The Evil One

Alistair Campbell has been out defending his government again. His interventions are always good for a laugh. Sadly, the Mirror article doesn't appear to be online so we'll just have to make do with the BBC report. Before starting with the loans, I have to say (through gritted teeth) that I'm inclined to agree with him about the Welsh thing. There's nothing there which should interest the police.

On loans for peerages, however, that's a different matter. Campbell says the police investigation is "ridiculous". He says:

"I can't help wondering why there was never a police inquiry in the Thatcher years into the link between peerages and donations, not to mention the corrupt practice of knighting serving editors and ennobling proprietors who sucked up to Thatcher in print".

Do you see what he's done there?

Try this.

They did it too! They did it too! OK, what we did was against the law but they did it too! And they never got caught so why should we?

I'm no expert on police procedures but I'm fairly sure they don't operate on that principle. If you get caught committing a crime, I'm almost certain that the inability of the police to catch others who've broken the same law isn't going to be hugely relevant to the case. "Tell it to the judge sunshine" is likely to be the arresting officer's response to such a defence.

Blair, like all of us, is responsible for his own actions. No-one else. Campbell's ridiculous claim that the previous criminal behaviour of others excuses the current criminal behaviour of his boss is just the sort of logic defying, intelligence insulting, contemptible crap which makes me hate the way Blair's government goes about its business. (Blairwatch points out that Blair has probably broken more than one law by the way.)

Campbell also goes for the now legendary fear ploy. He asks whether the "tax-paying public think this a good use of police resources when set against terrorism, organised crime, anti-social behaviour, general safety issues?" Why, that's so transparent that I do believe I can see straight through his chest into his cold black dead heart. TERRORISTS!!!! TERRORISTS!!!! Be scared, damn you!!! How dare you question our great leader when there are TERRORISTS on the loose. The corruption of the Prime Minister is irrelevant because there are TERRORISTS!!!!

Dear oh dear. And they say they don't exploit terrorism for their own political purposes. Laughable. Campbell is surely a prime candidate for a G-bomb. What about poisonous snake? (While we're on the subject of G-juice, Jim Murphy.)

That aside, it's worth remembering that Blair has, year on year, created more Lords than either Thatcher or Major. And that all but one of the Labour party's £1 million plus donors have been ennobled. And that Blair tried to ennoble several people who'd "lent" money to the Labour Party while keeping these "loans" secret from the public, the treasurer of the Labour Party and the House of Lords Appointment Commission.

But they did it too? If you think that makes it OK, your moral compass has long since become a luxury you have abandoned as superfluous to requirements. Perhaps Blair thinks having morals is not consistent with his struggle to promote values and modernity in the 21st Century.

Tags: News, Politics, Alistair Campbell, Sleaze