http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics Latest news and features from guardian.co.uk, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:22:40 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds 15 http://image.guardian.co.uk/sitecrumbs/Guardian.gif http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/david-miliband-unions-labour-leadership/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/14985?ns=guardian&pageName=Unions+set+out+their+price+for+backing+David+Miliband+as+next+Labour+lea%3AArticle%3A1447559&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=David+Miliband%2CLabour+leadership%2CDave+Prentis+%28Society%29%2CUnions+%28UK%29%2CLabour%2CPolitics%2CSociety%2CUK+news&c5=Society+Weekly%2CPolicy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Toby+Helm&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447559&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FDavid+Miliband" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Unison leader warns leadership frontrunner that he must abandon New Labour's strong preference for privatisation</p><p>David Miliband, the Labour leadership frontrunner, must ditch his attachment to Blairite policies on privatisation and globalisation if he is to avoid splitting the party, the leader of Britain's biggest public sector union insists today.</p><p>Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, said that Labour was at a watershed moment in its relations with the unions and accused the elder Miliband of having been part of a New Labour elite which caused untold "trauma" to public sector workers and sought to "beat up" unions. The comments, in an interview with the <em>Observer</em> before next week's trades union congress, are part of an attempt by the unions to reassert their influence, after years of being sidelined, as the Labour party prepares to choose a new leader.</p><p>They also suggest that after the new leader is announced on 25 September, Labour will be plunged into a heated argument at its party conference on its future direction. Prentis, whose union is backing the more left-leaning Ed Miliband in the election, said that Ed Miliband reflected the values of the 1.4 million public sector Unison members "far better than the other candidates".</p><p>However, recognising that the race is tight and that David Miliband could win, he spelt out a set of clear conditions which the elder brother must meet if he was to unite the movement behind him and make Labour electable.</p><p>Prentis said he would want to work with David Miliband and rejected any suggestion that the union would threaten to withdraw funding for Labour. But he added: "At the same time he [David] is very much part of the New Labour agenda which did seek on many occasions to beat up the trade unions&nbsp;... part of a New Labour agenda which is very comfortable with our members going through the trauma of privatisation."</p><p>Prentis argues that the present coalition government, with its plans to widen private sector involvement in schools and hospitals, is in many senses a natural successor to New Labour. "What New Labour did has provided the floor for what the coalition is now doing, and David was very much part of that."</p><p>He said that the party would not stomach a return to Blairite policies that would risk plunging it into renewed infighting. The challenge, he maintained, was to renew the party at local level through returning to "our values, which are the same as Labour party values".</p><p>He added: "We will not go back to a New Labour agenda based on privatisation, and fragmentation and globalisation that we have had over the past few years." His comments show that a win for David Miliband will open the way for a difficult and tense period as the party thrashes out the direction of its policy and arguments about who determines its future direction.</p><p>Tony Blair insisted in the memoirs he published last week that Labour lost the last election because Gordon Brown rejected New Labour policies and turned to the left.</p><p>Prentis said that the unions were gearing up to regain a greater role in policymaking. He said that they would unite behind a vote allowing the Labour party conference – where they have 50% of the votes – to vote on policy rather than just make recommendations.</p><p>He also called for reform of the party's national policy forum, a body seen as toothless by the unions, to give ordinary members a greater input into policy. "We don't seek to dominate the party. We don't seek to dominate the government. But we expect to be able to play a constructive role within the party itself and stand up for our values, which are the same as the Labour party's values.</p><p>"We [the unions] can provide the organisation. We are a voice for the good in developing Labour party policy, keeping it on the mainstream," he said.</p><p>David Miliband, the former foreign secretary and a protege of Tony Blair, has insisted that New Labour remains "alive and well", though he believes the party's policy programme needs thorough renewal. He insists, however, that the era of Blair and Brown is over and that he will shun sectional politics.</p><p>Ed Miliband, in contrast, says that New Labour is dead and that the party must reject its slide towards "brutal" American-style capitalism.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davidmiliband">David Miliband</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labourleadership">Labour party leadership</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/daveprentis">Dave Prentis</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tradeunions">Trade unions</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tobyhelm">Toby Helm</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/J_w-6s8lCeHR8wHkuzSPK69x7EY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/J_w-6s8lCeHR8wHkuzSPK69x7EY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/J_w-6s8lCeHR8wHkuzSPK69x7EY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/J_w-6s8lCeHR8wHkuzSPK69x7EY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> David Miliband Labour party leadership Dave Prentis Trade unions Labour Politics Society UK news The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/david-miliband-unions-labour-leadership Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:24 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/04/john-prescott-phone-hacking-scandal/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/46129?ns=guardian&pageName=John+Prescott+furious+over+unrevealed+link+to+phone-hacking+scandal%3AArticle%3A1447557&ch=Media&c3=Obs&c4=News+of+the+World+phone-hacking+scandal%2CJohn+Prescott%2CAndy+Coulson+%28Media%29%2CDavid+Cameron%2CPress+and+publishing%2CNewspapers%2CNews+of+the+World%2CNational+newspapers+UK+%28media%29%2CMedia%2CPolitics%2CUK+news&c5=Press+Media%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CMedia+Weekly&c6=Toby+Helm%2CJamie+Doward&c7=10-Sep-04&c8=1447557&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Media&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FMedia%2FNews+of+the+World+phone-hacking+scandal" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Documents held by Metropolitan police suggest News of the World targeted former deputy prime minister</p><p>John Prescott tonight demanded the Metropolitan police reopen its investigation into the <em>News of the World</em> phone-hacking scandal as the <em>Observer </em>revealed that Scotland Yard holds News International documents suggesting that he was a target when deputy prime minister.</p><p>Two invoices held by the Met mention Prescott by name. They appear to show that News International, owner of the <em>NoW</em>, paid Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the heart of the scandal, for his help on stories relating to the deputy PM. Lord Prescott spoke of his anger that the information, spelled out in a letter from the Yard's legal services directorate, emerged only after he was given a series of personal reassurances by detectives at the highest level that there was "no evidence" his phone may have been hacked.</p><p>The invoices are both dated May 2006, at a time when Prescott was the subject of intense media scrutiny following revelations that he had had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. There is also a piece of paper obtained from Mulcaire on which the name "John Prescott" is written. The only other legible word on this document is "Hull".</p><p>The name "Prescott" appears on two "self-billing tax invoices" from News International Supply Company Ltd to Mulcaire's company, Nine Consultancy.</p><p>The Yard's letter, obtained by the <em>Observer</em>, states: "One appears to be for a single payment of £250 on 7/5/2006 labelled 'Story: other Prescott Assist -txt.' The second, also for £250, on 21/5/2006 contains the words 'Story: Other Prescott Assist -txt urgent'."</p><p>The legal services directorate adds: "We do not know what this means or what it is referring to."</p><p>In a statement to the <em>Observer,</em> Prescott said he formed the impression that the police were more intent on withholding information relating directly to him. "I have been far from satisfied with the Metropolitan police's procedure in dealing with my requests to uncover the truth about this case," he said.</p><p>"It seemed more about providing the least possible amount of information. I only discovered from the Metropolitan police that News International and Mulcaire were targeting me after repeated requests and in the end it came from their legal department, not the investigating officers."</p><p>Prescott said the letter showed there was "a compelling argument to reopen the police investigation and fully report on the findings to the public".</p><p>He added that he was pressing for full disclosure of all documents – including the invoices – and was prepared to seek their release through a judicial review. "We need far greater transparency to ensure not only that justice is done but that it is seen to be done."</p><p>Prescott's intervention follows a week in which the phone-hacking row was reignited by investigations carried out by the <em>New York Times</em> which raised questions about Scotland Yard's enthusiasm for pursuing the inquiry. The row has intensified the pressure on Andy Coulson, David Cameron's director of communications, who was editor of the <em>NoW</em> at the time of the scandal.</p><p>Peter Mandelson also became embroiled in the row last night with the <em>Independent on Sunday</em> revealing his mobile phone details were among lists of private data seized by police investigating illegal activity by <em>News of the World</em> reporters.</p><p>With MPs due to return to Westminster tomorrow, Labour leadership contenders Ed Balls and Ed Miliband said the allegations threw Cameron's judgment into question.</p><p>Balls called for the home secretary, Theresa May, to make an immediate statement about the phone-hacking affair to the Commons. He said: "This goes to the integrity of the criminal law, proper investigation and government communication, and there will be questions over David Cameron's judgment if he doesn't see the seriousness of this now.</p><p>"We need to know that this is going to be properly investigated. It does go to the heart of the integrity of communications in government. When there are now serious and new allegations and questions over Andy Coulson's integrity, that's something which has to be sorted out quickly and I hope David Cameron will do so. You can't just dismiss this as a piece of politics."</p><p>Miliband later said: "Instead of sending out a junior minister to just dismiss the allegations and not even engage with them, we need to hear from David Cameron and senior people in the Conservative party about what Andy Coulson's response is to these clear and detailed allegations. Until that happens, a cloud will hang over Andy Coulson, and indeed the government, because this is the man in charge of the government's media machine. He is not some junior office boy – this is someone at the highest level of government."</p><p>Prescott has placed intense pressure on the Met to reveal what material it has on him. Last September, the Met's assistant commissioner, John Yates, assured him there was no evidence to suggest his phone had been hacked. But Naz Saleh, the Met's assistant director of legal services, then admitted, following a further search, that it held information suggesting that Prescott had been a "person of interest to Mr Mulcaire".</p><p>The international development minister, Alan Duncan, said: "The Labour party – in a concerted campaign through Ed Miliband, Lord Prescott and Alan Johnson – have piled in to attack Andy Coulson about something that happened years ago in order to try to attack the government."</p><p>In a statement released yesterday, the <em>News of the World</em> said: "The <em>New York Times</em> story contains no new evidence – it relies on unsubstantiated allegations from unnamed sources or claims from disgruntled former employees that should be treated with extreme scepticism given the reasons for their departures from this newspaper."</p><p>A spokeswoman for News International declined to comment on information appearing to show it paid Mulcaire for help relating to stories about Prescott. However, NI sources said it often paid for help during its many investigations and the invoices – if genuine – were no proof of illegality.</p><p>The Met said no new evidence had emerged and "consequently the investigation remains closed".</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking">News of the World phone-hacking scandal</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/johnprescott">John Prescott</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/andy-coulson">Andy Coulson</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davidcameron">David Cameron</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pressandpublishing">Newspapers & magazines</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newspapers">Newspapers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newsoftheworld">News of the World</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/national-newspapers">National newspapers</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tobyhelm">Toby Helm</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jamiedoward">Jamie Doward</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FlHUtOUZgdo9EG4AFQqqvgWB7nI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FlHUtOUZgdo9EG4AFQqqvgWB7nI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FlHUtOUZgdo9EG4AFQqqvgWB7nI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FlHUtOUZgdo9EG4AFQqqvgWB7nI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> News of the World phone-hacking scandal John Prescott Andy Coulson David Cameron Newspapers & magazines Newspapers News of the World National newspapers Media Politics UK news The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/04/john-prescott-phone-hacking-scandal Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:39:12 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-book-signing-dublin/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/71193?ns=guardian&pageName=Tony+Blair%27s+book+signing+in+Dublin+mixes+Good+Friday+with+bad+Iraq%3AArticle%3A1447546&ch=World+news&c3=Obs&c4=World+news%2CTony+Blair%2CNorthern+Ireland+%28News%29%2CBooks&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Tim+Adams&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447546&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=World+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Protesters chanted 'Butcher Blair', but others noted his achievements for peace in Northern Ireland</p><p>Literature and politics have always laid claim to Dublin's O'Connell Street, bookended by statues of James Joyce and Catholic emancipator Daniel O'Connell. Tony Blair, in his modest way, was no doubt hoping connections would be made with both traditions by choosing to launch <em>A Journey </em>here yesterday morning.