the case.
“It’s extremely alarming that the UK has apparently been conducting summary executions from the air,” Kate Allen, Amnesty International’s UK director told International Business Times. “In following the United States down a lawless road of remote-controlled summary killings from the sky, the RAF has crossed a line.”
On the information we have, she’s right. We’ve seen no evidence of any prior attacks, nor have we seen evidence of the need to prevent future attacks.
All we have seen is an act of murder against a UK citizen by his own government.
Even more worrying is the claim that defence secretary Michael Fallon has a “kill list” of alleged terrorists operating in the Middle East. He is on record as having said the Conservatives “wouldn’t hesitate to do it again”.
Until we see the evidence of terrorist activity, the British public should not see the death of Reyaad Khan as anything other than a war crime.
The onus on David Cameron, Michael Fallon and their co-conspirators is to deliver this evidence at once – or deliver themselves to The Hague for trial.
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Conservatives will do anything to hold onto power.
Most commonly, they try to pretend they aren’t the Nasty Party at all, attempting to emulate whatever’s popular at the moment.
So we have Michael Fallon with his UKIP impression yesterday (October 26), saying an “emergency brake” should be applied to immigration between EU countries.
He went on to say: “”That is still being worked on at the moment to see what we can do to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped by huge numbers of migrant workers.”
His words echoed those of UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who said in February: “In scores of our cities and market towns, this country in a short space of time has frankly become unrecognisable… Having whole areas taken over is difficult… it’s happened on a scale that nobody could ever have imagined.”
Oh, but don’t worry – it turns out that Fallon didn’t mean to say “swamped” at all! He meant “under pressure”. That makes it perfectly acceptable! Right?
It’s another UKIP tactic, of course – the swift apology. How many Kippers have been caught making much more abusive comments than Fallon’s, only to have to retract them later? (We’ll leave that question open in the hope that UKIP supporters will read this and try to pretend this never happens. It’ll be funny.)
Eoin Clarke had it right when he tweeted: “Tories’ ‘swamped’ comment & then retraction follow the UKIP pattern. Minimise the damage, maximise the appeal. Racism is a vote winner, sadly.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian has reported an even more bizarre transformation – Tories who claim to be followers of Labour icon Tony Benn!
“The right-wing Bennites do not look to their leadership for guidance. Like Benn used to do, they follow other lines of democratic accountability. Due to a matter of deeply held principle, the leader can never count on their support, even when he seeks to appease them,” writes Steve Richards.
How ridiculous. A Tory could no more be Bennite than Yr Obdt Srvt could be Thatcherite. They don’t understand the meaning of the word but use surface similarities to claim that they have adopted him. The result: Tony Benn’s memory will be discredited.
For crying out loud – one of the pillars of Tony Benn’s philosophy was that the people should be able to get rid of bad politicians – and here they are trying to usurp his memory in order to cling on to power!
It’s a filthy, underhanded trick from a filthy, underhanded organisation and you shouldn’t believe it.
Mr Richards acknowledges the differences, although he doesn’t give them the emphasis they need: “He [Tony Benn] was a socialist and they most emphatically are not. Benn regarded the state as a benevolent force, and sought wider state ownership, while a lot of the Tory Bennites want government to play a much smaller role.” That’s a huge, irreconcilable difference. If the ideologies are opposed, any similarity of method is just window-dressing.
With UKIP, it’s different; the ideologies are not opposed. UKIP and the Tories might as well be the same political party and politicians like Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless have already indicated that they view the two as interchangeable.
They are – and the voting public needs to be aware of this.
But Tony Benn and the Conservative Party most certainly are not.
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