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olli issakainen

2010-01-20 14:28:01

After 9/11 USA asked the question how to prevent further terrorist attacks. As containment and deterrence do do work against terrorism, a strategy of bringing democracy to the region surrounding Iraq was chosen.
Then legitimate concerns over WMD, terrorism and humanitarian issues were used to implement this strategy.
In a letter dated 25 March 2002 Jack Straw wrote that regime change per se in no justification for military action. It could form part of the method of any strategy, but not a goal.
In evaluating the particular threat of WMD, two things were overlooked. Iraq had never begun work on a long-range missile-system. No country has ever built a warhead without simultaneously building a delivery system. And according to Scott Ritter (James Bamford: A Pretext For War, page 311), Israel had long known that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
Which brings me to the subject the strategists in USA forgot in the first place. In addition to bringing democracy to the region, Israel-Palestine conflict must also be settled.

jane18

2010-01-20 14:14:50

I have read all the transcripts of evidence and watched the coverage of some of those attending. The line of questioning is predictable. I remain shocked too as reflected in the article by Denis MacShane of the testimony by many senior civil servants. I ask myself why? The Foreign Office officials appear to have resented that matters normally undertaken by them were been taken at No10. I include our former Ambassadors and was delighted to hear Jonathan Powell say that not only was MR Meyer 30 milea away from Crawford but he was not included in the inner circle. A most sensible decision. I think too that many of our top civil servants do not live in the real world - a world that is changing and makes them unfit to deal with the erosion of their once mighty power. Also, with hindsight - they need to look at their futures and distance themselves from a war which has been subject to so many public enquiries. After all, I read continuously of former high ranking civil servants earning lucrative sums on the boards of many of our companies. I actually think there is some merit in the US system where each administration appoints senior staff who share their politics.

I hope that Ming Campbell has sight of today's Independent as he has used the enquiry to further his party's election aims. He has managed to get himself invited to discuss the enquiry on television. I must say I have been very disappointed in him and he has not won me over with his arguments.

What concerns me now is that it is fashionable to interpret witnesses statements inaccurately in an attempt to mislead the public. I also think that on occasion some of the questioning by the panel has been more than robust and this often follows criticism in the media.

I have the conclusion of the final report already written.

Graham Caskie

2010-01-20 12:27:23

"And what of Europe? The majority of European governments supported action. Germany was the big exception."

Erm, France anyone?

The fact that they were the ones who promised to veto any second UN Resolution seems to have been conveniently forgotten.

Brian Hughes

2010-01-20 12:12:27

As he often does, Denis MacShane has written a lot of good sense. I'd forgotten about Sir Menzies Campbell's certainty but I well recall William Hague and the rest of the Tory frontbench baying at Tony Blair to stop pussyfooting about and to get fully behind our bestest ever ally, the US.

I wonder if Saddam Hussein also thought his country still had WMD. It certainly suited him to give the world the impression that it did. I wouldn't have wanted to be the general who had to tell him they didn't exist if he thought they did.

Being more science than arts orientated and having worked a bit in risk management, I have difficulty with people who declare themselves absolutely certain about anything. Especially about anything as complex as the rights and wrongs of the Iraq War. I sympathise with whichever Chinese leader it was who said not long ago (or did he really say it?) that it's far too early yet to say whether the French Revolutions were successes...

Jonathan Hersh

2010-01-20 11:19:59

Among the rewritten histories - nobody mentions that Hans Blix was in no doubt Saddam had WMD, also he said Saddam had taken a decision not to disarm. Also David Kelly supported the war and said that the dossier was an accurate portrayal of Saddam's WMD. Chirac and Schroeder both said he had WMD. The Tories were criticising Blair for not doing enough to deal with Saddam. every time Hague speaks on this he shows why he would not be a good foreign secretary. Will nobody remind him of what he said back then?

Tony

2010-01-20 11:11:22

MacShane is a Blair groupie as you are, Alastair. The sophistries in his little piece are clear for anyone to see and don't even deserve a riposte. It would be interesting to see if Ming Campbell, who was right all along about Iraq unlike all of you, will respond. I doubt if he will bother. The inept Inquiry is at least shedding a little more light to make the beetles scuttle for cover. They will find some cover (not much) in your blog.

Wyrdtimes

2010-01-20 11:02:37

Aww poor Mr Campbell are the papers being nasty to you?