</p><p>Easons bookshop has been on this site since 1917, the year after the Easter Rising, which began on the steps of the GPO next door. By starting his brief book tour here, the former prime minister was italicising those chapters concerning the Good Friday agreement, of which he is most proud. Having read most of memoir overnight, I would have to say the Joycean association also holds true, however. Not for the deathless prose, but for the affinities with that other rambling self-obsessive, Leopold Bloom in <em>Ulysses</em>.</p><p>All first-time authors dream of stopping the traffic; with the assistance of a security operation costing tens of thousands of pounds, Blair managed to bring a large part of the Saturday morning city to a halt. By the time he arrived in a blacked-out motorcade, and was hustled in through the bookshop doors under an umbrella and past the three-for-two offers, O'Connell Street and Dublin's main tramline had been shut all morning. The store was hemmed in on two sides. Those waiting in line at the side entrance for a chance to buy a book outnumbered those arguing that he "shouldn't be writing books, he should be doing time", out at the front, by about three to one.</p><p>Literary criticism comes in many forms, but the Stop the War Coalition are not the most nuanced of deconstructionists. As any writer will testify, the most demoralising response to a book signing is to stay away, leaving the author grinning at the back of the shop, brandishing his pen in expectation.</p><p>Instead, 100 or so protesters kept up a chorus of "Butcher Blair" for nearly three hours outside the bookshop entrance (no doubt outraged about Tony's grasp of syntax and services to cliché). A smattering of stones and coins landed around the car as he drew up and three people were arrested after a scuffle.</p><p></p><p>Blair knows this audience, he confides in his memoir, though on this evidence he seems to have given up on his confidence that even he, the great communicator, can reach them. "We are like two people standing either side of a thick pane of glass trying to have a conversation," he observed of his public at one point. "I thought and still think they could be persuaded, but when I spoke they couldn't hear me and after a time they stopped trying to."</p><p>Some were determined in Dublin that these glass walls should be broken down; a few protesters even went to the trouble of queueing to make their judgments on his book in person. Kate O'Sullivan, a 24-year-old from Cork, and a member of the "Irish Palestinian Solidarity Movement", got past the concentric rings of security that involved Garda and Special Branch and Emergency Response Units, and while Blair scribbled his signature informed him: "Mr Blair I am here to make a citizen's arrest for the war crimes you have committed." She was dragged away, she said, by five security people.</p><p>Others didn't get that far. Niall Farrell, whose sister Mairead was, he says, "killed in Gibraltar by another British prime minister in 1988", had "wanted to give Blair a taste of Iraqi hospitality by hurling his shoe" at the author.</p><p>He had worn his slip-on Birkenstocks especially, but didn't make it past the scrutiny of the bookshop muscle. "The worst of it was," he said, "I had already bought a book by the time I was turned out." After some protest he managed to secure a refund.</p><p>However, at least as many had come to support Blair as to protest. A local man named John O'Connell expressed the sentiment of several others when, clutching his book under his arm, he explained: "I know Iraq is going to be written on his gravestone, but there should be a place there on it for what he has done for peace in Ireland also."</p><p>He was glad he came, though the experience was surreal. "You hand over your wallet, your phone and your address, then you get a ticket. You exchange that for a wristband, then you are brought up to the second floor by escalator, you are taken around and around the bookstacks past a cordon of Garda and special branch, in a loop, and your book is taken off you, and he signs it and says hello."</p><p>Personal greetings were apparently outlawed, along with anything in the way of authorial small talk.</p><p>Despite an apocalyptic thunderstorm, some had been here since two in the morning. At the front of the queue a Wimbledon-style bonhomie prevailed. Third in line Patrick Marshall said he had travelled down straight after Blair's appearance on RTE's <em>Late, Late Show</em> on Friday night because he felt he wanted to show support for a man who was getting "far too much stick. I mean he was asked whether his son Leo was planned or not..."</p><p></p><p>The television interview dwelt on Blair's conversion to Catholicism, a subject of much debate among those seeking an audience in Dublin. They are disappointed to discover that, despite the spiritual connotation of his title, his book strangely doesn't do God. Though he says towards the end that "religion always interested him more than politics" there is, I tell them, not a mention of a prayer or even a biblical reference. The solitary reference to the saviour is the messiah complex that Jonathan Powell attributes to him. The only index entry under "church" is Charlotte, who once sang at a rally.</p><p>The signing lasts for two hours, during which time the protesters are joined by the Hare Krishna proprietors of an Indian restaurant, who come out to drum up custom. Among the last to emerge are two who epitomise the contradictions that Blair's book, with its curious mix of wide eyed naivety and towering hubris, seems designed to excite.</p><p>Aidan Walsh, an IT manager from Tyrone, got up at 4am to drive down to Dublin. "Because I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, I've never been to a book signing before. I went to school when the hunger strikes were on; we all knew those who had been shot and killed, and if any single man put a stop to it, it was probably him. I wanted to acknowledge what he had done."</p><p>Brendan Pierce was less enamoured. "I felt I had to go and see the gobshite in person," he said. "It's surreal in there. I had to hand the book over. He looked at me. I said to meself, 'What's he got to smile about?' I was going to throw it at him, throw it back in his stupid smiling face, but they've thought of that. They take the book off you first." As he walked away he dropped the signed first edition in the nearest bin.</p><p>The author himself appears serenely unaware of both his devotees and his critics. For a man who claims to have had premonitions of John Smith's death in 1994, who suggests straight- faced that he discovered much of his philosophy for foreign policy while watching <em>Schindler's List</em>, who is prepared to write of his sense of destiny to become prime minister "this is mine. I know it and I'll take it", none of this probably seems too unusual.</p><p>He is removed from the building without seeing the light of day, driven at high speed to the next leg of <em>A Journey</em> that shows no sign of getting less surreal.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/northernireland">Northern Ireland</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/timadams">Tim Adams</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/lNvVLulCBA2UiKOi2uw94XQFEP8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/lNvVLulCBA2UiKOi2uw94XQFEP8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/lNvVLulCBA2UiKOi2uw94XQFEP8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/lNvVLulCBA2UiKOi2uw94XQFEP8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> World news Tony Blair Northern Ireland Books The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-book-signing-dublin Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:22 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/michael-gove-baccalaureate-gcse/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/18299?ns=guardian&pageName=Michael+Gove+wants+baccalaureate+qualification+for+England%3AArticle%3A1447681&ch=Politics&c3=Guardian&c4=Michael+Gove%2CEducation+policy%2CPolitics%2CGCSEs%2CSchools%2CEducation%2CEd+Balls&c5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CEducation+Weekly+Education%2CSchools+Education&c6=Patrick+Wintour&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447681&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FMichael+Gove" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Pupils with five GCSEs would gain the proposed certificate as 'special recognition', says education secretary</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The education secretary, Michael Gove, today announced plans to combat the decline in exam standards by proposing an English baccalaureate qualification to recognise the achievements of GCSE students who complete a broad course of studies.</p><p>The "English bac" would not replace GCSEs, but would be a certificate to reward pupils who pass at least five of the exams, at grade C or above including English, maths, one science, one foreign language and one humanity. "If you get five GCSEs in those areas, I think you should be entitled to special recognition," Gove said.</p><p>The details will be set out in a white paper in the autumn, but Gove will flesh out some aspects in a speech tomorrow, seen by Labour as an attempt to divert attention from the fact that he is only able to announce 17 new free schools.</p><p>Ed Balls, the shadow education secretary, said it was laughable that Gove claimed he was on course to succeed with plans for new schools set up by parents and teachers.</p><p>Gove also revealed plans to "declutter" A-levels, slimming down the number of modules and exams faced by students in order to allow them more time for extra-curricular pursuits such as art, music and sport, as well as "deep study" in their chosen subjects.</p><p>Speaking on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, Gove said he wanted to "transform the accountability systems, the league tables, the whole qualification system in this country".</p><p>GCSE league tables obscured the exams pupils are taking and hide the flight from languages and tougher subjects such as science, his aides said. The education secretary was not seeking to instruct pupils what exams to take, but the baccalaureate would be a way of rewarding those that took a wider range of subjects.</p><p>Gove said the narrowing of the range of exams being taken was "depriving young people of the things they should get from education, which is a rounded sense of how to understand this world in all its complexity and richness. "If you don't understand science and you don't understand other cultures, you are deliberately cutting yourself off from the best that is going on in our world."Gove said he was "very attracted" by the baccalaureate systems operated by many European and Asian countries which deliver a broader educational curriculum than in England.</p><p>"One of the concerns about the English education system is that people's options are narrowed too early," he said.</p><p>"I am deeply concerned that fewer and fewer students are studying languages, it not only breeds insularity, it means an integral part of the brain's learning capacity rusts unused.</p><p>"I am determined that we step up the number of students studying proper science subjects. Asian countries massively outstrip us in the growth of scientific learning and they are already reaping the cultural and economic benefits."</p><p>The percentage of pupils gaining a baccalaureate would be included in school league tables, allowing parents to assess which schools were likely to give their children a broad academic education.</p><p>Gove's aides said the policy of "equivalence" introduced in 2004, under which vocational qualifications were given parity with academic exams when compiling league tables, had led to perverse incentives for schools to put children through easier courses.</p><p>Gove made clear that he intended to retain A-levels, but said it was important to ensure they "remain a proper preparation for university", and he has asked universities to contribute to reform of the system.</p><p>"There are parents who worry that what used to be a clear two-year run during the sixth form – when you had the chance to do sport and art and music as well as getting into deep study – has become cluttered up by too many modules, too many exams, which have led to too much time being spent weighing what you know and not enough time actually getting to grips with the subject," he said.</p><p>Balls said: "If Michael Gove was serious about making sure young people get a broad and balanced education, he would not be scrapping diplomas or saying vocational qualifications should count for less in school-to-school comparison."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/michaelgove">Michael Gove</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/education">Education policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/gcses">GCSEs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/schools">Schools</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/edballs">Ed Balls</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/patrickwintour">Patrick Wintour</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/pqxn7h9WMm9KgmjbEj2_IoxrmyI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/pqxn7h9WMm9KgmjbEj2_IoxrmyI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/pqxn7h9WMm9KgmjbEj2_IoxrmyI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/pqxn7h9WMm9KgmjbEj2_IoxrmyI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Michael Gove Education policy Politics GCSEs Schools Education Ed Balls The Guardian News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/michael-gove-baccalaureate-gcse Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:46:26 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/cartoon/2010/sep/05/blair-labour-memoirs/print <p>Chris Riddell on implications for Labour party after publication of former PM's memoirs</p><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/chrisriddell">Chris Riddell</a></div><br/><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/71e8enplvpngmfyf--KZZjM16tI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/71e8enplvpngmfyf--KZZjM16tI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/71e8enplvpngmfyf--KZZjM16tI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/71e8enplvpngmfyf--KZZjM16tI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Labour party leadership Labour Politics The Observer Editorial http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/cartoon/2010/sep/05/blair-labour-memoirs Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:58:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-gordon-brown-uk-troops/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/64700?ns=guardian&pageName=Tony+Blair+and+Gordon+Brown+let+UK+troops+down%2C+ex-army+chief+says%3AArticle%3A1447580&ch=UK+news&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Military+UK%2CRichard+Dannatt%2CUK+news%2CTony+Blair%2CGordon+Brown%2CPolitics%2CLabour&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Richard+Norton-Taylor&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447580&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=UK+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FUK+news%2FMilitary" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">General Sir Richard Dannatt hits out at former chancellor for failing to fund armed forces adequately and accuses Blair of lacking 'moral courage'</p><p>General Sir Richard Dannatt, the former head of the army, today unleashed years of bitter frustration at the way his troops were treated, accusing Tony Blair of lacking "moral courage" and Gordon Brown of being a "malign" influence by preventing the armed forces getting the funds they needed.</p><p>Damning criticism of his political masters, coupled with a stinging sideswipe at the present chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, appear in Dannatt's memoirs, Leading From the Front. They reflect the turmoil at the heart of a defence establishment trying to conduct extremely difficult military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during Labour's later years .