Another Labour scandal, this time cash for access

The Mail reports

'Labour has been plunged into a cash-for-access row after three former Cabinet Ministers were secretly filmed discussing how they could help a fake lobbying company – with one boasting that he was a ‘cab for hire’ for £5,000 a day.

In the most damaging revelations, ex-Transport Minister Stephen Byers claimed that he managed to save ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ for one company by using his influence with his successor Lord Adonis over a rail franchise.

Mr Byers also claimed that he had boosted the business interests of Tesco by phoning Peter Mandelson, and said that he could bring Tony Blair to meet clients of the lobbying company which was, in fact, a front for an undercover operation.'

REad the whole piece, compare it with the BBC article and ask yourself why the differences in emphasis? The Mail article explains the charges before reporting the responses from the Labour politicians. The BBC as is their way get the defence in as early as possible.

The full story will be Channel 4's Dispatches programme on Monday at 8pm.

A good old fashioned labour economic disaster

The Bank of England warned yesterday that the UK economy has entered recession and will shrink by 2 per cent next year as it suffers its worst year since 1980.

1980 was when the Labour government's last economic disaster reached its peak. Just like then it will be up to a Conservative government in 2010 to try and put the UK's economy back on track and no doubt just as in the 1980s the media and the Labour party will decry them as heartless and uncaring for cutting back on public services.

When will the British public realise that Labour governments always end in economic failure, it's just a matter of how long.