Harry Grattan

2010-01-20 11:01:52

Am I the only one who actually believes we were right to get shot of Saddam, and who wishes we would do the same to Mugabe? Your guest is right to point out Hague by the way. Gung ho then. Opportunistic now

Charles Wills

2010-01-20 11:00:29

I saw this piece too, and as someone who was not in favoir of the war, I nonetheless agreed with his sentiments, which clearly you share. The display of some of the mandarins in particular has been shocking. It has also underlined why minsters and prime ministers need their own team of people who can be relied upon to be loyal. After seeing your and Mr Powell's comments on the former ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, I watched his evidence on the inquiry website (which is excellent as a previous commenter said). What a silly showboating performance. Mr Powell's putdown - that he was 30 miles away - was excellent. Good luck in your work. I disagreed with the war, but I support your right to defend yourself as you did, and it is always good to see conviction in action

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Denis MacShane MP on the rewriting of history re Iraq war

2010-01-20 10:44:07

I have been thinking for a while about writing something on the way so many people in politics, diplomacy and the media are rewriting history to suit their own agenda or to evade their own responsibilities. Then this morning, reading online the coverage of Geoff Hoon's evidence yesterday, I came across this piece in The Independent by Labour MP Denis MacShane, which sums it up rather well.

So, by kind permission of Denis, here is a guest blog for the day.

'Which of the many senior politicians caught in the long-running debate over the Iraq conflict said that Saddam Hussein "most certainly has chemical and biological weapons and is working towards a nuclear capacity" and that the now famous dossier "contains confirmation of information that we either knew or most certainly should have been willing to assume?"

Not Jack Straw nor Geoff Hoon, whose evidence to Sir John Chilcot is central to the inquiry. Not an Alastair Campbell parrot but the Right Honourable Sir Menzies Campbell MP QC, speaking in the debate in the Commons in September 2002 when the now infamous dossier was published. The point is made not to mock Ming Campbell, whose views changed as events unfolded, but as a reminder that the Chilcot Inquiry is taking an increasingly surreal turn as it discusses not the history of what happened but the contemporary passions of protagonists nearly a decade later.

Not many MPs are given the title honourable these days. Yet as Hoon showed yesterday he accepts his responsibility and does not seek to resile from his judgements. Contrast that to the top mandarins and diplomats who took every honour, school-fee, bonus, pension, and post-retirement job that the British establishment bestows upon its senior state servants. Now they suddenly discover a conscience and that all along they were worried about the Prime Minister's Iraq strategy.

None of them said so at the time. None of them resigned. None of them can produce a memo sent to Downing Street setting out objections. I sat in Jack Straw's office in the Commons as we waited for the vote that would say Yes or No to military action. Neither he nor I knew how the vote would go. Blaming Blair is fashionable. But it is the Commons that made the decision. And two years later the people handsomely re-elected the MPs who voted to topple Saddam.

No Tory will give evidence. Yet at the time the Conservatives were far more gung-ho than Blair. William Hague told the Commons in September 2002 that "400 nuclear sites and installations had been concealed in farmhouses and even schools in Iraq" and argued that "the risk of leaving the regime on its course today far outweigh the risk of taking action quite soon."

Far from Blair hoodwinking parliament, the fact is that as Saddam continued to defy UN resolutions and make impossible a full investigation by Hans Blix and his weapons inspectors there was a cross-party view that Saddam had to be dealt with.

Jack Straw has produced a memo sent a full year before the action took place. It outlines the obvious problems and pitfalls ahead. But Straw threw himself with his customary energy into securing the first UN resolution. I was his deputy at the time. Straw was a collegiate minister holding daily meetings with his team of senior officials, ministers and advisers as well as a weekly lunch for a wider group.

At none of those meetings was the slightest doubt raised that Saddam had to be tackled. No one resigned. Robin Cook and Clare Short did but too late in the day to affect policy and in the latter case only after first endorsing the invasion. Cook had chilled the Commons' blood with his descriptions of Saddam's WMD in 1998 when he launched air patrols and attacks on Iraq. I never heard him doubt then the intelligence which led him to claim Iraq had WMD.

There was also a cross-media consensus. Today the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph give full coverage to every remark at Chilcot which casts a bad light on Blair. But at the time, the Murdoch-Rothermere-Black Brothers press was rooting for war.

And what of Europe? The majority of European governments supported action. Germany was the big exception. In 1990, no one asked Germany to send troops to the first Iraq war. All Chancellor Helmut Kohl did was sign a cheque as the German constitution prohibited the expedition of German soldiers outside the country. His successor, Gerhard Schröder, changed his country's constitution to allow German soldiers to fight and die abroad. But in September 2002, in a hard-fought election against his rightist opponent, Edmund Stoiber, the social democrat Schröder found himself under pressure on Iraq. Stoiber announced he would ban US warplanes flying over Germany in the event of the war. Schröder trumped him by announcing German opposition and neutrality.

But from Portugal to Poland, from Finland to Italy, European governments either sat on their hands or expressly endorsed the Bush line even if public opinion was hostile. In 2010 the EU's political elites agree the war was a mistake. But not at the time.

Nor do people recall that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld thought Tony Blair to be an irritating, whining Brit as he argued that more time should be given to UN resolutions. With China and Russia and then in due course France threatening a veto, the chances of a UN resolution were zero just as they had been zero over Kosovo and will be zero over Iran. The UN can transform itself into the League of Nations with alacrity when it suits Moscow and Beijing and, in 2003, Paris.

