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Sun 29 Aug, 2004 08:08 am
Quote:Dyke: Blair's world of 'lies and bullying'
·Ex-BBC chief says PM reneged on deal after Hutton report
· Governors 'should resign' after bowing to No 10 pressure
Greg Dyke, former director-general of the BBC, today lays bare the astonishing inside story of the war waged by the Prime Minister and Downing Street against the BBC over its coverage of the Iraq war and the controversial issue of weapons of mass destruction.
In an explosive autobiography which returns the corrosive issue of Iraq to the heart of political debate, Dyke reveals that Tony Blair wrote an unprecedented letter to him and Gavyn Davies, the former BBC chairman, trying to force the corporation to change the tone of its coverage...
The book reveals that the BBC was baffled when Hutton said the government was not guilty of the 'sexing up' claims. Dyke's book quotes a comment by Philip Gould, one of Blair's closest allies and advisers, by way of explanation, alleging that he told a Labour peer: 'Don't worry, we appointed the right judge.'
full story here
A politician changing his mind?
I am shocked, shocked I say.
Just kidding.
Politicians will always act in their best interests, which is of course getting re-elected.
It is fortunate for the electorate that when they do so it will be in a manner that they hope and believe will meet with the approval of their party and the electorate, since obviously that is necessary to achieve their primary goal of re-election.
That is an astonishingly uninformed comment with regard to the behavior of Blair's government, and his intention to "brazen" his way through the crisis.
Peripherally related tidbit (the relationship, if it weren't obvious to all, is Car Rove sticking his amoral and self-interested shnozz into Brit governance)
Quote:Michael Howard last night accused George Bush of seeking to protect Tony Blair in an extraordinary row sparked by news that the Tory leader has been banned from the White House.
Mr Howard hit back after it emerged that his calls for Mr Blair to stand down over the Iraq war have enraged the US President. The simmering feud was laid bare yesterday as it emerged that Karl Rove, Mr Bush's most powerful official, told the Tory leader that he "could forget about meeting the President".
Mr Howard last night launched an unprecedented attack on Mr Bush. "If some people in the White House, in their desire to protect Mr Blair, think I am too tough on Mr Blair or too critical of him, they are entitled to their opinion. But I shall continue to do my job as I see fit," he said.
Senior Conservatives last night admitted that relations between the leader and Mr Bush broke down in February after Mr Howard called for the Prime Minister's resignation in a Commons debate.
In a furious message to Mr Howard's office Mr Rove said: "You can forget about meeting the President full stop. Don't bother coming, you are not meeting him."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=556333
The straw to which Mr. Blair clings in this affair, is the weakness of the Tories. He certainly has little political capital left with the electorate, and will be obliged to rely upon being seen as the lesser of two evils in a comparison of Labour and the Tories.
set
There are a couple of Brits I am in touch with, and both are beginning to assume the sort of depressed apathy regarding 'democracy' which isn't uncommon over here.
Those of us who watched the Brit press and political scene over the last few years have seen Labor walk pretty much in lockstep with whatever the Bush administration desired. Worse, we watched as Blair's administration has adopted the techniques of bullying, deceit, and Machiavellian disdain for open and honest governance that marks Bush et al.
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