An attack on our freedom
The arrest of Damian Green last Thursday, his subsequent detention and interrogation, together with the police search of his home and his office in the Palace of Westminster, constitute the most serious breach of the privilege of Parliament in modern times, writes William Rees-Mogg. The police may have thought that they were legitimately investigating a crime; in fact, they were committing one, a much more serious crime than the one they imagined they were investigating. The House of Commons needs the protection of privilege to do its job. The liberty of Members is the liberty of the people. Of course, Jacqui Smith should resign. She has been responsible for a major political disaster. William Rees-Mogg The Times
Full article: An historic attack on liberty and democracy 
The Mole: Smith out of her depth
It is absurd to compare Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith to Stalin and Mugabe, but righteous anger knows no verbal niceties, writes Bruce Anderson. After Mumbai, it might seem wrong to refer to terrorism except literally. Even so, the assault on the Greens was a terrorist attack on civil liberties. Yet good may come of it. It may have seemed as if the British lion had joined the lion of St Mark in a neglected museum of extinct grandeur. Not any longer. Our lion is reawakened and it is ready to roar. There must be an enquiry. Those responsible should be identified; their careers should be broken. Bruce Anderson The Independent
Full article: Parliament's rights are under threat – and so are ministers'
After the terror
The Mumbai attacks were not about global jihad. The roots of this nightmarish event are to be found elsewhere: in the deterioration in relations between Hindus and Muslims in India since the late 1980s, and in regional relations between India and Pakistan. The intended political impact of the attacks is to prevent any rapprochement between Islamabad and Delhi, a development that threatens to undermine extremist constituencies in both Pakistan and India. It will unquestionably strengthen the various Hindu nationalist organisations such as the BJP as general elections loom in the country.As a consequence, it must be a priority of the Indian government to prevent any Hindu nationalist backlash against the Muslims of Mumbai. Misha Glenny The Guardian
Full article: This was not global jihad. Its roots are far closer to home
Robert Fox: Questions after Mumbai
It would be folly, on all sides, if the Mumbai attacks were allowed to inflame the old dispute over the Kashmir border, says Bronwen Maddox. If India and Pakistan now ramp up hostilities, it will be an act of self-indulgence, on each side, that distracts them from fighting terrorism. India's assertion that "external elements" were to blame may well be upheld by evidence, but also distracts attention from the rise of radical religious groups within its own borders. The West must help to resolve the Kashmir dispute. India's traditional position is that outside intervention is unjustified and unwelcome; Kashmir, it says, is purely a bilateral dispute. But at this point, that stance looks myopic. Bronwen Maddox The Times
Full article: We must not lose sight of the real enemy
Spheres of influence are a reality
There is some good news this week, says Geoffrey Wheatcroft. Ahead of the Nato summit, the US government has said that it will no longer demand "fast-track" membership for Georgia and Ukraine, which would have provoked Russia's anger. George Bush was foolish to say that the age of spheres of influence and satellites was over. Spheres of influence and satellites have always been facts of international life, as they will remain, and a good thing too. The peace of Europe has usually been maintained when smaller states showed restraint in the face of larger neighbours, even if that meant accepting some degree of subservience. Geoffrey Wheatcroft The Independent
Full article: Spheres of influence are a fact of life
Fear not
Women who have had cosmetic surgery/injections don't look fearless, or kick-ass, or confident in their new-found "freshness", says Caitlin Moran. They look scared. They look scared of death - and that does not become a fully grown woman. With the credit crunch, I suspect that a lot of women's chemical maintenance routines are going to fall by the wayside. Over the next year, whole swaths of women are suddenly going to be going cold turkey on their injections, and putting on ten years overnight. They won't even know how to activate their eyebrow muscles, and will have to move them around with sticks. Caitlin Moran The Times
Full article: The problem with ageing is ... actually, there isn't one
A clunking arrest
There is scarcely a problem facing the country to which this Government does not see taking more power for itself as the answer - even if that involves arresting MPs and controlling the levers of what was once a free economy. Janet Daley Daily Telegraph
Full article: Arresting MPs and nationalising banks happen in dictatorships
Jacqui Smith has put herself in a fragile position by refusing to apologise to Green and by glorying in her lack of curiosity about the arrest. If there is the slightest evidence that No 10 was involved at any stage - that this was a ruse to embarrass the Tories - then the damage goes even further. Jackie Ashley The Guardian
Full article: Ignorance is no defence. Smith failed in her first duty
A necessary cull
One of the reasons for boom and bust, however distressing, is the need for a simple cull. Unless the merchants of plastic tat feel pain, there's never a spur to go one better. Something fresh and innovative in the high street beats more of the clapped-out same. Peter Preston The Guardian
Full article: Sceptered aisles
Love not money
In broadcasting - and rare corners of journalism - crazy millions are lavished on a few people who would probably do it for a tenth of the money. Creative, amusing, informative people mainly want to create and amuse and inform. Libby Purves The Times
Full article: Showbiz shock: we're not in it for the money
No right
Today, a surreal event will take place in London. The Foreign Office is holding an open day "to highlight the importance of human rights in our work as part of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Is this a spoof? John Pilger The Guardian
Full article: Kafka has a rival. Today, the Foreign Office lectures us on human rights
Start Bard young
The earlier children are exposed to Shakespeare, the easier it is to get to grips with his work. At six and seven, for instance, when their own language is not yet fully formed, youngsters are less intimidated by the plays' vocabulary, they pick up the verse and run with it. Jim White Daily Telegraph
Full article: All's far from well with Shakespeare
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