I argued as Europe minister at the time that we should focus more effort on shaping a European political response but the focus was always the United States, Washington, and going to see George W Bush and Colin Powell rather than European partners. Britain's half-in, half-out approach to Europe meant that US not Europe dictated policy. As it does today.

But the invasion took place. Its aftermath we know. Osama Bin Laden and other jihadi Islamists had already undertaken terrorist attacks - the Paris Metro in 1995, the Luxor massacre in 1997 - long before anyone had heard of George W Bush or Alastair Campbell.

History will judge whether deposing Saddam Hussein was a good or bad thing. But the Chilcot inquiry should focus on what happened in 2002 and 2003. The efforts in 2010 by those who supported the intervention to re-write history have Stalin as well as Saddam laughing in their graves.

Denis MacShane is Labour MP for Rotherham and was Minister of State at the Foreign Office 2002-2005

Archive

Clegg rise good news for the campaign

Publish date: 2010-04-17 10:02:47

The election landscape has changed. Exciting times

Publish date: 2010-04-16 14:45:39

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Publish date: 2010-04-11 12:10:44

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Publish date: 2010-04-05 11:33:17

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Publish date: 2010-04-04 17:43:56

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Publish date: 2010-04-03 16:01:39

The 25th Hour

Publish date: 2010-04-02 11:13:31

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Publish date: 2010-03-30 10:44:34

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Publish date: 2010-03-29 09:47:29

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Publish date: 2010-03-27 11:32:06

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Publish date: 2010-03-26 14:55:00

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Publish date: 2010-03-25 11:21:25

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Publish date: 2010-03-24 09:38:11

Obama's win good news for politics everywhere

Publish date: 2010-03-23 10:11:13

I take my hat off to a genius briefer

Publish date: 2010-03-22 17:21:23

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Publish date: 2010-03-19 11:43:25

Tory lack of clarity gets candidates jittering

Publish date: 2010-03-18 10:12:25

Is Kate Winslet's split more important than Michael Foot's funeral?

Publish date: 2010-03-17 11:38:52

Why Sir Trevor did no favours for Cameron

Publish date: 2010-03-16 10:57:18

Support the Street Kids World Cup

Publish date: 2010-03-15 11:25:17

Bumping into Peter M on the fundraising campaign trail

Publish date: 2010-03-14 00:27:35

Adonis shows the way on transport, and debates

Publish date: 2010-03-12 12:22:05

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Publish date: 2010-03-11 08:50:51

What happened to the detoxification of the Tory brand?

Publish date: 2010-03-06 12:00:38

Support, activism and hope returning to Labour

Publish date: 2010-03-05 09:46:34

Happy Birthday Lord Ashcroft HB2U

Publish date: 2010-03-04 10:59:48

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Publish date: 2010-03-03 14:22:46

Elvis support for Labour lifts the mood further

Publish date: 2010-03-03 10:16:30

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Publish date: 2010-03-02 13:00:35

At least Britney knows what she is singing about

Publish date: 2010-03-01 10:57:28

News blackout on Olympian success story

Publish date: 2010-02-28 14:52:49

Kseniya Simonova's got talent

Publish date: 2010-02-27 21:14:58

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Publish date: 2010-02-26 10:21:53

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Publish date: 2010-02-25 11:59:11

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Publish date: 2010-02-24 09:40:08

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Publish date: 2010-02-23 10:24:48

Cameron inquiry call says more about him than GB

Publish date: 2010-02-22 15:15:59

Some great stuff in The Observer today

Publish date: 2010-02-21 11:00:46

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Publish date: 2010-02-20 14:35:40

Cameron so right about pigs in pokes

Publish date: 2010-02-19 09:12:50

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Publish date: 2010-02-18 12:00:19

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Publish date: 2010-02-17 10:44:30

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Publish date: 2010-02-16 09:53:22

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Publish date: 2010-02-15 13:11:57

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Publish date: 2010-02-14 12:06:54

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Publish date: 2010-02-13 10:38:58

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Publish date: 2010-02-12 14:27:56

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Publish date: 2010-02-11 10:17:54

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Publish date: 2010-02-10 10:29:05

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Publish date: 2010-02-09 09:04:22

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Publish date: 2010-02-08 13:55:36

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Publish date: 2010-02-07 16:04:56

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Publish date: 2010-02-06 10:00:25

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Publish date: 2010-02-05 08:54:36

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Publish date: 2010-02-03 13:52:26

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Publish date: 2010-01-31 13:14:19

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Publish date: 2010-01-29 21:18:59

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Publish date: 2010-01-29 14:04:38

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Publish date: 2010-01-28 13:45:08

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Publish date: 2010-01-27 12:15:42

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Publish date: 2010-01-26 09:20:26

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Publish date: 2010-01-25 11:55:58

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Publish date: 2010-01-24 10:28:57

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Publish date: 2010-01-22 09:39:21

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Publish date: 2010-01-21 10:24:46

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Publish date: 2010-01-19 10:12:27

Dacre's Downfall

Publish date: 2010-01-18 03:30:21

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Publish date: 2010-01-17 12:45:38

Mandela is a great man, Invictus a great film

Publish date: 2010-01-16 08:54:48

Is Paul Dacre hiding a guilty secret that explains his deranged paper?