</p><p>Dannatt, extracts of whose memoirs appeared in the Sunday Telegraph, did not make life easy for defence ministers as he publicly criticised the handling of the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath soon after his appointment as head of the army in 2006. He accepted a job as defence adviser to David Cameron, then leader of the opposition, before he left the army last year. While he forfeited potential support and influence, Dannatt's criticisms nevertheless reflect deep concerns expressed privately by many senior defence officials at the time and since his retirement. "If he felt so strongly why didn't he feel it necessary to resign?" said Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Helmand, southern Afghanistan.</p><p>Lord Guthrie, a former head of the army and chief of defence staff at the time of the Kosovo war, said: "Blair was supportive, Brown wasn't. Blair did not deliver Brown." The armed forces, and the army in particular, suffered because of the damaging clashes between Blair and Brown, Guthrie added.</p><p>"History will pass judgment on these foreign adventures in due course," Dannatt wrote referring to Iraq and Afghanistan. He added: "But, in my view, Gordon Brown's malign intervention when chancellor on the [1998 defence] review by refusing to fund what his own government had agreed fatally flawed the entire process from the outset. The seeds were there by sown for some of the impossible operational pressures to come."</p><p>Dannatt continued: "Why didn't Tony Blair resolve this problem ... I was forced to the conclusion that he lacked the moral courage to impose his will on his own chancellor."</p><p>Dannatt told the Sunday Telegraph: "To me it seems extraordinary that the prime minister, the number one guy, cannot crack the whip sufficiently to his very close friend apparently, his next door neighbour, the chancellor."</p><p>He also warned the coalition government that continuing the present rate of causalities in Afghanistan – where more than 100 service personnel were killed last year – was unacceptable. "We've got to have cracked it by 2014/2015. You couldn't ask an organisation to go on taking this level of causalities for 10 years."</p><p>The Ministry of Defence announced that a soldier from the Royal Scots Borderers, serving as part of a reconnaissance force in Helmand was killed in an explosion today in the Nad-e-Ali district.</p><p>Dannatt commented in his memoirs that Stirrup was a fast jet pilot who "although brilliant at what he did, could not have been expected to understand the sights, sounds and smells or the battlefield".</p><p>He added: "You don't have time to pick up body parts and decide who lives and who dies when you're in a cockpit flying at the speed of sound."</p><p>Stirrup is to retire as chief of the defence staff next month after the conclusion of the government's defence review. He will be succeeded by General Sir David Richards, who succeeded Dannatt as head of the army last year.</p><p>Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat's foreign and defence expert, told the Guardian today: "However well founded [Dannatt's] criticisms are, they will inevitably be dismissed as politically motivated." However, he added: "The current defence review must clearly take account of the volume of evidence that British forces were poorly provided for in the first instance in Iraq and Afghanistan."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/military">Military</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/richard-dannatt">Richard Dannatt</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/gordon-brown">Gordon Brown</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/richardnortontaylor">Richard Norton-Taylor</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tWr9C4kLS_U2291cSL3be3urj80/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tWr9C4kLS_U2291cSL3be3urj80/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tWr9C4kLS_U2291cSL3be3urj80/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tWr9C4kLS_U2291cSL3be3urj80/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Military Richard Dannatt UK news Tony Blair Gordon Brown Politics Labour guardian.co.uk News http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-gordon-brown-uk-troops Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:35:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/sep/05/letter-lord-mcintosh-of-haringey-obituary/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/17026?ns=guardian&pageName=Letter%3A+Lord+McIntosh+of+Haringey+obituary%3AArticle%3A1447652&ch=From+the+Guardian&c3=Guardian&c4=Politics&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Neil+Kinnock&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447652&c9=Article&c10=Obituary%2CLetter&c11=From+the+Guardian&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FFrom+the+Guardian%2F" width="1" height="1" /></div><p><strong>Neil Kinnock writes:</strong> Andrew McIntosh (<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/29/lord-mcintosh-of-haringey" title="obituary">obituary</a>, 30 August) was a man of great courage, made all the more impressive because it was so matter-of-fact. His reaction, for instance, to the Ken Livingstone putsch – which, within a day, deprived him as victor of the Greater London council election from leadership of the council – was to sustain his strong commitment to Labour and to London without any disruptive public resentment.</p><p>The same sense of duty born of undeviating democratic socialist ideals was shown when he fastidiously continued his party service in the House of Lords despite – astoundingly – not being made a minister immediately after the 1997 triumph.</p><p>The death of his beloved Naomi in 2006 shattered him but he literally worked his way from misery instead of succumbing to it. He and Naomi were, of course, true loving comrades – and they were incomparable hosts. No one who had the privilege of joining them in France could forget their laughter-filled hospitality – or the sight of Andrew leaping from a high wall with a splash that threatened to empty the swimming pool.</p><p>Characteristically, Andrew dealt with his long, pain-racked mortal illness with unassuming bravery. In that, as in so much of his life and work, he set matchless standards of dignity and valour.</p><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/neil-kinnock">Neil Kinnock</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OBCBmdf5xQ_9kEQGMT7-jMBEWxk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OBCBmdf5xQ_9kEQGMT7-jMBEWxk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OBCBmdf5xQ_9kEQGMT7-jMBEWxk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OBCBmdf5xQ_9kEQGMT7-jMBEWxk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Politics The Guardian Obituaries Letters http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/sep/05/letter-lord-mcintosh-of-haringey-obituary Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:32:05 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-interview-daybreak-itv1/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/88025?ns=guardian&pageName=Tony+Blair+to+appear+on+first+edition+of+Daybreak+breakfast+programme%3AArticle%3A1447577&ch=Politics&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Tony+Blair%2CPolitics%2CAdrian+Chiles+%28Media%29%2CITV%2CTelevision+industry+%28Media%29%2CMedia%2CUK+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CMedia+Weekly%2CTelevision+Media&c6=Press+Association&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447577&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Former prime minister to give first live TV interview since publication of memoirs to Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles</p><p>Tony Blair will join Christine Bleakley and Adrian Chiles on the sofa when Britain wakes up to a new early morning television show, Daybreak, tomorrow.</p><p>Former One Show hosts Bleakley and Chiles are reunited on ITV1's new breakfast programme, which begins at 6am.</p><p>Blair will be giving his first live UK television interview since the publication of his memoirs, A Journey.</p><p>Yesterday, the former prime minister faced a barrage of abuse when he was confronted by anti-war protesters at his first book signing in Dublin.</p><p>Bleakley said she hoped Chiles's "jolly demeanour" would help her cope with the early starts.</p><p>She said: "Not sure if I relish 3am wake-up calls, but I am sure Adrian's jolly demeanour will make it all the more enjoyable."</p><p>Prince Charles will appear on the show, broadcast from a new studio in London, on Friday.</p><p></p><p>Bleakley followed Chiles out of the BBC two months after he left when it emerged that Chris Evans was being lined up to take his place on the One Show on Fridays.</p><p>Chiles has hit out at the corporation, saying he and Bleakley were portrayed as greedy and put under "intolerable pressure" over their decision to quit.</p><p>He added: "They are trying to portray it as a classic big money move to ITV, which couldn't be further from the truth."</p><p>Daybreak replaces GMTV, which ended on Friday. Presenter Andrew Castle thanked the loyal viewers who watched it during a 17-year run.</p><p></p><p>He said: "Like all families, there have been squabbles along the way – but there has been no shortage of love, effort and perseverance, and we just want to say to the viewers who have been with us loyally, for a long time, thank you so much."</p><p>He wished Bleakley and Chiles all the best, saying: "Fingers crossed for them, really good luck."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/adrian-chiles">Adrian Chiles</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/ITV">ITV</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/television">Television industry</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FULwFgoU8pMl1v5ZeND4HmaBzUQ/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FULwFgoU8pMl1v5ZeND4HmaBzUQ/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FULwFgoU8pMl1v5ZeND4HmaBzUQ/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FULwFgoU8pMl1v5ZeND4HmaBzUQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Politics Adrian Chiles ITV Television industry Media UK news guardian.co.uk News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-interview-daybreak-itv1 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:51:24 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/richard-dannatt-defence-spending/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/91297?ns=guardian&pageName=Labour%27s+policy+on+Iraq+was+%27fatally+flawed%27+says+former+army+chief%3AArticle%3A1447572&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Defence+policy%2CRichard+Dannatt%2CIraq+%28News%29%2CTony+Blair%2CGordon+Brown%2CUK+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPolicy+Society&c6=Gavriel+Hollander&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447572&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FDefence+policy" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">General Sir Richard Dannatt attacks Tony Blair and Gordon Brown over split on spending levels</p><p>The former head of the army has accused Tony Blair of lacking "the moral courage" to stand up to Gordon Brown over defence spending in Iraq.</p><p>General Sir Richard Dannatt, the army's chief of general staff from 2006-09, said in his new book that Labour's defence policy was "fatally flawed" by Brown's unwillingness to provide the level of spending required and by Blair's inability "to impose his will on his own chancellor". He added that evidence for Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction was "most uncompelling" and labelled postwar planning an "abject failure".</p><p>In the book, <em>Leading From The Front</em>, Dannatt launched a damning attack on Labour's defence policy under Blair and Brown.</p><p>"History will pass judgment on these two foreign adventurers in due course, but in my view Gordon Brown's malign intervention when chancellor, on the SDR [Strategic Defence Review] by refusing to fund what his own government had agreed, fatally flawed the entire process from the front," he wrote.</p><p>While Dannatt claimed that 1998's SDR provided a "good framework" for the government's defence policy, it was hamstrung by underspending. "The seeds were sown for some of the impossible operational pressures to come," he said.</p><p>The accusations come in the same week that Blair published his memoirs in which he offered a passionate defence of his foreign policy.</p><p>However, in an interview in the <em>Sunday Telegraph</em>, Dannatt claimed that the Labour leadership "did not fully understand or fully appreciate the pressures the army was under".</p><p>He said: "I felt it was pushing a rock up a steep hill pretty much all the way through. It was frustrating because from the land forces' point of view, we always do our job, but we knew we couldn't do it as well because we hadn't got the resources we needed."</p><p>Dannatt also accused Brown of being "not particularly interested in defence" and Blair of being unable to impose his will on his chancellor. "To me it seems extraordinary that the prime minister, the number one guy, cannot crack the whip sufficiently to his very close friend, the chancellor, and say: 'We're doing this in the national interest, Gordon, you fund it'."</p><p>Dannatt acted as an adviser to David Cameron in the run-up to the general election but quit the post earlier this year.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/defence">Defence policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/richard-dannatt">Richard Dannatt</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iraq">Iraq</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/gordon-brown">Gordon Brown</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/f9zBJqNo0N_KDq8rJfjeV21emYo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/f9zBJqNo0N_KDq8rJfjeV21emYo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/f9zBJqNo0N_KDq8rJfjeV21emYo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/f9zBJqNo0N_KDq8rJfjeV21emYo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Defence policy Richard Dannatt Iraq Tony Blair Gordon Brown UK news The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/richard-dannatt-defence-spending Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:25 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/portugal-decriminalising-personal-drug-use/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/42252?ns=guardian&pageName=Britain+looks+at+Portugal%27s+success+story+over+decriminalising+personal+%3AArticle%3A1447555&ch=Politics&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Drugs+policy+%28Politics%29%2CDrugs+illegal+%28Society%29%2CPolitics%2CSociety%2CUK+news%2CPortugal+%28News%29%2CWorld+news&c5=Society+Weekly%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CPolicy+Society%2CCommunities+Society&c6=Peter+Beaumont%2CMark+Townsend%2CToby+Helm&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447555&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FDrugs+policy" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">System would see those caught with drugs for personal use sent to a 'dissuasion board' instead of being prosecuted</p><p>British officials are examining a pioneering Portuguese anti-drugs programme that decriminalises possession of substances including heroin and cocaine.</p><p>Controversial when it was first introduced almost a decade ago, the move has turned possession into an "administrative offence", which sends those caught with drugs for personal use to a so-called dissuasion board rather than having them prosecuted.</p><p>The board, which consists of social workers and psychologists who interrogate users on their drug habit, has the power to impose a variety of sanctions, including fines, or recommend treatment. Users caught with drugs more than once are ordered to appear at police stations or a doctor's&nbsp;surgery.