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!
People are writing a lot about the Wilson Doctrine in connection with the bugging of MPs. Much of what has been written is about why MPs should really be treated any different to the rest of the population, and it's a reasonable point too. It is well documented that Wilson was totally paranoid about spooks, Mi5, the security services and bugging in general, so one would suspect his 'Doctrine' was an attempt to get these people off his back. Wilson was known to allege that the security services thought anyone who had come up through the trade union and labour movement was a communist... which was a bit ironic considering the security services were employing communist spies themselves that they had recruited from amongst the Oxbridge classes at the time.
And if anyone asks you why you don't support a national ID card scheme if you haven't done anything wrong, just tell them that with these people running around unchecked, you'd rather take your chances without one, thank you.
Sorry, don't quite see what the fuss is about. One would gain the impression from the howls of protest that our MPs are a bunch of Boy Scouts with impeccable patriotic standards. That hardly stands up to a close srutiny of both the Tory party prior to WWII, and the Labout party during the Cold War, when some 'honourable' members were within a whisker of committing treason. As very recent history, like the last two months, has shown, they'd sell their families for a few 'readies'. To quote a phrase, I wouldn't trust then as far as I could piss into a gale!
Totally agree, if I went to visit a terrorist because he was a mate I'd expect to be watched and the rest, so why not him, or is it he thinks he is beyond the laws of us mere mortals, most MP's think they are.
Gary Elsby stoke said:
February 5, 2008 11:59 AM | permalink
A reading of Chris Mullin's(MP)'A very British Coup' will give hours of enjoyment and will explain exactly how it's done.
The problem with bugging is who's bugging who.
The rule says no security service can bug. Not the police. (so the police are not security?). This apparently stops the State(?)from being employed by Thatcher types against elected people (really?).
However, was Kahn bugged or was it his constituent?(and who decides this beauty?).
My answer is to jail Sir Ian Blair. This solves all eventualities and makes my kind sleep easier at his expense.
Believe me, no expenses would be audited up here in thwe People's Republic.
Gary
newmania said:
February 5, 2008 10:01 PM | permalink
`ang `on your Party are pulling every devious trick there is to sneak this ID fiasco past the people right now. I wouldn`t be a bit suprised if Brown enjoys buggery he looks a bit like Nixon and he is the same sort of nutty repressed conspiracy loon
February 4, 2008 8:51 PM | permalink
Sorry, don't quite see what the fuss is about. One would gain the impression from the howls of protest that our MPs are a bunch of Boy Scouts with impeccable patriotic standards. That hardly stands up to a close srutiny of both the Tory party prior to WWII, and the Labout party during the Cold War, when some 'honourable' members were within a whisker of committing treason. As very recent history, like the last two months, has shown, they'd sell their families for a few 'readies'. To quote a phrase, I wouldn't trust then as far as I could piss into a gale!