Publish date: 2010-01-15 09:56:24

What's the real fight to be had?

Publish date: 2010-01-14 10:20:20

On Owen Coyle and Brian Laws

Publish date: 2010-01-13 18:27:58

Thanks to friend and foe alike for helping yesterday go by

Publish date: 2010-01-13 08:49:25

So far so good in campaign to remove discriminatory law

Publish date: 2010-01-11 09:48:15

Thanks to Will Hutton for talking sense on 'class war'

Publish date: 2010-01-10 12:56:48

In defence of airbrushed posters

Publish date: 2010-01-09 16:45:29

Fire is always best turned on the Tories

Publish date: 2010-01-07 15:41:19

On Hoon-Hewitt and John Prescott

Publish date: 2010-01-07 00:55:10

Sad and baffled to see Coyle go

Publish date: 2010-01-05 16:26:05

Cameron's wobble the product of his team saying what their audiences want to hear

Publish date: 2010-01-05 10:50:58

New Tory slogan - if you've got the cash, splash it on crap ads

Publish date: 2010-01-02 12:11:18

And the musicians of the decade were ... The Beatles and The King

Publish date: 2009-12-31 18:52:25

Prepare for avalanche of Ashcroft posters for Tories

Publish date: 2009-12-30 15:06:06

Here's Good Luck to you, Mrs Robinson

Publish date: 2009-12-29 12:22:42

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Publish date: 2009-12-24 13:36:05

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Publish date: 2009-12-23 16:48:00

A few crisis management tips for Eurostar

Publish date: 2009-12-22 11:49:35

Do we need same approach to booze as smoking?

Publish date: 2009-12-19 09:13:28

Prepare for tears, tantrums and an imperfect but miraculous Copenhagen conclusion

Publish date: 2009-12-18 10:23:03

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Publish date: 2009-12-16 11:13:21

Tiger cut off at the knees. I bet he'll be back

Publish date: 2009-12-14 11:03:17

Cameron Shameron on the need for new laws to clarify Ashcroft tax status

Publish date: 2009-12-13 17:06:56

When poor mental health creates great art ...

Publish date: 2009-12-12 15:21:13

Giggs gets my Sports Personality vote, but I'll miss the big moment

Publish date: 2009-12-11 13:56:15

Tough day for Labour, but tough questions for Tories too

Publish date: 2009-12-10 10:03:13

Alistair Darling's quiet authority key part of recovery.

Publish date: 2009-12-09 11:03:25

Clegg risks squeeze as election nears

Publish date: 2009-12-08 15:30:58

Copenhagen really matters. Guardian front page sets scene well

Publish date: 2009-12-07 10:26:33

Four years on, what do we think of Cameron's leadership?

Publish date: 2009-12-06 13:55:17

Boris and Waddles, an everyday tale of Tory croneyism

Publish date: 2009-12-05 09:53:35

The Speaker's wife is a credit to him, and spot on about Cameron's Toryism

Publish date: 2009-12-04 10:52:37

PMQs win for GB was a direct result of Cameron's strategic failure

Publish date: 2009-12-03 08:21:10

Cameron's conkers add to his problem with serious opinion

Publish date: 2009-12-02 10:59:45

Sarko at risk of riling Obama and GB. Cameron on conkers

Publish date: 2009-12-01 10:29:48

The life and death of the man who made the link between exercise and health

Publish date: 2009-11-28 11:37:29

Even top Tories think Dave and Co can't do piss up in a brewery

Publish date: 2009-11-27 20:51:29

Well done BBC Inside Sport. Shame on media for news blackout on Coulson bullying case

Publish date: 2009-11-26 13:59:57

Well done BBC in Mental Health Media awards. Looking forward to Inside Sport on depression tonight

Publish date: 2009-11-25 10:26:22

BBC main bulletin blackout on leaders' speeches bizarre

Publish date: 2009-11-24 10:17:48

Business right to be worried about Tory axe on RDAs

Publish date: 2009-11-23 10:17:12

Why should Brown and Cameron apologise for being seen to pay tribute to the war dead?