</p><p>According to a senior official at the institute for drugs and drug dependency at Portugal's ministry of health, it was approached by the UK government about a month ago for advice on how it had managed its drugs programme since 2001.</p><p>Home Office sources said yesterday they were looking at various models and programmes during a consultation period over a new drugs strategy and that the government was talking to a number of experts to ascertain what worked. The consultation had been expected to lead to a more abstinence-based approach to tackling drug use.</p><p>It follows the recent resurgence in the debate over Britain's drug policies which saw Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, who recently stepped down as head of the Royal College of Physicians, call for the government to reconsider "decriminalising" all drug possession. His comments followed similar remarks by Nicholas Green QC, chairman of the Bar Council of England and Wales, who said it was "rational" to consider "decriminalising personal drug use".</p><p>He added that he had also been persuaded by an article in the <em>British Medical Journal</em>, which argued that the prohibition of drugs had been "counterproductive", making many public health problems worse.</p><p>Officially, however, ministers remain resistant to the idea of decriminalisation. A Home Office statement yesterday said: "The government does not believe that decriminalisation is the right approach. Our priorities are clear; we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug-related crime and disorder, and help addicts come off drugs for good."</p><p>David Cameron and Nick Clegg stated their support for drug law reform before entering frontbench politics. As a member of the home affairs select committee inquiry into drug misuse in 2002, Cameron voted in favour of a recommendation that the then government moved to discuss alternative policies "including the possibility of legalisation and regulation".</p><p>In the same year, Clegg also supported the legalisation of drugs – including measures for heroin to be made available under medical supervision – while he was a member of the European parliament.</p><p>The approach to Portugal, which has seen a fall in levels of petty crime associated with addicts stealing to buy drugs, as well as a drop by a third in the number of HIV diagnoses among intravenous drug users, is significant. Despite decriminalisation, it levies more fines than the UK and drug use has not increased. Those opposed to similar moves in the UK have used the same arguments as the opponents of decriminalisation in Portugal.</p><p>The drugs minister, James Brokenshire, has indicated that the ultimate aim is to help the 210,000 problem drug users in treatment to achieve a drug-free life. Most are "maintained" on synthetic opiates, rather than pushed towards abstaining.</p><h2>Experiments in tolerance</h2><p><strong>Portugal</strong></p><p>In <strong>2001</strong>, Portugal became the first country in Europe to officially abolish criminal penalties for possession of drugs intended for personal use. Spiralling addiction rates and rising costs in combating the sale and use of drugs forced politicians to act. Those found guilty of possessing small amounts are sent to a panel made up of a psychologist, a social worker and a legal adviser who will suggest appropriate treatment. Officials claim that the policy is working and that addiction rates have fallen.</p><p></p><p><strong>The Netherlands</strong></p><p>The Dutch classify cannabis in all its forms as a soft drug and the smoking of it, even in public, is not prosecuted. A system of licensed "coffee shops" is tolerated, and cannabis, although technically illegal, can be bought and sold in small amounts for personal consumption. Some Dutch politicians have moved to tighten these controls in response to worries about the approach encouraging drug tourism. The trafficking and sale of drugs remains illegal.</p><p></p><p><strong>Switzerland</strong></p><p>Zurich's Platzspitz Park allowed a needle exchange project for heroin addicts in the <strong>mid-1980s</strong>. Addicts openly brought heroin and injected themselves knowing that local police were ordered not to patrol the park. The experiment ended after the number of addicts in the park rose from a few hundred in 1987 to more than 20,000 in 1992.</p><p></p><p><strong>Colombia</strong></p><p>In <strong>February 2009</strong>, former presidents of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico said that the war on drugs was a "complete failure". César Gaviria, Henrique Cardoso and Ernesto Zedillo, all conservative politicians, called for a new strategy based on public health, including the legalisation of marijuana.</p><p></p><p><strong>UK</strong></p><p>In <strong>October 2009</strong> the UK's chief drugs adviser, Professor David Nutt, was sacked for contradicting government advice on the harm caused by certain drugs. Nutt claimed that taking ecstasy is statistically no more dangerous than horse riding.</p><p><strong>US</strong></p><p><strong>1996 </strong>Californian voters passed Proposition 215, allowing for the sale and medical use of marijuana for patients with Aids, cancer and other serious and painful diseases. The marijuana has to be recommended for approval by a California-licensed physician. The sale of medical marijuana is subject to local taxes.</p><p><strong>May 2010 </strong>President Obama embarks on an agenda for tackling drug use with greater emphasis on prevention and "harm reduction". This signalled a step change from the "war on drugs" approach favoured by President Nixon 40 years earlier.</p><p></p><p><strong>August 2010 </strong>Mexican president Felipe Calderón urged world leaders to at least debate the issue of legalising drug use. The beleaguered president spoke out after new figures showed that 28,000 people had been killed in Mexico's current drugs wars.</p><p></p><p><strong>2004</strong> In series three of the TV drama <em>The Wire</em>, right, a drugs-tolerance zone in a rundown area of Baltimore, known as Hamsterdam, is endorsed by the local police. The fictional experiment had mixed results, but the programme stirred debate with viewers.</p><p><strong>Jason Rodrigues</strong></p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/drugspolicy">Drugs policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/drugs">Drugs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/portugal">Portugal</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/peterbeaumont">Peter Beaumont</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/marktownsend">Mark Townsend</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tobyhelm">Toby Helm</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/LKM--X63wwd7eFVw4IQSDrbNRMg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/LKM--X63wwd7eFVw4IQSDrbNRMg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/LKM--X63wwd7eFVw4IQSDrbNRMg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/LKM--X63wwd7eFVw4IQSDrbNRMg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Drugs policy Drugs Politics Society UK news Portugal World news guardian.co.uk News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/portugal-decriminalising-personal-drug-use Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:23 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/andy-coulson-david-cameron-editorial/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/43005?ns=guardian&pageName=Shine+a+light+on+the+murkiness+at+the+heart+of+Downing+Street+%7C+Observer%3AArticle%3A1447549&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=Obs&c4=Andy+Coulson+%28Media%29%2CDavid+Cameron&c5=Press+Media%2CNot+commercially+useful&c6=Editorial&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447549&c9=Article&c10=Editorial&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Comment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FComment+is+free" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Andy Coulson's role in the phone-tapping scandal threatens to undermine his and David Cameron's credibility</p><p>Editors of tabloid newspapers often make enemies. An essential part of their trade, as with all journalism, requires the airing in public of things that rich, powerful and famous people would prefer were kept secret. At best, that is a&nbsp;vital service to democracy; at worst, it is salacious&nbsp;intrusion.</p><p>Government spin doctors also make enemies. But, by definition of the job, they also have friends in high places. So Andy Coulson, former editor of the <em>News of the World</em>, now David Cameron's director of communications, has surely amassed a rich array of allies and foes in the worlds of media and politics.</p><p>All of which makes it very hard for the public to know what to make of allegations that he has lied about the extent of his knowledge of illegal phone hacking by journalists under his command.</p><p>Mr Coulson has always strenuously denied that he knew his underlings were breaking the law to break stories. Former staff say that is untrue and that the boss knew everything.</p><p>It is, of course, easy to be disparage the "dark arts" of tabloid reporting alleged to be rife at the <em>News of the World</em>. But there is a boundary between legitimate journalistic investigation that might sometimes require forms of subterfuge to unearth a story in the public interest, and snooping around on the wrong side of the law for the simple sake of a good scoop. Different media outlets and different journalists have their own sense and ethical judgment about where that boundary falls. It isn't always clear.</p><p>It does not help, meanwhile, that there is a much greater flow of information and tips between police and reporters than either would readily acknowledge in public, and which might make the former reluctant to launch criminal investigations against the latter.</p><p>The Metropolitan Police's role in the whole affair is hardly less murky than Andy Coulson's. Many of those who suspect their phones were hacked have tried in vain to establish whether that&nbsp;was, in fact, the case. New questions about the&nbsp;extent to which the police might have withheld&nbsp;that information from senior politicians are&nbsp;&nbsp;raised by reports in today's <em>Observer</em>. It is becoming increasingly difficult to dispel the impression that, for whatever reason, the Met did not feel especially inclined to respond to claims of widespread phone hacking by journalists at the <em>News of the World</em> with the kind of investigative diligence that the allegations demanded.</p><p>There was an investigation when the allegations first surfaced; a reporter and a private detective were jailed. A rogue case, Mr Coulson said, an unfortunate exception. He unambiguously denied any complicity before a Commons select committee. That account does not match the one given in an article in today's <em>New York Times</em> of systematic hacking.</p><p>Either Mr Coulson lied about what he knew or he had a flimsy grasp of what went on in his newsroom. Either way, his qualification to run government media operations comes into question. So, by extension, does Mr Cameron's judgment in appointing him.</p><p>The first rule of being a spin doctor is not to become the story. Alastair Campbell broke that dictum in his row with the BBC over the "dodgy dossier" of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The career of Gordon Brown's media henchman Damian McBride ended when he appeared at the centre of allegations of a shabby smear operation.</p><p>Andy Coulson had been at the centre of a media furore that cost him his job before he went to work for the Conservatives. Surely the prime minister, then opposition leader, knew it was only a matter of time before his new appointee was in the headlines again.</p><p>That does not prove any wrongdoing. The truth in this matter is obscure. What investigation there has been is incomplete. But the prime minister must surely want to establish beyond doubt whether a pivotal figure in his administration is fit to be at the heart of power. He once said, in the context of another scandal, that "sunlight is the best disinfectant". A nasty pall of shabby practice has descended on Mr Coulson. He, too, would presumably like to have it dispelled in a thorough investigation. The prime minister should allow some of that famously purgative sunlight to shine on his communications director.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/andy-coulson">Andy Coulson</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davidcameron">David Cameron</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yaLtTQV4hfPjYPmpJ4igoh5Xu5Y/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yaLtTQV4hfPjYPmpJ4igoh5Xu5Y/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yaLtTQV4hfPjYPmpJ4igoh5Xu5Y/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yaLtTQV4hfPjYPmpJ4igoh5Xu5Y/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Andy Coulson David Cameron The Observer Editorials http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/andy-coulson-david-cameron-editorial Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:22 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/05/iraq-war-inquiry-iraq/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/6307?ns=guardian&pageName=Iraq+WMD+dossier+was+%27reviewed%27+to+match+Labour+spin%2C+memo+reveals%3AArticle%3A1447538&ch=UK+news&c3=Obs&c4=Iraq+war+inquiry+Chilcot+%28news%29%2CIraq+%28News%29%2CUK+news%2CForeign+policy%2CPolitics&c5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CUnclassifed+Contributors&c6=Chris+Ames%2CJamie+Doward&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447538&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=UK+news&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FUK+news%2FIraq+war+inquiry" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Foreign Office official wrote memo in 2002 about the need to 'avoid exposing differences' on Saddam's nuclear threat</p><p>A Foreign Office official involved in drafting the discredited dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction suggested that he might have to review an assessment of Saddam's nuclear capabilities so that it was in line with briefings from Labour spin doctors, an internal Whitehall memo shows.</p><p>The March 2002 memo, written by Tim Dowse, head of the Foreign Office non-proliferation department, and sent to a special adviser to the then foreign secretary, Jack Straw, has been obtained by the <em>Observer </em>under the Freedom of Information Act.</p><p>In the memo, Dowse complains his department had been given "no forewarning" of a paper the special adviser used to brief the Parliamentary Labour Party and later the cabinet, which effectively contradicted the official assessment of Iraq's nuclear capability.</p><p>Dowse's memo, which was copied to officials including Sir Michael (now Lord) Jay, then the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, complains that while the briefing claimed that "if Iraq's weapons programmes remain unchecked, Iraq could … develop a crude nuclear device in about five years", the government's official line was that "the Iraqi nuclear programme is not 'unchecked' ". This was an acknowledgement that sanctions against Saddam's regime had constrained his nuclear ambitions.</p><p>The briefing found its way into the press with newspapers claiming that "Saddam could develop a nuclear weapon within five years".</p><p>Dowse notes that the official line on Saddam's nuclear capability is used "in the draft public dossier on 'WMD programmes of concern' which the Cabinet Office are producing at No 10's request". He adds: "We clearly will now have to review that text, to avoid exposing differences with your paper."</p><p>That dossier was the controversial document alleged to have been "sexed up" under the influence of spin doctors.</p><p>Dr Brian Jones, the former head of the WMD section at the Defence Intelligence Staff, told the <em>Observer</em>: "At first glance the Dowse memo appears to be a shot across the bows of the political wing of the Foreign Office. However, looking closer, it suggests a willingness of officials to bend intelligence assessments to fit the political requirement."