An inability to admit mistakes

Listen to The Sun's recording of Gordon Brown's telephone conversation with Mrs Janes and how he just cannot admit his mistake in spelling Janes as James. Gordon Brown even in this conversation just keeps blundering on repeating his chosen line that he had no intention to cause upset without realising that if he had just admitted his mistakes the problem might not have become so important.

"Mr Brown claimed: “…I was trying to say your right name. And I spelt Jamie right as well I understand”.

Mrs Janes responded: “Erm, I beg to differ. I’ve got the letter in front of me so I do beg to differ…"


Read the whole exchange here and here is the bit that affected me the most:

"JJ: I do appreciate you taking the time to phone me but I'm afraid we are going to have to, erm, disagree.

GB: Well that's that's, I, I, I know how strongly you, you feel.

JJ: No, Mr Brown, Mr Brown, listen to me... I know every injury that my child sustained that day. I know that my son could have survived but my son bled to death. How would you like it if one of your children, God forbid, went to a war doing something that he thought, where he was helping protect his Queen and country and because of lack, LACK of helicopters, lack of equipment your child bled to death and then you had the coroner have to tell you his every injury?

Do you understand Mr Brown? Lack of equipment.

GB: I do understand but I think you, you have got to also understand that I feel very strongly about this as, as you do.

JJ: So where's all the money? You can save a bank. You can put seven whatever into saving a bank. Why not put it into the troops? We all know they are not going to be brought home and I am glad they are there to help.

GB: I'm sorry Miss Janes...

JJ: No, Mr Brown.

GB: I'm sorry, Miss Janes, we have tried to give the troops the equipment they need and I have tried my best...

JJ: And failed...

GB: Well if it's not good enough for, for them they'll have to make their own decisions but I have tried my best...

JJ: Even Army hierarchy are retiring and telling you what is going wrong and still you send 500 more troops not the 2,000 needed.

GB: I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

JJ: You're making it sound like my son and every other child that has been killed in a savage manner..."

Did Gordon Brown not have the sense to realise that throwing figures around and spewing platitudes was not the way to deal with this matter?

It seems to me that Gordon Brown’s problem is that after 15 or so years of spin, absolute refusal to acknowledge fault and generally not answering questions, when he tries to do the right thing (and sending a handwritten letter was the right thing to do) and he makes a few mistakes due to time-pressures or eyesight, that he perceives acknowledgement of those errors as a weakness that should not be admitted. Of course when this refusal to admit his mistakes is discovered then his attempt to do the right thing is drowned out by the avalanche of people wanting revenge for his previous unacknowledged mistakes.