Publish date: 2009-11-22 11:12:38

Beware climate change denial dressed up as 'commonsense'

Publish date: 2009-11-21 12:54:27

Something for the weekend - a long lazy blog lifted from interviews

Publish date: 2009-11-20 12:35:23

If France and FIFA won't act on Thierry Henry, let's have a boycott of Gillette razors

Publish date: 2009-11-19 10:09:00

Never in the history of human taxation has so much been promised from so many to so few

Publish date: 2009-11-18 18:32:39

Tories far from 'effete and unfamiliar' when it comes to twisted tax priorities

Publish date: 2009-11-18 09:52:12

Two very different stories of depression

Publish date: 2009-11-17 17:17:11

Congrats to Ellie on PPB campaign, and Willy Hague on getting van Rompuy

Publish date: 2009-11-17 11:40:14

Private schools worse than State schools - unless it's drugs you're after. Discuss

Publish date: 2009-11-16 12:10:25

Fiona Millar 5 Toby Young 0

Publish date: 2009-11-15 13:18:38

Where we fight we win

Publish date: 2009-11-13 11:22:00

Good luck to Number 10 on 'lobby' review. And a big NO to the other PR

Publish date: 2009-11-12 14:39:11

Robert Enke RIP. May his death increase understanding of depression

Publish date: 2009-11-11 17:59:53

On the exploitation of grief to get Gordon

Publish date: 2009-11-11 08:59:01

Why Tories are not home and dry, and wrong to call GB callous

Publish date: 2009-11-10 13:00:20

Labour needs more of the winning mentality

Publish date: 2009-11-09 10:30:44

The scandal of friendship and the shame of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Publish date: 2009-11-07 10:53:53

US clarity of strategy required for full explanation on Afghanistan

Publish date: 2009-11-06 10:31:48

Just because he is French doesn't mean he's wrong

Publish date: 2009-11-05 10:58:46

Congratulations to David Cameron and Trevor Kavanagh

Publish date: 2009-11-04 10:34:36

Is there a Sun blackout on Cameron's dumping of 'cast iron guarantee' on Europe?

Publish date: 2009-11-03 20:37:04

Johnson seems to get it on immigration. Right on advisors advising too

Publish date: 2009-11-03 11:58:59

Public opinion on climate change - the public might be the problem

Publish date: 2009-11-02 11:37:23

In praise of Stephen Fry, who should tweet or not as he sees fit

Publish date: 2009-11-01 09:29:34

John Sergeant spot on re TB. TB's Olympics legacy. Liam Gallagher's generosity

Publish date: 2009-10-30 11:50:44

Conservative contortions on Europe and Blair

Publish date: 2009-10-29 11:44:12

Two-jobs Osborne suffering credibility deficit

Publish date: 2009-10-28 09:14:22

Canaries win AC spin award with dark nights productivity survey

Publish date: 2009-10-27 09:41:48

Blair - dead big in Japan!

Publish date: 2009-10-26 17:21:17

No complacency, variants on a theme

Publish date: 2009-10-24 09:48:46

Griffin may have been dreadful, but there can be no complacency

Publish date: 2009-10-23 11:57:29

Margaret Hodge MP on how to fight the BNP

Publish date: 2009-10-22 16:48:39

Thanks to Charlie Falconer and Dominic Grieve - yes, I know he is a Tory

Publish date: 2009-10-21 17:24:18

On Biscuitgate, barmy Tory policy, and BNP v Generals

Publish date: 2009-10-21 10:36:15

More on Obergruppenfuhrer Dacre, Biscuitgate and Bullingdon Conservatism

Publish date: 2009-10-20 12:16:37

Biscuitgate and Susan Boyle, no win territory for GB

Publish date: 2009-10-19 12:31:00

Hating the Mail - a mindset worth having

Publish date: 2009-10-17 11:28:12

A line by line guide to the Mail statement on Gately article outrage

Publish date: 2009-10-16 19:12:36

Hit the Mail where it hurts

Publish date: 2009-10-16 16:36:02

Talking Cameron and Obama with US Democrats. Progressive Convervatism? No, he can't

Publish date: 2009-10-16 10:02:40

Inspired by kids' green passion

Publish date: 2009-10-14 18:24:13

Good news on leukaemia, good news on student activism

Publish date: 2009-10-13 08:24:21

Musings from Bertie Ahern, and how I won the Nobel prize for literature

Publish date: 2009-10-12 09:26:18

Continuing double standards in the media

Publish date: 2009-10-11 11:36:21

The best policies in Cameron's speech were those of Labour Big Government

Publish date: 2009-10-08 17:07:40

Tongues slipping all over the place

Publish date: 2009-10-08 09:00:07

Cameron confuses strategy and tactics and puts Union at risk

Publish date: 2009-10-07 10:29:26

Osborne inspires apathy at BBC Leeds

Publish date: 2009-10-06 16:01:59

Let's see more of the Tory candidates please

Publish date: 2009-10-06 09:23:11

Labour needs to fight on record to stop Tory vandalism

Publish date: 2009-10-05 14:28:40

VacuDave goes all peevish at difficult questions. Bring on the debates

Publish date: 2009-10-04 23:33:52

Lots of joking around in Jersey, though nothing as hysterical as Dave's Europe position

