SO IS IT GORDON BROWN'S LOCKERBIE GATE ?

Suddenly yesterday, Sunday, secret documents were leaked to the press concerning the circumstances which led to the release of the Lockerbie Bomber, al-Megrahi.

The murky details are in fact as clear as mud !!! Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, at first said they were against "early release". Jack Straw in the end did not oppose al-Megrahi being included in the P T A (Prisoner Transfer Agreement) with Libya. Finally everyone was happy and relaxed when al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds, because he only had three months to live !!!

So what happened next ? Colonel Kaddafi and the whole of Tripoli staged an exuberant celebration last Saturday evening to mark the release of al-Megrahi !!! Who can blame them ?

Jack Straw seems to have been in the thick of negotiations as Justice Secretary after the resignation of Tony Blair as Prime Minister and the nomination of Gordon Brown in his place. Whether Jack Straw acted unilaterally or not, is of little importance. Gordon Brown was Prime Minister and the release of al-Megrahi was a Government decision.

So what has Britain got out of all this ? An oil and gas exploration deal for B.P.. Britain has, however, lost face with its hitherto constant ally, the USA, and President Barrack Obama. It had been agreed that al-Megrahi would serve out his whole term of imprisonment of 27 years in Scotland.

Finally, this whole sorry tale is still not over and will drag on until questions are discussed in the next session of Parliament which starts on the 12th. of October. The Socialist Government and Gordon Brown in particular, will be remembered forever for the LOCKERBIE GATE saga, especially if al-Megrahi survives beyond the coming General Election !!!

WATERGATE AND LOCKERBIE "GATE" ?

The denials and affirmations by Gordon Brown, concerning the release of the Lockerbie Bomber, bear a strong ressemblance with the affirmations by Richard Nixon in the 1974 Watergate affair.

The only thing which seems to be absolutely clear is that Colonel Kadafi is the uncontested winner. He has had a field day !!!

Gordon Brown, the Scot in England with a PhD in History from Edinburgh university, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1998 when the devolution of Scotland was decided, denies any responsibility for the release of the Lockerbie Bomber. The Scottish Parliament also denies any responsibility. Is this really so complex?

I have always understood that the Scottish Assembly (like the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies) were not empowered to act on matters like Foreign Affairs and matters of Defence. These responsibilities remained with the Government in London.

So the real question is: on which side of the fence was Gordon Brown sitting ? Did he know what was going on ? With an election coming, this whole matter is a real hot potato !!!.

NEW PRISONS URGENTLY NEEDED IN THE UK

According to the press, the Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, is about to deliver speeches or lectures on Drug Gang Culture. Everyone already has a good idea of how and why the gangs flourish and who is to blame for their continuing existence.


What everyone really wants to know is what the next government intends to do to reverse current trends ! How is the next government going to increase the protection of innocent citizens from gangs and thugs ? This topic weighs heavily with the electorate and will definitely be a vote winner if it is treated convincingly.

The Prison Reform Trust has published some interesting figures on the capacity of prisons. Socialist Ministers have pledged to increase prison capacity to 96 000 by 2014. At present there are 84150 inmates and the report says prisons are overcrowded by 8865 prisoners. Without overcrowding, the new capacity of 96 000 promised represents an increase of 11850 cells. At the moment, to avoid overcrowding, 2500 prisoners are released early each and every month !!!
Socialist Ministers have pledged, i.e. promised, 11850 cells during the next five years. They should have promised this ten years ago and delivered on the promise five years later. This would have permitted the police to pursue criminals and delinquents more efficiently. This would have avoided some of the problems which are described daily in the press and on television. Socialist Ministers talking tough on crime has not acted as a deterrent and has not frightened criminals.
David Cameron and Chris Grayling would be well advised to organise a meeting with a cross section of Judges to understand clearly what they think the most urgent urgent problems are. The Judges are in closest touch with criminals and crime. I hope that Judge Ian Trigger would be invited to such a meeting.

