Something missing from the BBC reporting that I've seen re Patrick Mercer

In all of the BBC's reporting of the latest allegations surrounding Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, I've not seen any mention of this part of the video


I think it fair to assume that the BBC would have been more inclined to cover this aspect of the story if Patrick Mercer had said 'bloody Muslim' rather than 'bloody Jew'.

Diane Abbott

There has been so much written about Diane Abbott's 'racist' comment on Twitter and I am not going to change anyone's mind by giving my opinion on her Tweet.

However.... Diane Abbott's excuses got to me! First she claimed that "tweet taken out of context". Apart from the fact that the 'taken out of context' excuse is usually the last refuge of the scoundrel, it was not true in this case. Examine the history of the Tweet conversation and you will see that rather rather than concerning the interesting subject of the "nature of 19th century European colonialism", it was about race in the present day. Diane Abbott's final excuse was entirely predictable as it would always be accepted by the lazy "Bit much to get into 140 characters." The only slight problem with this excuse is that Diane Abbott had over 30 characters left in which she could have added some context or even just used the past tense.

Diane Abbott has form in this area, watch this video from June 2010...

Watch the video to end and then judge Diane Abbott.

Also Diane Abbott reportedly said staff at her local east London hospital who were "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" and so were not suitable to be nurses because they had "never met a black person before".


Is Diane Abbott racist? Maybe not.
Was the statement, as made, racist? Yes.
Should Diane Abbott apologise? Yes, but so far the apology has been less than fulsome as she has tried to wriggle out of responsibility for what she Tweeted.
Should Diane Abbott pay for the comment by losing her job? What's sauce for Patrick Mercer and Carol Thatcher is sauce for Diane Abbott.

How many more of Tony Blair's secret deals are going to emerge and will the BBC report the stories?

Today I read in The Telegraph this headline

'Libya: Tony Blair agreed to train Gaddafi’s special forces in 'deal in the desert’

Tony Blair used his final foreign trip as prime minister to sign a confidential deal with Muammar Gaddafi to train Libyan special forces and supply him with Nato secrets.'

The whole report is quite illuminating about how Tony Blair either so completely misread Gaddafi & the Libyan regime or didn't care as he wanted oil exploration rights for his friends in big business. Here's an extract:

'A copy of the accord obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows that the two leaders agreed to co-operate on defence matters in a range of areas, including exchanging information about defence structures and technology.

It was signed during the former Labour prime minister’s “Blair-well” tour of Africa in May 2007, in Gaddafi’s tent in the Libyan desert.

Included in the document was an agreement on “co-operation in the training of specialised military units, special forces and border security units”. They also signed up to “exchanges of information on Nato and EU military and civil security organisations”. The document was personally signed by Mr Blair and Gaddafi.

A passing reference to it was contained in a joint communiqué between the

two countries, which was issued at the time and posted on the Foreign Office website before being removed a few weeks ago.

The full version of the accord makes clear the extent to which Mr Blair agreed to co-operate with the Gaddafi regime on defence matters.

Under the terms of the deal, Britain was committed to “exchanges of information and views on defence structures, military and security organisations; exchanges of visits by experts and exchange of printed materials in the field of military education and science; exchanges of information on current and developing military concepts, principles and best practice, and the conduct of joint exercises’’.

The two countries also agreed to co-operate in “training in operational planning processes, staff training, and command and control; training of personnel in peace support operations; training co-operation relating to software, communications security, technology and the function of equipment and systems; exchanges of information and experience in the laws of armed conflict; and the acquisition of equipment and defence systems’’'

On the BBC not a word about this story but they do manage to find space to allow Peter Mandelson to make the case for the defence - video here. Is there any act of Tony Blair's that Peter Mandelson will not support? There is something about watching Peter Mandelson that makes my skin crawl and I do not understand why such a discredited man is allowed to spout his crap on the BBC without ever being properly challenged. Actually I do understand why Andrew Marr allows it, likewise James Naughtie, likewise.............. The BBC what an organisation!


The end of The Telegraph article also reports an exchange between  Ed Miliband and David Cameron:

'Asked by Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, to say sorry for the faltering evacuation of Britons from Libya last week, the Prime Minister hit back: “Perhaps if apologies are in order you should think about one – the appalling dodgy dealing with Libya under the last government.'

I can see no mentionon the BBC of this exchange either.

As Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP, said: "The events of the last few days show just how misjudged many of Tony Blair’s judgements were. Just four years on from when he got into bed with Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator is now on the run. I wonder if the former Prime Minister now feels that this accord with Gaddafi really was such a triumph."

I think that we will have to wait a very long time for Tony Blair to answer that point and forever for him to come clean.

Can you imagine the BBC's headline coverage if links were found between a former Conservative Prime Minister and such a regime as Libya's but as this is an ex-Labour Prime Minister..... shhhhhhh.