Publish date: 2009-10-03 10:31:22

On The Sun, Obama in Copenhagen and Alistair McGowan on the loo

Publish date: 2009-10-01 10:59:49

Sun switches ain't wot they used to be

Publish date: 2009-09-30 10:17:14

Darling and Mandelson show what I mean by authenticity

Publish date: 2009-09-28 16:28:18

Serious Politics 1 Low Journalism 0

Publish date: 2009-09-27 11:55:54

Media's love for Cameron should be turned into a weakness

Publish date: 2009-09-26 10:30:03

Time for ministers to stand up and fight

Publish date: 2009-09-25 09:40:26

Today's media double standards watch

Publish date: 2009-09-24 09:29:45

Breaking News - GB wins award, Lib Dems face all ways

Publish date: 2009-09-23 09:43:49

Why authenticity is the key to comms, and why Merkel will win

Publish date: 2009-09-22 08:29:13

Why I love NHS walk-in centres

Publish date: 2009-09-21 12:13:03

Here goes with the smoked Salmond

Publish date: 2009-09-20 10:40:21

Breaking News - Cameron's vacuousness an impersonator's nightmare

Publish date: 2009-09-19 11:06:09

Cameron has an army of spin doctors - aka journalists

Publish date: 2009-09-18 10:07:06

On Scottish independence, Cameron's short-termism, and Jimmy Carter being right

Publish date: 2009-09-17 09:56:56

Is Cameron Alex Salmond's Trojan Horse?

Publish date: 2009-09-15 10:13:42

On the TUC, Roy of the Rovers and Anna Wintour

Publish date: 2009-09-14 11:04:46

Memo to Apple boss Steve Jobs

Publish date: 2009-09-13 17:36:31

A day in the life of a (crap) City trader

Publish date: 2009-09-11 17:52:25

Defend record with pride, attack Tories with gusto

Publish date: 2009-09-10 11:06:36

Cameron's Conservatism beyond parody

Publish date: 2009-09-09 10:38:00

On transforned cities, and tales of Princess Di and Laura Bush

Publish date: 2009-09-08 09:45:54

Labour should put minister up against Griffin on Question Time

Publish date: 2009-09-06 12:39:56

School speech the latest source of right-wing frothing at Obama

Publish date: 2009-09-05 08:23:02

More horse's mouth, less Beeb blah please

Publish date: 2009-09-04 22:49:20

Real respect for sport can be Olympic legacy

Publish date: 2009-09-04 09:27:34

First ladies watch out for Japanese bombshell

Publish date: 2009-09-03 10:47:19

TV debate - good idea in theory, but ...

Publish date: 2009-09-02 15:37:43

'No worries' - the new response to thanks

Publish date: 2009-09-01 12:25:19

Tremors of Japanese political earthquake will be felt far and wide

Publish date: 2009-08-30 15:50:54

Pressure on Ed Miliband can help get a climate change deal

Publish date: 2009-08-28 13:39:08

Why Tories and media cannot stomach GCSE success story

Publish date: 2009-08-27 16:03:34

Exposing the absurdity of Chris Grayling

Publish date: 2009-08-26 13:20:19

Joy and beauty and a night of magic

Publish date: 2009-08-20 10:55:11

Twitter NHS backlash good for Obama

Publish date: 2009-08-14 15:44:49

A lifetime's ambition fulfilled

Publish date: 2009-08-08 16:59:02

Breaking the blog-a-day spell as warm up to holiday

Publish date: 2009-07-20 17:44:49

No hiding place from Twitter, me on the bike, JP in DC

Publish date: 2009-07-17 18:17:09

At last - something Obama cannot do well

Publish date: 2009-07-16 10:05:47

Will MPs take the lead in the debate on euthanasia?

Publish date: 2009-07-15 12:30:01

Berlin brothel leads the way to a greener world

Publish date: 2009-07-14 10:57:25

A time for GB to explain the whole picture

Publish date: 2009-07-13 12:37:54

All hail Monty, Jimmy and Collie!

Publish date: 2009-07-12 20:06:36

First triathlon of the summer for me, education award for Fiona

Publish date: 2009-07-12 09:43:06

Of Burnley's friendly and Obama's wandering eye

Publish date: 2009-07-11 12:38:52

Two great early morning moments

Publish date: 2009-07-10 10:27:07

Cameron had better be sure he's right

Publish date: 2009-07-09 11:06:22

Guardian scoop has big questions for press, cops and Cameron

Publish date: 2009-07-08 20:40:54

Divisive legend: Lance Armstrong

Publish date: 2009-07-07 10:38:23

First hug a hoodie, now grab a gay

Publish date: 2009-07-06 12:57:09

Mail on Scumday's wonderful account of Lansley's kipperdom

Publish date: 2009-07-05 13:14:51

Ecclestone undermines his own success with alarming views on Hitler

Publish date: 2009-07-04 14:04:04

When the conmen move more quickly than the council

Publish date: 2009-07-03 10:19:52

Andrew Lansley done up like a kipper

Publish date: 2009-07-02 10:10:52

A day spent interviewing footballers, then being interviewed by a transvestite comedian

Publish date: 2009-07-01 14:47:40

When the power of black eyes fades

Publish date: 2009-06-30 09:24:59

Farewell to Henry Hodge

Publish date: 2009-06-29 20:41:12

Honouring the power of sport to do good

Publish date: 2009-06-29 14:49:42

Andy Murray is a winner. Is that why some Brits don't like him?