HAVE THESE CRIMINALS FORFEITED THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS ?

Gordon Brown, much to the annoyance of President Obama, permitted the early release from prison of al Megrahi, the Lockerbie Bomber. This early release, like that of Ronnie Biggs the Great Train Robber, was on Human Rights grounds. Before their release, the fate of their victims was hardly considered.

It is now rumoured that Bernard Madoff thinks he does not have long to live. He has just started serving his sentence of 150 years in prison for a gigantic fraud, perjury and false reporting. Can anyone believe a liar like that, or give him an early release on Human Rights grounds ?

I hope President Obama will clearly spell out the rules for early release from prison. I hope his rules take into account the long term suffering of the victims of crime.

A clear pronouncement on this subject is sorely needed, in Britain at this particular point in time and in Europe also. Everyone wants Human Rights. However, is there not a point in time when criminals forfeit some of their Human Rights ?

GORDON BROWN'S NEXT GAMBLES

In 1997 Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister and Gordon Brown the then Chancellor, callously decided to axe the tax relief on dividends paid to Pension Funds. Why they suddenly needed to destroy Private Pension Schemes in taking this extra tax remains a mystery. It was probably for purely idealistic reasons.

The private pension schemes in Britain were, in 1997, the envy of the world. They were run by companies for their employees and guaranteed them a pension in accordance with the conditions of the scheme. These schemes had been running for numerous years. They complemented the meagre State Pension.

After this tax raid, companies had to increase contributions to cover the liabilities of the various schemes. This ultimately led to many companies closing final salary schemes and other schemes were for new employees only.

It is now 2009 and Britain is less than nine months away from the next General Election; you may well ask what Gordon Brown will do before that election !!! The latest news is that he is going to put money into Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley to protect the final salary pots of employees and Directors. Yes, Gordon Brown is going to bail out the Bankers again.

You may well ask why the hell is he throwing good money after bad again? Why can he not help other private pension schemes? He does seem to be acting like a gambler who is putting his last penny on the last throw of the dice.

I have a hunch !!! Gordon Brown himself had a comfortable majority of 18000 in his constituency in 2005. He himself may be re-elected but if the Socialists lose the General Election, one could say he will lose the leadership of the New Labour Party. Before that happens I think he would prefer to resign quickly and look for a job. But where.....?

Blair already covets the job of EU President, so politically he cannot go any higher for the time being. That is why I bet he will look for work with friends in the Banking Sector !!! After all, he has bailed them out with all he has got !!! And I bet he negotiates himself a Pension Pot !!!

JUDGES JUSTICE OVERTURNED

Every week we read in the press that a criminal has been released early for one reason or another. Most recently, on "compassionate grounds", the Lockerbie Bomber and Biggs the Great Train Robber have been given their freedom. Why show compassion to criminals who cold bloodedly committed their crimes ?


These are but two examples which have hit the headlines, but there are many many other criminals who are released, but which we, the public, do not necessarily hear about on their release. When they reoffend shortly after their release we discover the true situation and are shocked.


We do, however, have a good idea why prisoners are released early. Prisons are full and space is needed ! This is not the reason given for an early release. That would be politically incorrect. The fact that prisons need to be built to enable judges to dispense justice and to help them maintain law and order, is not a consideration that has endeared itself to the Governments of Blair and Brown.


Early release is one method of avoiding overcrowding in prisons. The other important measure is not to prosecute ! This method does not help to maintain law, order and security one little bit ! It encourages, above all, petty criminals and juvenile delinquency, because they all know full well there is an overcrowding problem.


Sometimes I get the impression that criminals and offenders are released from prisons all too early and too easily. I would like to see a centralised registry where the reasons for an early release are set out, as well as the name of the criminal, the names of the people proposing the release and the names of all the people authorising the release. Such register should also indicate whether the trial judge has or has not agreed with the proposal of early release.


From the foregoing it seems to me that the efficacity of the British system of justice and the efforts of our judges is being undermined.