</p><p>In the <em>Observer </em>in July, Carne Ross, the UK's Iraq expert at the United Nations from 1997 to 2002, said the Foreign Office tried to dissuade him from referring to the memo in his written evidence to the Chilcot inquiry. Ross said: "It's safe to assume that they realised that this document is a clearly smoking gun, illustrating how the public exaggeration of the WMD threat proceeded."</p><p>A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are not going to comment on what witnesses might say, why the inquiry has called them, or what their lines of investigation should be."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/iraq-war-inquiry">Iraq war inquiry</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iraq">Iraq</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/foreignpolicy">Foreign policy</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/chrisames">Chris Ames</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jamiedoward">Jamie Doward</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2VhNzqWDGHFM6GvGB4PpRoENVYc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2VhNzqWDGHFM6GvGB4PpRoENVYc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2VhNzqWDGHFM6GvGB4PpRoENVYc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2VhNzqWDGHFM6GvGB4PpRoENVYc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Iraq war inquiry Iraq UK news Foreign policy Politics The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/05/iraq-war-inquiry-iraq Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:21 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/05/andy-coulson-phone-hacking-allegations/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/36426?ns=guardian&pageName=David+Cameron+and+Andy+Coulson%3A+the+PM%2C+the+PR+guru+and+a+scandalous+lap%3AArticle%3A1447532&ch=Media&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=News+of+the+World+phone-hacking+scandal%2CPress+and+publishing%2CNewspapers%2CNews+of+the+World%2CNational+newspapers+UK+%28media%29%2CMedia%2CWilliam+Hague%2CPolitics%2CAndy+Coulson+%28Media%29%2CNew+York+Times+%28Media%29%2CUS+press+and+publishing&c5=Press+Media%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CMedia+Weekly%2CMarketing+Media&c6=Jamie+Doward%2CPaul+Harris%2CToby+Helm&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447532&c9=Article&c10=&c11=Media&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FMedia%2FNews+of+the+World+phone-hacking+scandal" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Tory communications chief Andy Coulson is at the centre of a storm over the tone of William Hague's response to allegations about his aide and the New York Times probe into phone hacking at the News of the World</p><p>The stories emerged almost simultaneously. Shortly before the election, the Fleet Street grapevine learned that the <em>New York Times</em> had sent a team of Pulitzer prize-winning reporters to London to produce what it hoped would be the definitive account of the phone-hacking scandal at the <em>News of the World</em>.</p><p>Days later an equally intriguing story started to circulate in Westminster. The night of the third televised leaders' debate, William Hague had shared a twin room – the "Moet et Chandon", no less, in Birmingham's plush Hotel Du Vin – with his young male aide, Christopher Myers.</p><p>It was difficult to work out which story was more juicy, or indeed, explosive: the prospect of a shamed minister versus a titanic transatlantic battle between two powerful newspapers.</p><p>Hague, who was then shadow foreign secretary, must have been confident no whiff of scandal could attach to him. But as the innuendos swirled, the three-strong <em>New York Times</em> team were scouring London for sources to lift the lid on the <em>News of the World</em>'s darkest antics, a five-month investigation that has culminated with the publication of an epic narrative in the newspaper's <em>Sunday</em> magazine, published today.</p><p>As the smoke clears, the fallout from both stories will take time to assess. And while much is opaque some themes are becoming more apparent. Both stories share similar tensions: a ferocious media with an obsessive interest in the private lives of the great and the good; the fractious, often ambivalent relationship between journalists and politicians; the failure of Westminster giants to see how their closest aides can damage as well as protect them. If David Hare is seeking themes for his next play he need look no further.</p><p>For the play's protagonist he could draw inspiration from Andy Coulson, the editor of the <em>NoW</em> at the height of the phone-hacking scandal, who bestrides both tales.</p><p>Coulson, who started life as a reporter on Essex's <em>Basildon Echo</em> before rising to prominence as editor of the <em>Sun</em>'s "Bizarre" gossip column, is, the Tories' director of communications and a man who wields immense power across Westminster. It was Coulson who fell on his sword when Clive Goodman, the <em>NoW</em>'s royal editor, was convicted in 2007 for plotting to intercept voicemail messages left for royal aides, sometimes by members of the royal family; for that crime he served four months in jail.</p><p>A former footballer, Glenn Mulcaire, who ran Nine Consultancy, a private investigations firm which had a £100,000 contract with the <em>NoW</em>, was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to the same charge.</p><p>Coulson said he took responsibility for a scandal described by the judge as a "grave, inexcusable and illegal invasion of privacy". The court heard Mulcaire had also hacked supermodel Elle Macpherson, publicist Max Clifford, MP Simon Hughes, football agent Sky Andrew and the Professional Footballers' Association's chief executive, Gordon Taylor.</p><p>But six months after Coulson resigned from Rupert Murdoch's empire, Tory leader David Cameron decided to give him another chance. The gamble was to pay off in spectacular fashion two years later.</p><p></p><p>"Labour's lost it", the <em>Sun</em> proclaimed on its front page, a bomb detonated for maximum effect during Labour's party conference in Brighton last year. The one-time cheerleader for Blair said that after "12 long years" backing New Labour it had had enough. It was the first indication the Murdoch stable was turning. Before the 2005 election the <em>News of the World</em>, then under Coulson's editorship, had stuck by Blair and Labour. The paper told its readers: "The Tories are a Coca-Cola Championship team. Labour aren't Champions League material. But they <em>do</em> play in the Premiership. Tony Blair's squad are, on balance, the best team to be given the chance to take this great country forward."</p><p>But as this year's general election approached, stories started to surface suggesting the <em>NoW</em> had paid a number of alleged phone-hacking victims six-figure sums to settle their cases out of court. It was suggested the phone-hacking scandal under Coulson had been far more widespread than simply a rogue reporter briefing a private eye. Questions were asked as to whether Cameron would stand by his man. They clearly irritated the Tory leader.</p><p>Initially at least, Cameron's faith in Coulson paid off. The former journalist has been praised by some Lib Dems for not playing "tribal" politics in the coalition. "He's done his best to be open and friendly," said one source. "That has made a difference." But as with Hague's decision to share a room with a young male aide, Cameron's decision to retain Coulson has raised questions about his judgment.</p><p>He would have known the allegations about the phone-hacking scandal were not going to go away after the election. Indeed it was abundantly clear they would only intensify if Labour lost, an event that would release a pent-up desire among disgruntled former ministers to take on the <em>NoW</em> once they had nothing to lose by antagonising the paper and its all-powerful proprietor.</p><p>Quite why Cameron has been so protective of Coulson is open to conjecture. Certainly it helps that they share mutual friends. Coulson is a longstanding friend of Rebekah Brooks, formerly Wade, who edited the <em>Sun</em> from 2003 until she was elevated to a more senior management role at Murdoch's News International.</p><p>This connection gave Cameron an entry into a group that includes James Murdoch and his sister, Elisabeth, who is married to the publicist Matthew Freud. Wade's second husband is the old Etonian former racehorse trainer, Charlie Brooks. In April last year Cameron found time to go to the book launch of Charlie Brooks's thriller, <em>Citizen</em>. "I'm Charlie's MP," Cameron told the <em>Times</em>.</p><p>Another member of the social grouping that meets regularly in Oxfordshire is Nat Rothschild, who famously entertained George Osborne at his villa in Corfu in the summer of 2008. Rothschild, the fourth Baron Rothschild, is an exact contemporary of Osborne. They went to the same prep school and ended up at Oxford together. In the summer of 2008, Cameron and his wife Samantha were flown in Freud's private plane to meet Murdoch in his yacht, Rosehearty, off a Greek island. Afterwards, Cameron was flown to Turkey for a family holiday, and Murdoch went on to Corfu for his daughter's 40th birthday. The social connections between the new Tories and the Murdoch set are wide and deep.</p><p></p><p>Today the <em>NYT</em> finally delivers its judgment on what really happened at the <em>News of the World</em> under Coulson. In a 6,072-word piece, the paper claims Coulson "actively encouraged" phone hacking, an allegation he has consistently denied. The article also raised questions about how vigorously the Metropolitan police had pursued the case. Several unnamed sources told the <em>NYT</em> that the practice of phone hacking at the <em>NoW</em> had been endemic. One former reporter quoted in the article, Sean Hoare, who was fired from the paper after struggling with a drink and drug problem, said Coulson was well aware the practice existed and went on Radio 4 to denounce his former editor for encouraging a culture of "dark arts".</p><p>The picture painted by the <em>NYT</em> bolsters claims that the <em>NoW</em>'s newsroom under Coulson was "out of control" as former<em> Sunday Times </em>editor Andrew Neil memorably described it.</p><p>It was a high-octane environment. In her book <em>Tabloid Girl</em>, Sharon Marshall, a presenter on <em>This Morning</em> and an ex-<em>NoW</em> reporter, explained about working on the red tops: "You will find yourself in the oddest positions, doing the oddest things. You will have to lie, scheme, cheat, secretly tape, con and beg to get the stories. You must crash weddings, funerals and lives and try not to crash and burn yourself in the process."</p><p>Marshall explained how one journalist had "shadowy contacts with mobile phone firms who could hand over phone records for anyone you wanted". She writes: "This wasn't the only trick you could pull with a mobile phone. Dial any mobile number, enter one of a series of numerical codes and you can listen to all the voice messages which have been stored on the phone."</p><p>Marshall observed: "Oddly, although not one single journalist in the UK will ever admit to getting stories by this method, and everyone agrees it's a terrible, immoral thing to do, every journalist who has ever worked on any tabloid will know exactly how to do it and which codes you use."</p><p>Charlotte Harris of JMW Solicitors, who is representing around 25 alleged victims of the phone-hacking scandal, believes the newsroom's culture owed much to senior management. "There was a trigger-happy culture at the newspaper; you have to look at the food chain – you start with Murdoch and move down," she said. "I think initially it [phone hacking] was used to confirm stories they knew to be true, but then it got completely out of hand."</p><p>Significantly, Harris suggests she has seen evidence confirming the phone-hacking culture was not simply confined to the <em>NoW</em>. "I think I can say without breaching any confidences that Glenn Mulcaire wasn't working for just one newspaper," Harris said.</p><p>Indeed, Fleet Street's use of private eyes – sometimes for legitimate purposes – is extensive. In 2006, Richard Thomas, the then information commissioner, published the findings of "Operation Motorman", which had targeted a private investigator, Stephen Whittamore. According to Thomas's investigation, more than 50 <em>Daily Mail </em>journalists had bought material from Whittamore on 952 occasions. Other newspapers that had paid Whittamore included the <em>Daily Mirror</em>, the <em>NoW</em>, the <em>Observer</em> and the <em>Sunday Times</em>.</p><p>The <em>NYT</em>'s story was covered extensively by the <em>Guardian,</em> which had earlier broken a string of exclusives on the scandal. The BBC, too, carried the allegations, as did the <em>Independent</em>. But readers of the <em>Times</em>, until today, and the <em>Sun</em>, the <em>Telegraph</em> and the <em>Daily Mail</em> were left in the dark.</p><p>Harris described the partial media blackout as "scary". But for Fleet Street veterans it is unsurprising considering newspapers share common interests and owners.</p><p>The <em>NoW</em> was quick to repudiate the <em>NYT</em>'s attack, accusing the paper of having a disproportionate interest in the story simply because it was a rival to Murdoch's <em>Wall Street Journal</em>.</p><p>"What clearer conflict of interest is there than devoting such enormous resources over five months to investigating one of a rival group's newspapers and then seeking to publish unsubstantiated claims about the paper?" the paper asked in a robust response the <em>NYT</em> attached to its online article.</p><p>Diane McNulty, an executive director at the <em>New York Times </em>in charge of media relations, was adamant there was a simple reason why the "Old Grey Lady" would send its reporters to Britain for a massive, magazine-length story on the scandal. "We thought it was a compelling story," she said.</p><p>Nevertheless, in an age of austerity, when newsrooms across America are slashing budgets, it seemed an extraordinary effort to put into a foreign story. Would McNulty arrange an interview with someone at the newspaper who could talk about its huge investment in quality foreign reporting?</p><p>"We are just going to let the story speak for itself," she told the <em>Observer</em>. "It is all in there."</p><p>The impression that the <em>Journal</em> and the <em>NYT</em> are now locked in a deadly battle to become America's paper of record was reinforced earlier this year when one of the <em>Times</em>'s reporters writing the <em>NoW</em> piece, Don Van Natta, tweeted "the last great newspaper war" and added a link to an article analysing the two papers' enmity.</p><p>The epic conflict has not gone unobserved in other media. The latest edition of <em>Vanity Fair</em> carries a large piece devoted to the struggle between Murdoch and Arthur Sulzberger Jr, publisher of the <em>Times</em>. "I read the <em>Journal</em> a little less now," <em>Times</em> executive editor Bill Keller told the magazine. "I find that I can skim it in a way I couldn't before. If the <em>Journal</em> is gaining market share I'd guess it is more at the expense of <em>USA Today</em> than the <em>Times</em>."</p><p>The <em>Journal</em> has launched a separate section carrying New York news that is clearly aimed at competing with the <em>Times</em>. It is also capable of the sort of tabloid stunts common on Fleet Street but anathema to the more staid world of American journalism.</p><p>Earlier this year, in a montage of pictures illustrating an article about effeminate-looking men, the <em>Journal</em> used a picture of Sulzberger's chin.</p><p></p><p>Unsurprisingly, those in the Murdoch camp have tried to shrug off the impact of the <em>NYT</em>'s article. "A lot of what was written was old," said one Murdoch supporter. "There was no concrete evidence it [phone hacking] was widespread. It was not comfortable reading, but it was not killer stuff."