Bob Piper has been a Labour Councillor for the Abbey
Ward in Sandwell, West Midlands, for nine years. He is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club and a follower of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The views expressed here are mine in a personal capacity, not those of the Labour Party, Sandwell MBC, Aston Villa or Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Get it! Mine... just mine!
There are a number of questions which come to mind about the alleged bugging of Labour MP Sadiq Khan's conversation with a constituent by the police/security forces, some of which are raised by Iain Dale here:
1. It was authorised by the Head of Mi5 with no reference to a politician
2. It was authorised by the Home Secretary (Khan is her whip!)
3. It was authorised by the Justice Secretary (unlikely)
4. It was authorised by the Prime Minister
Chris Paul comes up with some more that Iain had probably overlooked:
5. It was not authorised by the head of MI5 OR by a politician
6. The bugging was not carried out by a UK agency
7. It did not happen
All of which leaves us with loads of questions, and precious few answers. Could I chuck another few questions into the pot using those templates... How did David Davis (former member of the Territorial SAS), have reason to believe that the policy has been breached? There seems to be a number of possiblities:
1. He was told by someone in Mi5
2. He was told by the Home Secretary (unlikely)
3. He was told by someone in the Home Office who had not told the Home Secretary.
4. He was told by the Justice Secretary (Highly unlikely)
5. He was told by someone in the Justice Secretary's Office who had not told the Justice Secretary.
6. He was making it up
7. He received an anonymous tip-off.
This last one is most intriguing and raises even more questions. Why, if you had this information, would you tip-off the Shadow Home Secretary instead of doing what happened at the weekend and releasing information media? Would it be...
1. Because you are in the security forces and want a Conservative Government?
2. Because you have a shallow political motive?
3. Because you want to undermine the government by causing them an embarrassment?
Perhaps David Davis will tell us over the next day or so and it might help to track the buggers down... or at least allow us a bit more speculation about David Davis' role in this whole affair.
This could have been from a whistleblower in the the Police who believes that the existing rules and procedures have been broken by his colleagues or superiors.
David Davis' interview on Sky News yesterday seemed to say that he had originally got the tip from another MP, who came across it as part of another complaint. If that was another Conservative MP, then it would be the proper channel to let David Davis, as the Shadow Home Affairs spokesman, handle the confidential enquiry to the Government.
Davis said that he did consider contacting Sadiq Khan directly but that might have compromised any genuine national security investigation if there really was one in progress, hence the oblique wording of the letter to the Prime Minister, offering to be briefed in secret as a Privy Councillor.
There was a piece on the First Post the other day about a mole in the Home Office, and I have seen references to the civil service being dissatisfied with Labour. I suspect that this outing was not about civil liberties. Perhaps Mountbatten will rise from his watery grave and lead the coup?
Hang on... so David Davis got wind of someone in the security services bugging an MP, wrote to the PM (assuming that it would get through the PM's outer office, to his inner office and to him quickly) instead of going round and telling him, in person, straightaway? Sounds like strange judgement to me. How long did David Davis 'sit' on it for and why?
February 4, 2008 9:42 AM | permalink
I have written several books, Unity fashion, over at my place and have answered some of the questions.