NO SANGATTE, JUST MORE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

In spite of the fact that Sangatte was closed in 2002 on the orders of Nicolas Sarkosy, the French Minister of the Interior at the time, after a meeting with David Blunkett, the then UK Minister of the Interior, illegal immigrants still continued to arrive in great numbers in the Calais area afterwards.

Many of us were scandalised to read in the press and to see on the television hundreds of illegal migrants living like tramps in the "Jungle" area near Calais. Our attention was drawn to them because of the health risks arising from a recent outbreak of scabies. This obliged the local authorities, on Human Rights grounds, to provide toilets and showers, as well as tents for decontamination purposes.

However, before we all, British and French alike, start ranting and raving about the existence of illegal immigrants near Calais, because we all know that they want to hop over the Channel and settle in the UK, or failing this, remain in France and settle there, we should become aware of and take into account the important changes which are currently taking place. These are briefly outlined below.

On the 16th October 2008, as a result of the initiative of the President of the European Union (EU), Nicolas Sarkosy, all 27 EU member states adopted the "European Pact on Immigration and Asylum".

This complex and tricky problem was then followed by the UK-French Summit which led to the signing of the "Declaration on Immigration" on 6th July 2009 at Evian in France.

As a result the two countries have created a working group in Calais, with experts from both sides. This group is now in operation and the intention is that it will meet each month.

Let us hope that the foregoing plans and intentions will once and for all rid us of the illegal and uninvited migrants in the UK and in France. In this connection we should remember that both countries already have a system for selective admissions of non-EU immigrants. These systems will need regular revisions and updating to eliminate newly idientified abuses.

Bearing in mind all the foregoing developements, the amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the UK, which was proposed by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London solves nothing. On the contrary, it would probably create a new tide, a tsunami perhaps, of desperate, illegal immigrants.

Without here and now going into the details of current problems concerning illegal immigrants, there is one fundamental observation which needs all our attention. The fact that Britain does not have a system of Identity Cards like almost every other major country in the world is an anachronism; it is inadmissible and it is certainly the most important reason why the UK cannot control illegal immigrants on its home soil.

Britons must face up to the fact that the world has changed. Now is no longer the 19th century. For a Briton today, the fundamental right he used to have, to be able to circulate in his own country without any official document permitting him to be identified, must be replaced by an obligation to always carry an Identity Card.

The Socialist Government has tried but failed to produce a computer package required for the introduction of Identity Cards. It is regrettable, but with the problems of this modern age, the project of introducing Identity Cards must be pursued with determination.

    .

BLAIR ? FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ???

The Treaty of Lisbon provides for the new post of President of the European Council. The council elects the President, and his mandate is for two and a half years, renewable only once. The President will ensure the continuity of the work of the European Council and represent the European Union on issues concerning its common foreign and security policy.

The position of President of the European Union is of the utmost importance, not only for Europe, but for the world. The fact that Tony Blair dearly wants this nomination is a well known "top secret". The question that remains to be answered is whether Tony Blair has the qualities and the experience handle such a demanding Job.

He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during ten years.

Together with President Bush, he lead Britain into the war against Irak for reasons which even his own spin doctors could not explain convincingly. He appeared to be George Bush's poodle.

During his term in office he could not controle the flood of immigrants all parts of the world; he wellcomed them all with open arms and social benefits to the detriment of British born taxpayers.

He plundered more than 100 billion pounds from private pension funds, which through this have been completely destroyed.

During his tenure of office, he did not appear to be a convinced European, as was evident from his position concerning the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. On the other hand, it must be pointed out that, to the ire of British taxpayers, he cancelled the annual rebate of more than two billion pounds which Margaret Thatcher fought so hard to get to reduce Britain's contribution to the European Budget. This was probably the only time he appeared to be acting like a European ...

The poisoned challice Tony Blair bequeathed to his successor, Gordon Brown, remains a daily reminder of his time in office.