</p><p>Nevertheless the story was potent. "It's got all the ingredients everyone loves," the source agreed. "Politics both left and right, Murdoch, lots of salacious allegations, it runs and runs."</p><p>How much further it runs depends on the Metropolitan police. Several politicians are furious the force did not release information warning them that they may have been potential victims of the scandal.</p><p>The <em>NYT</em> article quotes an unnamed former senior prosecutor on the case who was "stunned to discover later that the police had not shared everything".</p><p>On Friday, the law firm Bindmans announced it was seeking a judicial review into the police investigation on behalf of three clients: Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda, Brian Paddick, former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police, and Brendan Montague, a journalist and author.</p><p>Bindmans said in a statement: "They now understand they were potential targets of Glenn Mulcaire, but were not informed by the police at the time, in breach of the Metropolitan police's legal obligations. Bindmans have asked, on behalf of their clients, that the details of the claim be provided to all other potential victims who may have an interest in joining this claim. The police have so far refused."</p><p>Yesterday the former Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, claimed her phone had been hacked 28 times while former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said he was prepared to take legal action to force the police to reveal whether they had any evidence his phone may have been hacked.</p><p>Last year the Met's then Assistant Commissioner John Yates, one of Scotland Yard's most experienced detectives, confirmed the police would not be reopening their inquiry into the affair, saying no new evidence had come to light.</p><p>"This investigation has not uncovered any evidence to suggest that John Prescott's phone had been tapped," Yates said at the time.</p><p>But Prescott's new evidence – revealed in today's <em>Observer –</em> will intensify pressure on the Met to reopen its investigation, or at the very least release all the documents it is holding.</p><p>The former home secretary Alan Johnson has questioned the Met's handling of the investigation and said there may be a case for calling in the official Inspector of Constabulary.</p><p>The combined and orchestrated onslaught from former Labour ministers has led to accusations that the party is seeking to exploit the phone-hacking scandal for political expediency.</p><p>But while the damage done to Coulson – and by proxy Cameron – helps to explain their actions, there is also a darker, more subtle motivation. Some of Labour's anger against the Met can be traced back to the cash-for-honours scandal.</p><p>"It is not about us going for Coulson," said one well-connected Labour figure involved in the discussions about taking the phone-hacking case to judicial review. "It is more about the police. Why did Yates go raiding Ruth Turner's house [Turner was Tony Blair's political adviser who was subject to a dawn raid by police and arrested in January 2007, and released without charge]? They spent years on that when they seem to have spent a few days on this. We need to find out why the hell that is."</p><p>Last week Coulson and the <em>NoW</em> were once again under scrutiny. This time the newspaper was dominating the news agenda for all the right reasons – revelling in its exposure of the alleged cricket betting scandal that has sent shockwaves around the world.</p><p>Meanwhile questions were being asked about why Coulson had allowed Hague to release such a detailed, highly personal statement in response to rumours about his personal life that had been running on the internet.</p><p>The response, in which Hague admitted sharing a room with his aide and that he and his wife Ffion had been trying unsuccessfully for a baby, was slammed by veteran spin doctors, including one of the <em>NoW</em>'s alleged victims, Max Clifford, who declared it had turned a "small problem into a huge problem".</p><p>Days later it emerged that Coulson had met the BBC's head of news, Helen Boaden, to discuss the "context" the corporation intended to give to the government's forthcoming comprehensive spending review, a major source of concern for the Tories. The revelation prompted BBC director-general, Mark Thompson, to fiercely rebut claims the broadcaster was bending to the Tories.</p><p>But once again the story served to highlight the potentially explosive results that occur when the elemental worlds of politics and the media collide. It also emphasised how Coulson, as the bridge between both worlds, is particularly vulnerable. Christopher Myers, Hague's special adviser, was early collateral damage in this conflict, testimony to the old adage that when the aide becomes the story it is time for the aide to go.</p><p>Last night Number 10 indicated it was determined to ensure no such fate befalls Coulson, keeping him safe from harm, firmly protected in its bunker.</p><p>At least for now.</p><p></p><p><em>Additional reporting by Hayley Clark </em></p><h2>The unanswered questions</h2><p>• Does Andy Coulson stand by his claims that he knew nothing about phone hacking at the News of the World when he was editor, in light of allegations made in today's New York Times?</p><p></p><p>• Will the Metropolitan police share all the information it has on the affair with the alleged victims?</p><p></p><p>• Will Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary investigate the behaviour of the Metropolitan police officers who investigated the original allegations?</p><p></p><p>• Does Assistant Commissioner John Yates stand by his claim that the Met found no evidence to suggest that John Prescott's phone may have been hacked?</p><p></p><p>• Will the Met agree to launch a fresh investigation into the allegations?</p><p></p><p>• What steps will the UK's mobile phone companies take to reassure members of the public who are concerned that the scandal has highlighted how easy it is to hack phones?</p><p></p><p>• Will the government agree to hold a parliamentary debate into the scandal?</p><p></p><p>• Will the Press Complaints Commission launch a fresh investigation into the allegations?</p><p></p><p>• Does the government see merit in holding an independent inquiry into the scandal?</p><h2>Timeline of a scandal</h2><p><strong>2009</strong></p><p><strong>January</strong></p><p>Andy Coulson, aged 34, takes over from Rebekah Wade as editor of the News of the World. He installs a hyper-competitive ethos. Former reporters say hacking the voice-mail of targets was widespread.</p><p>2005</p><p><strong>November</strong></p><p>Three senior aides to the royal family notice that mobile phone voicemail messages they have never listened to are appearing in their mailboxes as if heard and saved. Personal details about Prince William begin appearing in News of the World articles. Aides begin to suspect that someone is eavesdropping.</p><p>2006</p><p><strong>January</strong></p><p>A police inquiry leads to Clive Goodman, the News of the World royal editor, and to a private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, who also works for the paper.</p><p><strong>April</strong></p><p>As police track Goodman and Mulcaire, the latter hacks into Prince Harry's mobile phone messages. Goodman runs an article quoting verbatim a voicemail that Prince Harry had received from Prince William.</p><p><strong>August</strong></p><p>Scotland Yard alerts five public figures that their phones may have been hacked: Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Footballers' Association; Simon Hughes, MP; Elle Macpherson, the model; PR agent Max Clifford; and Sky Andrew, a sports agent. Of the hundreds more who may have had their phones accessed, the police say they notified only those where issues of national security were involved. Mulcaire and Goodman are charged with conspiracy to intercept communications.</p><p><strong>August-November</strong></p><p>Scotland Yard officials consult with prosecutors on how broadly to proceed. But the officials do not discuss certain evidence with senior prosecutors, including clues that Mulcaire and Goodman may not have been alone in hacking voicemail messages.</p><p>2007</p><p><strong>January</strong></p><p>Mulcaire and Goodman sentenced to several months in prison. Coulson denies any knowledge of phone-hacking but resigns as editor.</p><p><strong>March</strong></p><p>Les Hinton, then executive chairman of News International, tells Commons Commons Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee he believes Goodman was 'the only person' who knew of the hacking.</p><p><strong>May</strong></p><p>Coulson is hired to head the Conservative party's communications team.</p><p><strong>July</strong></p><p>Goodman and Mulcaire sue the News of the World for wrongful dismissal. Court records show NI paid £80,000 to Mulcaire. Goodman gets an undisclosed amount.</p><p><strong>2008</strong></p><p><strong>June</strong></p><p>News Group Newspapers agrees to pay a settlement of £700,000 including legal expenses to Gordon Taylor, the soccer union head whose phone Mulcaire hacked.</p><p><strong>2009</strong></p><p><strong>July</strong></p><p>After new evidence is published in the Guardian about out-of-court settlements in other hacking cases, John Whittingdale, the select committee's chairman, says he feels misled by NI executives who testified that Goodman and Mulcaire acted alone. At new hearings, Coulson maintains he had been unaware of illegal activities, adding 'nor do I have any recollection of incidences where phone hacking took place'.</p><p><strong>2010</strong></p><p><strong>February</strong></p><p>The Commons committee criticises Scotland Yard's investigation and accuses News of the World executives of 'deliberate obfuscation'.</p><p><strong>March</strong></p><p>The Guardian reports that Max Clifford dropped a lawsuit after the News of the World agreed to pay him £1m. Lawyers begin rounding up clients and forcing Scotland Yard to reveal whether their names were among the files found in Mulcaire's home.</p><p><strong>May</strong></p><p>David Cameron, with the support of Murdoch's papers, becomes prime minister. Cameron rewards Coulson with the top communications post at 10 Downing Street.</p><p><strong>May</strong></p><p>Cameron holds private talks with Murdoch, who enters No 10 by a back door.</p><p><strong>September</strong></p><p>The New York Times Magazine posts a 6,000-word article about the affair on its website, alleging Coulson was aware of widespread phone-hacking, and quotes a former reporter, Sean Hoare, who says Coulson knew it had gone on. The article also raises questions about the thoroughness of the police investigation.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking">News of the World phone-hacking scandal</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pressandpublishing">Newspapers & magazines</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newspapers">Newspapers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newsoftheworld">News of the World</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/national-newspapers">National newspapers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/williamhague">William Hague</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/andy-coulson">Andy Coulson</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/new-york-times">New York Times</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/us-press-publishing">US press and publishing</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jamiedoward">Jamie Doward</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/paulharris">Paul Harris</a></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tobyhelm">Toby Helm</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/UdsHcWoadLRlTh4FM1uZFqSCcII/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/UdsHcWoadLRlTh4FM1uZFqSCcII/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/UdsHcWoadLRlTh4FM1uZFqSCcII/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/UdsHcWoadLRlTh4FM1uZFqSCcII/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> News of the World phone-hacking scandal Newspapers & magazines Newspapers News of the World National newspapers Media William Hague Politics Andy Coulson New York Times US press and publishing guardian.co.uk Editorial http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/05/andy-coulson-phone-hacking-allegations Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:20 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/coulson-murdoch-phone-tapping/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/2738?ns=guardian&pageName=What+the+Coulson+affair+tells+us+about+Murdoch%27s+lust+for+power+%7C+Will+H%3AArticle%3A1447527&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=Obs&c4=Andy+Coulson+%28Media%29%2CNews+of+the+World+phone-hacking+scandal%2CRupert+Murdoch+%28Media%29%2CNews+International%2CNews+of+the+World%2CPress+and+publishing%2CNewspapers%2CNick+Clegg%2CNews+Corporation+%28Media%29%2CNational+newspapers+UK+%28media%29%2CMedia%2CPolitics&c5=Press+Media%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CMedia+Weekly&c6=Will+Hutton&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447527&c9=Article&c10=Comment&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Comment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FComment+is+free" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The Andy Coulson allegations have highlighted the shabby nature of media regulation in this country</p><p>What wealthy people do with their media empires is contentious in all western democracies. Ownership is not just a source of private profit; it is a source of public power, a means to shape the world to suit one's interests. Politicians court editors and proprietors for the very good reason that they can deliver votes and move opinion.</p><p>Which is why most democracies have developed complex rules about media ownership. Britain, dumb to its importance, has the lightest of touches. We impose no nationality requirement; we do not tightly police the share of any media market held by one proprietor, nor make demands about limiting owners' power to take ownership chunks across the media domains; we do not even care much about preventing market dominance. The assumption has been that lightly applied competition law, along with self-regulation, is all that is required, with little thought for any political and cultural consequences. It is, I submit, the attitude of a declining civilisation that is losing its pride and sense of national purpose.</p><p>Thus nobody turns a hair at the <em>Independent </em>titles, along with London's only evening newspaper, being owned by a Russian oligarch with alleged links to the former KGB. Richard Desmond, who made his fortune in pornography, can extend his media ownership from the <em>Express</em> titles to Channel 5 with no objection. The Barclay brothers, owners of the <em>Telegraph</em> titles, are domiciled in the Channel Islands. And most famously of all, Rupert Murdoch's News International (NI), already the dominant force in the British newspaper market, is emerging as the dominant actor in British television as well, courtesy of Sky, for which he is now bidding for complete control.</p><p>The only other country that approaches this extraordinary attitude to the nexus of media ownership and power is Italy – with baleful results.</p><p>Professor Manuel Castells, the great student of the new media age, analyses the emergence of "infocapitalists" who build self-reinforcing networks of business and political power by owning the production of information and knowledge. Silvio Berlusconi is the most important – the infocapitalist-cum-prime minister who shapes the law to accommodate the rise of his business empire and then shamelessly uses the consequent power to rally opinion behind his party and run slur stories on political opponents.