"extremely offensive"

When Peter Mandelson and Jack Straw both use the word "offensive" to describe claims that they might not be telling the 100% truth then I smell a rat. These are men who I would not trust to tell me the correct time whilst standing in an horologist's showroom.

Jack Straw's remarks are reported by the BBC in relation to Michael Howard writing to Jack Straw asking if the releases of al-Megrahi and Ronnie Biggs were linked. Both having been freed on compassionate grounds last month. Jack Straw's spokesman said there was no connection and that Mr Howard's comments were "extremely offensive".

There is of course a common link in that both will live a lot longer than the British public were lead to believe would be the case at the time of their release.

Regardless of whether as Michael Howard claims the sequence of events makes it "very hard" to avoid the inference that the U-turn in the Biggs case had been influenced by Jack Straw's "knowledge of the likely decision of the Scottish government in the Megrahi case", both releases were wrong and show this Labour government and its senior ministers for what they really are.

No one is innocent (update)

Last week I blogged about the release of Ronnie Biggs and put inn a remark that some found distasteful (my emphasis)

"According to Ronnie Biggs' son in a radio interview the other day, his father is dying and cannot speak and is all but immobile; time will tell. His lawyers have said that he has recently suffered two strokes and has facial paralysis, which means he cannot speak or eat."

So I was not hugely surprised to read that (my emphasis): "Freed train robber Ronnie Biggs may be moved to a London care home as early as this weekend after a remarkable improvement in his health.

His family said the relief of being freed by Justice Secretary Jack Straw had given Biggs, 80, strength to fight the pneumonia threatening his life.

They also said his stay in a Norwich hospital, where he was today having surgery to replace a feeding tube, helped his recovery.

The infamous Great Train Robber’s improvement comes days after he was freed from custody on compassionate grounds because of medical evidence that he was unlikely to recover.
I hope that those who called me cynical last week will apologise this week...

No one is innocent?

And certainly not Ronnie Biggs who is being released from prison on compassionate grounds. How much compassion did Ronnie Biggs show Jack Mills? According to Ronnie Biggs son in a radio interview the other day, his father is dying and cannot speak and is all but immobile; time will tell. His lawyers have said that he has recently suffered two strokes and has facial paralysis, which means he cannot speak or eat.

But who is Jack Mills? Jack Mills was the driver of the Travelling Post Office that was robbed. Jack Mills was hit on the head with an iron bar (not by Ronnie Biggs), causing a black eye and facial bruising; he had constant trauma headaches the rest of his life. So how did Ronnie Biggs show his remorse for the beating of Jack Mills? He recorded a song or two with the post Johnny Rotten Sex Pistols; The delightfully entitled "Belsen Was a Gas" and the rather more pertinent "No One is Innocent" aka "The Biggest Blow (A Punk Prayer)". The original title of the song was to have been "Cosh the Driver" but that was too much even for Virgin Records.

So whilst the BBC have as their lead story the heart-warming tale that "Train robber Biggs wins freedom" accompanied by a photo of a frail and elderly Ronnie Biggs, I choose to remember him slightly differently, singing:

"Ronnie Biggs was doing time until he done a bunk
Now he says he's seen the light and he sold his soul to punk
...
God save Martin Boorman and nazis on the run
They wasn't being wicked God that was their idea of fun
God save Myra Hindley God save Ian Brady
Even though he's horrible and she ain't what you call a lady
...
God save politicians God save our friends the pigs
God save Idi Amin and god save Ronald Biggs
God save all us sinners God save your blackest sheep
God save the good samaritan and god save the worthless creep"

and posing for a cover photo thus:


"Do I regret anything that's happened? No not a single thing I've ever done"