I personally feel after his disasterous time in office in Britain, his credentials do not fit the post of President of the European Council. He speaks well and he has a nice smile, but is that sufficient to be nominated President of the European Union ?

JUDGE IAN TRIGGER FACES A PROBE

Judge Ian Trigger is to face an investigation over his comments about illegal immigrants. It is not what he said that is the problem. Everyone agrees that there is a big problem concerning illegal immigrants.

The Government, represented by Jack Straw in this case, believes that Judge Trigger in the courtroom should not openly criticise the Government for its failure to controle illegal immigrants. You should never criticise your paymaster !!! It goes without saying that to praise your paymaster would not create any problems for anyone. The fact that Judge Trigger is exasperated by the great number of illegal immigrants that come before him is therefore beside the point.

The ultimate punishment Judge Trigger may suffer will be very political and full of political correctness. The electors will be watching very closely and will at the same time be judging the Government. In addition, this case will certainly create a precedent in political history. A case to be referred to in future incidents of this kind. If the punishment is too severe, the Government risks being compared with certain totalitarian Regimes.

Will Judge Trigger be reprimanded or dismissed? Who knows how Political Correctness will be satisfied? I will hazard a guess at the outcome !!! Judge Trigger will be put on 12 months gardening leave with pay.

HOW TO MAKE GORDON BROWN LISTEN

During recent weeks I have noticed that people with very important responsibilities have dared to express their frustration at the way Great Britain is being run.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervin King, said he was staggered by the "Extraordinary Public Deficit". To put it simply, Britain is going bankrupt.

General Sir Richard Dannatt demanded more helicopters, extra troops and spy-in-the-sky surveillance drones during a radio interview. This is how he revealed that he had a shopping list for Gordon Brown.

Judge Ian Trigger vented his frustration in court when faced once again by an immigrant who had not been deported years ago, and who has lived off the proceeds from the sale of drugs.

This week, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starner, (as a result of the Debbie Purdy case and the House of Lords judgement) has decided to work on guidelines explaining how he will approach the problem of whether to prosecute in assisted suicide cases. This is because the 1961 Suicide Act has not been revised.

All the above people are at the top of their professions and they all have a wealth of experience. They should be complimented for their forthright criticisms ! The government has spent all its ressources elsewhere, so our soldiers have no arms, prisons are full, laws are not updated, etc. and so on.

All these courageous people are venting their frustration ! I am sure there are many more in other areas who are equally frustrated and I encourage them to speak their minds in public. This is the only way that Gordon Brown and the remaining socialists can realise how serious the problems in Great Britain are.

The electorate, the Opposition in Parliament and David Cameron need to know well in advance the urgency of all the problems to be dealt with after the next election. It is highly probable that there are problems we know nothing about yet.

Euthanasia, a "Political Conundrum" !

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starner, has volunteered to write a rulebook on assisted suicide. He should be complimented because he will try to clarify, how he will decide whether he should, or not, order a prosecution based on the 1961 Suicide Act.

The simple fact is that politicians have shirked away from rewriting this act to take into account the changes in the world since the 1961 Act. They have adroitly sidestepped this problem because it could be a vote-loser in an election. All sorts of associations, not to speak of churches and various religious creeds, doctors, nurses, carers, care homes, become virulent on this subject.

Euthanasia covers the grey area where somebody who wants to die needs help because he or she cannot commit suicide. To help someone to die in such a case is technically to aid and abet a murder. To prove that the person in question really does or did want to die is easy when someone can clearly express themselves. There are many cases when terminally ill people cannot express themselves.

It would not be difficult to draft a law which would ensure that the act of euthanasia would not in fact be a murder in disguise. A commitee would need to be formed, probably by the family doctor, to include all the people nearest the patient. The will and all other such documents, medical history etc. should then be submitted to a Judge. The Judge should then appoint independent specialists to investigate and report on the case at a formal public hearing. This would ensure that it is the Patient's will to die, and why.

Is it morally right to prevent someone who is suffering or wants to die to have recourse to Euthanasia ?