Leaked Email From Harman: No Tories or LibDems Invited
Iain Dale 7:36 PM
The Conservatives have been sent an email by mistake, which details a meeting taking place tomorrow organised by the Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman to discuss the Speaker's Statement to the House. Invited to the meeting are Jacqui Smith and Jack Straw, as well as Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell, Jill Pay, the Serjeant at Arms and the Parliamentary Clerk, Malcolm Jack and a representative from the Speaker's Office. Strangely the Tories and LibDems have not been invited.
The email was sent by mistake to the office of Shadow Cabinet member Philip Hammond. No doubt he will soon be arrested.
The email says that "the meeting will discuss considerations in advance of the Speakers (sic) statement on Police action and Parliament". It is perfectly proper for Harriet Harman to call a meeting to discuss the government's line on such a statement. Attached to the email is Harriet Harman's agenda for the meeting, which is clearly an attempt to influence what would be in the Speaker's statement.
What is improper is for Harriet Harman to call a meeting seeking to influence the content of that Statement by the Speaker, which is presumably what she is intending to do by inviting the Speaker's Office, the Parliamentary Clerk and Serjeant at Arms. If there is to be a meeting to discuss arrangements for the Speaker's statement then the Opposition parties have a right to influence the arrangements for that Statement.
Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve commented tonight: "This is a completely improper meeting convened by the government privately with the Commons authorities and senior civil servants to manage the Speaker's statement without representation from other parliamentarians. This is precisely the sort of leak that should make it into the public domain. We insist on being present at this meeting along with representatives from all political parties to discuss the issues on the agenda."
UPDATE: From the BBC Website...A spokesman for Ms Harman said the meeting had "nothing to do with the contents" of the statement. "The content of the speaker's statement is entirely a matter for the speaker," he said.
It's beyond parody, isn't it?
"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the parliamentary business and handling of issues that arise from the fact that the speaker's statement and the Queen's Speech will be happening on the same day."Stand By: Breaking News Story in a Moment
Iain Dale 7:08 PM
Can It Really Be True That Jacqui Smith Knew Nothing?
Iain Dale 6:20 PM
Jack Straw, so called Justice Minister, denies that he had any foreknowledge of the arrest of Damian Green. Jack Straw denied directly to the BBC in the documentary "The Ambassador's Last Stand", and denied to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, that he had any part in the false accusations laid against me or in my removal as Ambassador for raising human rights concerns. Yet, as detailed in Murder in Samarkand, I have obtained documents in Jack Straw's own handwriting, directing the process, and he held at least three meetings with Sir John Kerr to organise it.
No, not sure I do either.
On being sacked, I very openly leaked a number of government documents concerning UK policy, the use of torture material by our intelligence services, and the government's attempts to frame me. Most of these documents were classified more highly than the documents leaked to Damian Green, like this one for example:
Yet when I leaked a number of highly classified documents, openly on the internet with my name and address, did the police come knocking at my door? No, they did not. They consulted Home Secretary John Reid, who consulted Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. They concluded that they should seek to kill the story, and not generate publicity by arresting me.
Does anybody really believe that Ministers decided whether someone as obscure as I should be arrested, but were not consulted on whether Damian Green should be arrested?Mr Speaker Must Clear Up What He Was Told
Iain Dale 6:18 PM
Ben Brogan fingers the Parliamentary Clerk - now the most senior official of the House of Commons - as the man with questions to answer.
When the Speaker comes to make his statement on Wednesday to MPs, he will of course be relying on the three officials in front of him for advice in the event of any 'trouble'. And the senior official giving advice? Why, none other than the Parliamentary Clerk, Dr Malcolm Jack.
It was only very recently that the Serjeant at Arms was downgraded to a more junior role with a 50% salary cut. In the past, the position has always been held by a retired military man. All of the Serjeants I have met over 25 years have struck the fear of God into many of those who dealt with them, and would have been more than capable of telling a representative of the Met where he could shove his search warrant. Jill Pay does not have that authority, and from what I know of Dr Jack he is more a Reverend Slope figure.
But in the end this was Mr Speaker's call. Rumour has it that as soon as Parliament was prorogued on Wednesday evening he hot footed it north. Did he know what was brewing before he left the building, and if so, why didn't he change his plans?No Wonder Damian Green Was Offended
Iain Dale 2:19 PM
According to an internet dictionary, the word grooming means: "The act of attempting to gain the trust of a minor with the intention of having a sexual relationship with him or her."...It's what Tony is doing to Max's daughter in EastEnders at the moment...
Is it any wonder that Conservative MP Damian Green was incensed that this word was used during his interrogation by counter-terror police on Friday? He was accused of "grooming" a 26-year-old civil servant, Chris Galley, to provide him with official Home Office documents. Galley had, it appears, applied for a job in Green's office but was rejected for the post. It's difficult to see how any rational being, let alone a professional police officer could imagine how this could happen. Perhaps in their fevered imaginations they imagine Green saying to Galley: "Sorry, I'm not going to give you the job, oh, and by the way, can you give me some leaked documents?"
It's preposterous...
Read more HERE. Some of the comments are interesting, and it's not often that I say that about a CiF article's comments!And What About You, Ms Shoesmith?
Iain Dale 2:14 PM
UPDATE: A couple of minutes after posting this it was announced that Ed Balls had sacked her. Good on him.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Just been tipped off that a big Damian Green related story is about to break. More here in a couple of mins...
Former UK Ambassador to Ukbekhistan Craig Murray has entered the fray in the Damian Green case with some potentially explosive allegations. He attacks Jack Straw for denying all knowledge of the incident, although I suspect his fire is slightly misdirected. Instead, his anecdote blows to pieces the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's contention that Home Secretaries never interfere in police matters. Let me quote most of his post...
I was about to write a lengthy post about the role (real or imagined) played by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the arrest of Damian Green, but Ben Brogan has beaten me to it. It seems to me it is of crucial importance to establish whether Jill Pay, the Serjeant at Arms, was indeed told by the Police that the DPP had approved the search of Damian Green's office. She maintains that's exactly what she was told. The Police have remained silent on the issue, while the DPP has denied any involvement. Mr Speaker needs to clear up that issue on Wednesday.
I've written a short piece for COMMENT IS FREE on the use of the word 'grooming' in the Damian Green case. Here's an extract...
Not before time, this morning has seen the resignations of the leader of Haringey Council George Meehan and the Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Liz Sawtry. But still no word on the future of the Director of Children's Services Sharon Shoesmith. If she had any sense of honour she too would be resigning today. No doubt she is holding out for a big fat payoff. That would be outraegous.
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