</p><p>Bien pensant opinion in Britain shakes its head, believing such blatant self-interested use of media power could not happen here. But it could and it does. NI has no less cross-media power than Berlusconi's Mediaset, and while its owner is not an active politician it has become the principal playmaker in the British political and media scene, pursuing interests from regulation to who gets to govern. This is the context in which to understand the mounting crisis faced by Andy Coulson, the prime minister's press secretary, over the potential extent of illegal mobile telephone-tapping into the voicemails of the famous while he was editor of the <em>News of the World</em>, the flagship Sunday tabloid of the News International stable.</p><p>Today, the <em>New York Times </em>magazine publishes new evidence from journalists on the paper during Coulson's editorship insisting that mobile phone-tapping was extensive, as initial Scotland Yard inquiries suggested, but which NI has consistently denied. NI argues that it was confined to former royal reporter Clive Goodman, who spent some months in prison for the offence which triggered Coulson's own resignation. Last week, another reporter on the paper was suspended, again, we believe, for suspected telephone-tapping. Coulson has consistently said he knew nothing of more tapping beyond Goodman's and refuses to comment further.</p><p>There is the usual criticism that, at the very least, Coulson is exposed as having poor judgment: if he didn't know about it, he should have. By inference, the same charge supposedly sticks to his boss, David Cameron. But Cameron is obliged to accept his press secretary's word, unless there is the strongest of proof otherwise. Coulson is not just good at his job, he has the advantage of having an extensive network inside NI, Britain's most powerful infocapitalist. This is the Berlusconi effect, British style. It is not a pretty sight.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Even if the telephone-tapping was as isolated as NI and Coulson claim, what is on the record was conducted with astonishing impunity. Editors knew there would be little comeback. The Press Complaints Commission, whose investigation into the affair was embarrassingly and inevitably limp, constituted no threat. Moreover, NI has a large cheque book. More ominously, the <em>New York Times</em> has spoken to detectives at Scotland Yard who believe that the Met did not want to take its investigations any further beyond Goodman; nobody wanted to get on the wrong side of NI.</p><p>While Labour in opposition is highly exercised over the affair, in government it was beyond feeble. The former home secretary Alan Johnson may now want the police investigation reopened; in office, he no more wanted to offend NI in the run-up to an election than the Met. Tessa Jowell says her phone was mysteriously tampered with 28 times. Why no action when in power?</p><p>NI is ambitious to shrink the BBC, entrench Sky's power into a de facto monopoly, further to make itself the arbiter of British politics while using the profitability of its UK operation to support its global ambition. David Cameron has privately and passionately assured at least one top TV executive I know that he is not in Murdoch's pocket, but he also does not want to lose his press secretary. Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems have a golden opportunity. They should not add to the firestorm over Coulson unless he is clearly guilty, but insist as a quid pro quo upon the establishment of a media commission, along the lines of the banking commission (one of the Lib Dems' and Vincent Cable's best achievements) to examine Britain's media ownership and competition rules. A plural and diverse British media, underpinned by a strong BBC, should be at the heart of Lib Dem thinking and policy.</p><p>Intriguingly, not one Labour leadership candidate has called for such a commission, nor spelled out how they would deal with infocapitalism and private media power. Clegg could show his critics that the coalition does have a liberal dimension, that he is not Cameron's stooge and contrast his stance with Labour's chronic temporising.</p><p>Who will defend Britain from its Berlusconisation? Just now, the Lib Dems may be all we have.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/andy-coulson">Andy Coulson</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/news-of-the-world-phone-hacking">News of the World phone-hacking scandal</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/rupert-murdoch">Rupert Murdoch</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newsinternational">News International</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newsoftheworld">News of the World</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pressandpublishing">Newspapers & magazines</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/newspapers">Newspapers</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/nickclegg">Nick Clegg</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/news-corporation">News Corporation</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/national-newspapers">National newspapers</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/willhutton">Will Hutton</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-hsZK0y3JinfaLAv7jAjo60RP2w/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-hsZK0y3JinfaLAv7jAjo60RP2w/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-hsZK0y3JinfaLAv7jAjo60RP2w/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-hsZK0y3JinfaLAv7jAjo60RP2w/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Andy Coulson News of the World phone-hacking scandal Rupert Murdoch News International News of the World Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Nick Clegg News Corporation National newspapers Media Politics The Observer Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/coulson-murdoch-phone-tapping Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:19 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-drugs-debate/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/40694?ns=guardian&pageName=What+Britain+could+learn+from+Portugal%27s+drugs+policy%3AArticle%3A1447520&ch=World+news&c3=Obs&c4=Drugs+policy+%28Politics%29%2CPortugal+%28News%29%2CDrugs+illegal+%28Society%29%2CHealth+%28Society%29%2CSociety%2CPolitics%2CWorld+news&c5=Society+Weekly%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CPolicy+Society%2CHealth+Society%2CCommunities+Society&c6=Peter+Beaumont&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447520&c9=Article&c10=Feature&c11=World+news&c13=The+Observer+drugs+debate+%28series%29&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FDrugs+policy" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">A decade ago Portugal took a radical new approach to illegal drugs by treating users as people with social problems rather than as criminals. Could it work in the UK?</p><p>Susannah is being treated in the physiotherapy unit of the Centro das Taipas, a vast, pink former mental institutution close to Lisbon's airport, where she is having hot towels pressed on to her lower back. Built during the second world war, the wards of wing 21B are these days committed to the treatment of drug addiction.</p><p>Susannah is a long-term drug user and is intelligent but troubled. She first smoked cannabis at 13. At 17, she began taking heroin with the father of her children. Now 37, she has been dependent on drugs – mostly heroin – for almost two decades.</p><p>"I lived in Spain for a while," she tells me. "And London for a year, working in the restaurants with a friend. I went there to try to get off drugs but ended up on crack." These days, however, Susannah, who also suffers from a bipolar disorder, is one of the beneficiaries of Europe's most tolerant drug regime. For in Portugal, where Susannah lives, drugs have not only been decriminalised for almost a decade, but users are treated as though they have a health and social problem. Addicts such as Susannah are helped by the law, not penalised and stigmatised by it.</p><p>In the midst of the recently resurgent debate in Britain about whether our drug laws are working – or require a major overhaul – the experience of Portugal has become a crucial piece of evidence in favour of a radical approach that has confounded the expectations of even its conservative critics, so much so that in the last month British officials have asked their Portuguese counterparts for advice, with the only caveat being that they avoid mentioning the word "decriminalise".</p><p>It is, perhaps, an unnecessary sensitivity. For the reality is that, despite liberalising how it regards drug possession – now largely an administrative problem rather than a criminal offence – Portugal has not become a magnet for drug tourists like Amsterdam, as some had predicted.</p><p>British officials are not the only ones who have made the pilgrimage to Portugal in recent years – health specialists, officials and journalists from around the world have all made the journey to see what Portugal is doing right, even as their own countries are still struggling.</p><p>Nor has it seen its addict population markedly increase. Rather it has stabilised in a nation that, along with the UK and Luxembourg, once had the worst heroin problem in Europe.</p><p>For Susannah – as for the many long-term addicts now on methadone replacement and other programmes, and for the country's health professionals – the country's recent social history is divided into what the world of addiction and drug use was like before Law 30 was approved in November 2000, and what it is like now.</p><p></p><p>Before the law, which decriminalised (or depenalised) possession of drugs but still prohibited their use, the story of drug addiction in Portugal was a familiar one. More than 50% of those infected with HIV in Portugal were drug addicts, with new diagnoses of HIV among addicts running at about 3,000 a year. These days, addicts account for only 20% of those who are HIV infected, while the number of new HIV diagnoses of addicts has fallen to fewer than 2,000 a year.</p><p>Other measures have been equally encouraging. Deaths of street users from accidental overdoses also appear to have declined, as – anecdotal evidence strongly suggests – has petty crime associated with addicts who were stealing to maintain their habits. Recent surveys in schools also suggest an overall decrease in drug experimentation.</p><p>At the same time, the number of those in treatment for their addiction problems has risen by about a third from 23,500 in 1998 to 35,000 today – helped by a substantial increase in available beds, facilities and medical support – with many going on to methadone replacement programmes. The consequence is that perhaps as much as €400m (£334m) has been taken out of the illegal drugs market.</p><p>But decriminalisation, as Portuguese officials and others who have observed the country's experience are at pains to point out, was only the most obvious part of what happened 10 years ago in the midst of a similar debate on drugs to the one now going on in the UK.</p><p>Then, in a moment of grand vision powered by an inquiry which recommended a wholesale overhaul of Portugal's anti-drugs policy in 1998, the government opted to make wholesale changes to the way Portugal dealt with the issue, giving a huge boost in resources to everything from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and reintegration – creating an entirely joined-up approach to drug abuse under the auspices of a single unit in the ministry of health.</p><p>It marked an acceptance that for many, living drug-free was neither realistic nor possible and that what society needed to do was mitigate the risk individuals posed to themselves and a wider population at large by helping them manage their problems.</p><p>Susannah's doctor, the head of treatment at the Centro das Taipas, is Dr Miguel Vasconcelos. He frames Portuguese drug laws in a way that I hear repeated several times. Within certain clearly defined limits – an amount equivalent to 10 days' normal use of any particular drug, ranging from amphetamines and cannabis to heroin – possession, he explains, is now considered similar to a traffic offence. It is a notion I find later described in the Portuguese drug strategy document as a "humanistic" approach.</p><p>Vasconcelos, 51, is old enough to remember what it was like before, in a country which, two decades ago, barely had a methadone replacement programme at all. In his office, decorated with artworks by his clients, Vasconcelos says: "Critics from the conservative parties were concerned that the new law would make Portugal a place like Amsterdam, but that did not happen.</p><p>"You have to remember," he says, "that the substances are still illegal; it is the consequences that are different." And for those arrested in possession of drugs for personal use, that means not a court appearance but an invitation to attend a "dissuasion board" that can request – but not insist upon – attendance at facilities such as the Centro das Taipas for assessment and treatment. "They evaluate if someone is ill or a recreational user, if a person uses sporadically," says Vasconselos. "Even then people have a choice. People can refuse to attend the dissuasion board."</p><p>For many, he believes, the experience can be cathartic and he admits being surprised by how open many of the clients who have come to his facility via that system have been .</p><p>If there has been a problem with the Portuguese experiment, he believes that it has been one largely of perception – outside Portugal – where decriminalisation has been misunderstood by some as legalisation or a step on the road to it.</p><p>Rather, Vasconcelos believes that decriminalisation is a natural consequence of a gradual shift from regarding addicts as social delinquents to regarding them as people in need of help, a view reiterated by Dr Manuel Cardoso, a board member at the Instituto da Droga e da Toxicodependência at Portugal's health ministry, which now co-ordinates the country's approach to drug abuse.</p><p>At the centre of Portugal's deeply pragmatic approach are the dissuasion boards. Lisbon's board – which deals with 2,000 cases a year – sits in a modest office on the second floor of a block above a pretty park. There are no lawyers (although they can attend) and no clerks in robes. No uniforms at all.</p><p>Last Friday, on one side of the table were Nadia Simoes and Nuno Portugal Capaz, both members of the commission. On the other was a 19-year-old barman in a white T-shirt who allowed the <em>Observer</em> to observe the confidential process but asked not to be named.</p><p>Stopped by police with 5.2 grams of cannabis, he is marginally over the limit of what can be dealt with by the dissuasion board alone and has had to appear in court as well. It is the young man's first offence. He looks nervous. But it quickly becomes clear that this is a non-confrontational process, as Simoes explains that while possession of drugs for personal use is not a criminal offence, it is still forbidden.</p><p>The man nods his understanding. Simoes explains the risks of smoking cannabis, including schizophrenia, and the sanctions the board can impose for second offences, including a fine or community service. Licences crucial to employment can also be revoked. As the process concludes, the barman looks relieved and promises to stop smoking. As he leaves, Capaz stands up and shakes his hand. The whole thing has lasted less than 10 minutes.</p><p>A sociologist by training, Capaz is a vice-president on the board. He believes that far from Portugal becoming more lenient, the reality is that the state intervenes far more than it did before Law 30 and the other associated legislation was introduced. Before, he explains, police would often not pursue drug users they had arrested, interested only in the dealers. "People outside Portugal believe we had a tougher approach under the old law, but in reality it is far tougher now."</p><p>Now everyone who is caught with drugs must go before one of the 20&nbsp;boards in the country to be categorised as either a recreational user, someone with a developing problem, or an addict. And while some 30% choose to refuse to appear at the first summons, most – when threatened with a fine for disobedience – eventually attend.