Publish date: 2009-06-28 09:19:20

New Parliament will look very different. The younger the better

Publish date: 2009-06-27 17:34:26

Two nice surprises, sad end to day

Publish date: 2009-06-26 09:16:33

Apology from the Spectator on Iraq boosts Henry Hodge fund

Publish date: 2009-06-25 19:57:26

Thanks to Mr Harper on mental health, rebuttal of Mr Hague on Iraq

Publish date: 2009-06-24 23:47:54

Glad to find Eric Cantona in a quiet cinema ...

Publish date: 2009-06-24 00:46:23

By Dave's friends shall we know him?

Publish date: 2009-06-23 11:30:20

The Speaker has to balance tradition and change - but defend Parliament

Publish date: 2009-06-22 11:58:44

Less a blog than an apology for not having done one

Publish date: 2009-06-21 20:07:43

The day Lions skipper Paul O'Connell took my trousers down

Publish date: 2009-06-20 11:48:28

On the Iraq inquiry, Independent article wrong

Publish date: 2009-06-19 20:28:24

Thank you to three readers, now please get involved

Publish date: 2009-06-19 09:13:35

A tribute to a lovely man

Publish date: 2009-06-18 17:19:40

Bad times in Belfast, great day for Burnley, odd statement from Ed Balls

Publish date: 2009-06-18 10:04:47

A plea for five-figure cyber-donations

Publish date: 2009-06-17 07:40:42

On two inquiries

Publish date: 2009-06-16 08:57:39

From India to Iran to Labour wit

Publish date: 2009-06-15 10:13:17

Memories of Princess Diana

Publish date: 2009-06-14 09:54:55

A House Divided?

Publish date: 2009-06-13 02:53:47

A humbling NHS experience, a media row and a good GB speech

Publish date: 2009-06-12 10:48:46

Psychiatrists heading for relegation in 'disease prestige' league table

Publish date: 2009-06-11 10:25:35

The shrinks await

Publish date: 2009-06-10 09:44:16

As Obama fights for healthcare, let's celebrate the record here

Publish date: 2009-06-09 12:52:55

Anger at BNP seats must be turned into activism

Publish date: 2009-06-08 14:11:10

Can today be as frenzied as Friday?

Publish date: 2009-06-07 10:31:04

Take heart from a win in Lambeth

Publish date: 2009-06-06 18:46:40

JP is right there was no proper campaign but Tories still weak

Publish date: 2009-06-05 13:47:20

Do we care more about the NHS or moats?

Publish date: 2009-06-04 00:21:23

Guardian of social justice or attention-seeker?

Publish date: 2009-06-03 10:19:33

Who says Britain can't deliver the best?

Publish date: 2009-06-02 08:08:38

Mainstream has a duty to vote against BNP

Publish date: 2009-06-01 11:03:29

Let Diversity inspire a vote against the hate-filled BNP

Publish date: 2009-05-31 12:24:20

White House whack at UK media well-timed but sure to be ignored

Publish date: 2009-05-30 13:41:00

Elvis has a plan to make MPs King again

Publish date: 2009-05-29 12:09:44

At least there's a campaign on in Italy

Publish date: 2009-05-28 09:04:32

A blow to gay rights and a boost for Cameron's short-termism

Publish date: 2009-05-27 11:27:41

It's my blog and I'll be a big kid if I want to

Publish date: 2009-05-26 23:25:58

Highs feel better after so many lows

Publish date: 2009-05-26 10:13:12

Only one present counts

Publish date: 2009-05-25 11:05:46

Contrast Cheney and Bush

Publish date: 2009-05-24 12:11:45

Sex (or at least the female form) obsessed Britain

Publish date: 2009-05-23 20:49:57

Sport at both ends of the financial spectrum

Publish date: 2009-05-23 09:57:23

Stronger together - whether Scotland or expenses

Publish date: 2009-05-22 10:22:36

Back to Number 10, familiar faces, familiar arguments

Publish date: 2009-05-21 10:14:34

Speaking up for Parliament

Publish date: 2009-05-20 11:44:17

Peace in the Middle East - yes he can

Publish date: 2009-05-19 09:37:35

Breaking news - one frenzy at a time

Publish date: 2009-05-18 10:34:30

Getting a good look at Vince Cable

Publish date: 2009-05-17 09:36:55

How do you solve a problem like Silvio?

Publish date: 2009-05-16 09:32:21

It was the internet wot won it

Publish date: 2009-05-15 10:04:57

There now follows ... a good whack at Cameron

Publish date: 2009-05-14 17:21:28

They got their kit off - so you get your cash out

Publish date: 2009-05-14 07:41:11

Expenses row must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wage

Publish date: 2009-05-13 16:12:08

We love you Burnley, we do ... what a night

Publish date: 2009-05-13 02:37:17

A tweet cannot express the wonders of TGV

Publish date: 2009-05-12 08:48:31

It's Mind week - Get it off your Chest with me and Stephen Fry

Publish date: 2009-05-11 06:29:15

Hate the Mail, love Obama

Publish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00

Burnley 1 Reading 0 - a biased report

Publish date: 2009-05-09 21:26:32

MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet again

Publish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19

Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?

Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23

Musings from a sleepless night

Publish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49

Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be righted

Publish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29

Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinks

Publish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02

Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for Cameron

Publish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30

More Mr Benn and Co please

Publish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00

Going Fourth with JP

Publish date: 2009-05-02 18:25:41

Journalism - print first, think later

Publish date: 2009-05-02 09:10:01

In praise of two poets

Publish date: 2009-05-01 10:26:36

JP hits the road again

Publish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11

My night with Eddie Izzard

Publish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25

Explaining the 50p top tax rate

Publish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53

George Best and Martin McGuinness

Publish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35

Cameron confused over indepdendence and impartiality

Publish date: 2009-04-26 12:20:56

Guide ro Marathon running part 2

Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34

Good signals on coal and the Olympics

Publish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28

Tips for the London Marathon

Publish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27

Missed the Budget, saw why it mattered

Publish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31

Football good, politics bad. Allegedly

Publish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24

The Great Wall gets greater

Publish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22

Two sides to police story

Publish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54

Budgets, Balls, billionaires and Susan Boyle

Publish date: 2009-04-19 12:31:45

Do muscles have memories?

Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44

Bring back standing at football

Publish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22

When Facebook friends fall out

Publish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16

Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agenda

Publish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16

The spin is all in the prism

Publish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41

A setback, not a crisis

Publish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19

The real lessons from Damian McBride

Publish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47

Will English always be the dominant language?

Publish date: 2009-04-11 10:02:02

On the pipes and what makes a Scot

Publish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20

John Prescott lazy? NO WAY

Publish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31

David Frost is seventy

Publish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38

The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pm

Publish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31

Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missiles

Publish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24

When a call matters more than protocol

Publish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42

Green Cities Champions League

Publish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53

Could Cameron have delivered the G20 deal?

Publish date: 2009-04-03 10:11:59

Of Benn and Bono

Publish date: 2009-04-02 08:21:16

Memo to Sarko - allez vite a Londres

Publish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17

Happy April Fool's Day

Publish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05

Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpas

Publish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22

Why Kevin Rudd made an impact

Publish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41

Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 process

Publish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28

The Damned United

Publish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04

A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sport

Publish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23

Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed about

Publish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36

A sad sight of the old fearing the young

Publish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07

Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?

Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02

Learning the right lessons from Obama

Publish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15

Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy Ken

Publish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14

Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometown

Publish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09

Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?

Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13

Life beyond Dover ...

Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21

My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20

Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22

Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chess

Publish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13

The Age of Stupid

Publish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13

Is all change good?

Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06

The pressure of being a post-modern sex god

Publish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55

Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with business

Publish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49

Stand up for social workers

Publish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17

Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinner

Publish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25

Start of a new approach from Labour?

Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12

A peace process still strong

Publish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05

Day of destiny for the real footballer of the year

Publish date: 2009-03-08 09:21:06

Private advice to Peggy Mitchell - the leaked note in full

Publish date: 2009-03-07 08:17:21

Boris, the Tories and the tummy-tickling poodle press

Publish date: 2009-03-06 09:49:37

A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporter

Publish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47

GB - good speech, well delivered

Publish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05

Notes on the environment, a role in EastEnders

Publish date: 2009-03-04 10:58:56

She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!

Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59

Some speeches matter more than others

Publish date: 2009-03-02 12:04:45

Mental health and the Carling Cup Final

Publish date: 2009-03-01 09:08:17

Inside the chocolate factory

Publish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59

GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy Kyle

Publish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36

Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!

Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12

Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?

Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59

Me, Dermot and ten top songs

Publish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19

Names round-up

Publish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39

What's in a name?

Publish date: 2009-02-21 09:58:14

Editing the New Statesman

Publish date: 2009-02-20 11:42:36

Salute Peter M’s proper use of the F word

Publish date: 2009-02-19 09:58:58

Labour's communications challenge for the NHS

Publish date: 2009-02-18 10:34:39

In praise of Keighley

Publish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57

A night at the Emirates

Publish date: 2009-02-17 00:06:51

When marriage is tested

Publish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35

Spare me the myths and the whining

Publish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50

Dave Cameron - is that all there is?

Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55

Boris Johnson: F is for ...

Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10

The Cameron vacuum

Publish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33

Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culture

Publish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47

Eighteen interviews later ...

Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45

Time to talk about Time to Change on Newsnight

Publish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49

So that’s what they mean by online community?

Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51

First blog

Publish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57