</p><p></p><p>Capaz has been involved since the very beginning and is struck by two things. The first is how Portuguese society has come to accept that addicts and drug users should be treated as a social rather than a criminal problem. The second, he explains, is that under the old criminal system all of those caught were supposed to be equal before the law. "With this system," he explains, "We do it the other way. We can apply the law in a way that fits the individual."</p><p>Indeed, the law recognises that for addicts certain sanctions are not appropriate. While recreational users can be fined, the law prevents addicts from having a financial penalty imposed for fear that in trying to raise the fine they might be driven to commit a crime.</p><p>But not everyone is totally convinced. Not even among the people who have dedicated their lives to assisting addicts. Francisco Chaves runs a modern shelter for street addicts close to Casal Vendoso, a place once notorious for its drug problems. "I want to explain first that this is not my profession but a vocation," he explains by way of introduction. He wants, however, to pose a "rhetorical question" which turns out to be more passionate intervention than a debating point.</p><p>He is concerned that under the "humanistic approach" enshrined in Portugal's decade-old laws – in its concern for the human rights of the addict – perhaps too much pressure to change may have been taken off addicts. "I worry that it has become too easy being an addict now," he says. "They can say: 'I've got clean clothes. I've got food. Support. So why should I change?'"</p><p>He says this sadly, because he agrees that addicts should be treated properly but cannot avoid "the paradox of the situation". "I say it is a rhetorical question because places like this are required. It is a personal, philosophical question." But it is one without any obvious answer.</p><p>Outside his office in the large, bright space where addicts are lolling on the sofa, eating or watching television, I encounter Fernando Almeida, 31, who has been a heroin addict since he was 19. A thief – who stole to support his habit – he was recently released from prison and found a place at this centre.</p><p>When he arrived six months ago, he weighed 55 kilos. These days he weighs 73kg and appears both lucid and motivated. "In the old days I used to get hassled by the police. Now the police don't interfere with me," he says. "I used to steal. Now I'm not going to steal anymore. For me the solution is to stop. I've discovered food and small things like taking a walk and having a coffee. I'm learning how to work."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/drugspolicy">Drugs policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/portugal">Portugal</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/drugs">Drugs</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/health">Health</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/peterbeaumont">Peter Beaumont</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/flqbso2WhfqevyQjGgsB_4hVvoo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/flqbso2WhfqevyQjGgsB_4hVvoo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/flqbso2WhfqevyQjGgsB_4hVvoo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/flqbso2WhfqevyQjGgsB_4hVvoo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Drugs policy Portugal Drugs Health Society Politics World news The Observer Features http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-drugs-debate Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:18 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/blair-miliband-labour-leadership/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/77821?ns=guardian&pageName=The+leadership+contenders+sneer+at+Tony+Blair+at+their+peril.+He+knew+ho%3AArticle%3A1447509&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CLabour+leadership%2CPolitics%2CEd+Balls%2CEd+Miliband%2CDavid+Miliband&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Andrew+Rawnsley&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447509&c9=Article&c10=Comment&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Comment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FComment+is+free" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">If Labour is ever to be electable again, it still needs to remember the lessons of its longest-serving prime minister</p><p>The quintet of contenders for the Labour leadership has been trying their hands at being literary critics: the target for their contempt is Tony Blair's memoirs. There are certainly things to deprecate about the book, not least the atrocities on the English language perpetrated by the former Prime Minister.</p><p>But it is not for his often hideous literary style that he is under attack by those who want his old job. What they disdain is his core message about how to be successful in modern politics. Andy Burnham calls Tony Blair "sad", trying the patronising approach to the man without whom Andy Burnham would not exist as a public figure. Ed Balls has discharged his bile in interviews in which he suggests that Tony Blair, Labour's longest-serving prime minister, was wrong on just about everything and Gordon Brown, Labour's briefest prime minister, was right.</p><p>Ed Miliband disparages Mr Blair as the grandad of a geriatric "New Labour establishment" which should shuffle off the stage because it has no advice worth listening to. It is this "establishment", according to Miliband junior, which is trying to prevent him from winning the contest. This line seeks to appeal to Labour activists and trades unionists by casting himself as "Che" Miliband, the exciting and rebellious young insurgent.</p><p>It is quite clever, but also rather disingenuous. The young Ed started to shin up the greasy pole nearly two decades ago when Harriet Harman was looking for a new aide and phoned me up to ask whether I'd recommend a bright, young, leftwing TV researcher whom she'd heard I was working with. I said I would indeed recommend him and highly. Ed Miliband secured the job and began his climb up the "New Labour establishment" that he now condemns.</p><p>His older brother has been more polite about Tony Blair, but in an icily cool way. David Miliband has been desperate to put distance between himself and the man who promoted him to the cabinet. To the accurate suggestion that Mr Blair wants him to win, David Miliband has reacted not with pleasure, but with discomfort, as if the endorsement of Labour's most electorally successful prime minister is toxic.</p><p>There are many things to regret about Tony Blair's record and he uses his memoir as a confessional in which he owns up to at least some of his mistakes. I don't share all of his analysis about the rise and fall of New Labour. He goes too far – didn't he always? – in suggesting that concepts of "left" and "right" have become entirely redundant in the 21st century. His retirement into the world of the super-rich seems to have hardened his more reactionary arteries.</p><p>But even his most severe critics surely have to grant him this: he understood how to communicate with the public; he grasped that parties must constantly renew themselves to keep up with events, the world and the voters; and he knew how to win elections. He took a party that had lost four in a row and transformed it into a serial winner. He achieved two back-to-back landslides in 1997 and 2001, a very rare feat in British politics. He made it a hat-trick, an even more exceptional achievement, by winning again in 2005. That was a sour victory with a miserable share of the vote, but he won nevertheless, a result the more remarkable when he had taken Britain into a war with calamitous consequences on a prospectus that turned out to be false. It was unprecedented for Labour to win two full terms in office and a new record to achieve three.</p><p>Yet throughout the contest to become Labour's leader, the contenders have dismissed his example as irrelevant, if not harmful. Ed Miliband, the candidate who has run most aggressively against the record of the government in which he served, says his party has to "leave its New Labour comfort zone". In one sense, this is true, so true that the observation is merely trite. New Labour was created as a particular response to the set of political and economic circumstances which existed more than a decade ago. It would be foolish to fashion the party's future policies or presentation as if the dateline were still 1994 rather than 2010. New Labour died under Gordon Brown and cannot be resurrected as it existed under Tony Blair.</p><p>In another, more crucial sense, the complete repudiation of New Labour is madness. Tony Blair's key insight was that centre-left parties win and hold power only by creating a broad appeal which embraces not just their natural and traditional supporters, but also voters without any tribal allegiance to Labour. That may seem very obvious, but to the Labour party it was not plain at all for much of its history. Between 1970 and 1997 – 27 long years – Labour was so useless at creating a coalition of support that it did not once win a proper parliamentary majority.</p><p>One of Tony Blair's strengths was that he could understand why people voted Conservative. A weakness in Gordon Brown, one which is replicated to lesser and greater extents by all the candidates to succeed him, is that none of them really comprehends how anyone cannot be as Labour as they are. It is a serious flaw, because Labour will return to office again only by appealing to non-Labour people. There are many millions of them. In May, Labour scored its second worst result at a general election since 1918. The national vote share was only a sliver better than that achieved by Michael Foot in the "suicide election" of 1983. In southern England, outside London, the number of Labour MPs has shrivelled back to the pre-Blair levels of rump representation.</p><p>I've heard little to suggest that any of the candidates has really come to terms with the scale of the mountain that Labour will have to climb. They have too often tried to console their party with the idea that it won't be all that difficult to get back on top. One chimera – Ed Miliband is the most guilty of pursuing this one – is the notion that there is a secret army of millions of voters who are more left wing than they presently know. The delusion is that they will flock to Labour's banner just as soon as the party has a fresh young leader who can raise them from their false consciousness.</p><p>Another refuge for those who don't want to confront reality is to think that all their problems can be simply solved by recruiting hacked-off former Lib Dems. One of the worst illusions is to believe they need not do much more than condemn the government for making spending cuts, sit back and wait for the coalition to fall apart. At which point, they assume, the electorate will collapse gratefully back into their arms.</p><p>Comrade Balls made a recent speech which was both superb as a stinging analysis of the coalition's economic policies and dangerous for his own party because it implied that Labour need not adopt a credible position on how it would address the deficit. Labour may well prosper for a while by screaming against every cut. The spending squeeze is almost certain to be horribly unpopular. There will be a substantial segment of the electorate, probably a very large one, which will be receptive for a while to the message that all this pain is unnecessary. Michael Foot was well ahead of Margaret Thatcher in opinion polls in the early 1980s when her economic measures were at their most unpopular. Neil Kinnock also enjoyed commanding poll leads over her for long stretches of time. Fat lot of good it ultimately did them. She won the general elections because swing voters felt that she had credibility and Labour did not.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Listening to the contenders for the Labour leadership, I don't think a single one of them fully comprehends the nature of the task facing their party. The candidate who comes closest is David Miliband. He has the firmest grasp of the scale of the challenge and displays at least some of the attributes necessary to rise to it. He understands that they will need a credible posture on tax, spending and the deficit. He appreciates that Labour will not achieve power again unless it is capable of winning back millions of people who did not vote Labour at the last election, including many who voted Tory. He knows that elections are won and lost on the centre ground. That doesn't make him the Blairite candidate; it makes him the commonsense candidate.</p><p>The former foreign secretary has secured a spread of endorsements from his colleagues which is the most impressive in terms of both quality and breadth. It is significant that figures closely associated with Gordon Brown, such as Alistair Darling and Douglas Alexander, are backing the older Miliband rather than either of the Eds. It is telling that Jon Cruddas, the voice of the intelligent left, is backing the senior Miliband rather than his younger brother.</p><p>Whatever wing of the party they hail from, the serious people have not forgotten the lesson Tony Blair taught to Labour. You achieve nothing without office. And that is secured not by saying things that make your party feel happier, but by persuading the country to entrust you with power.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labourleadership">Labour party leadership</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/edballs">Ed Balls</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/edmiliband">Ed Miliband</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davidmiliband">David Miliband</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/andrewrawnsley">Andrew Rawnsley</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zkrOk2-o3ZwQAjXZuhJHYDn_aQ8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zkrOk2-o3ZwQAjXZuhJHYDn_aQ8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zkrOk2-o3ZwQAjXZuhJHYDn_aQ8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/zkrOk2-o3ZwQAjXZuhJHYDn_aQ8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Labour party leadership Politics Ed Balls Ed Miliband David Miliband The Observer Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/blair-miliband-labour-leadership Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:16 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/william-hague-homosexuality-adrian-chiles/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/49977?ns=guardian&pageName=William+Hague+could+learn+from+Robbie+Williams+%7C+Barbara+Ellen%3AArticle%3A1447508&ch=Comment+is+free&c3=Obs&c4=William+Hague%2CPolitics%2CRobbie+Williams+%28Music%29%2CMusic%2CAdrian+Chiles+%28Media%29%2CMedia&c5=Pop+Music%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CMedia+Weekly%2CTelevision+Media&c6=Barbara+Ellen&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447508&c9=Article&c10=Feature%2CComment&c11=Comment+is+free&c13=&c25=Comment+is+free&c30=content&h2=GU%2FComment+is+free%2Fblog%2FComment+is+free" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The foreign secretary's statement has a misjudgment of the first water</p><p>What a shame that William Hague decided to handle the internet rumours in such a pompous, heavy-handed manner. It doesn't matter that the rumours have been following him since Oxford University: who, these days, would be so silly and thin-skinned as to be genuinely upset by a gay smear? Or so naive as to admit they are?</p><p>Making the underqualified Christopher Myers his aide is one thing, but the pair sharing a hotel room could have been handled easily and lightly – Hague joking that he's a Yorkshireman, too tight to pay for two rooms. As for the "True Bromance" pictures of them walking along the street in sunglasses, Hague in a baseball cap and tucked-in top, Alastair Campbell observed drily: "Most politicians are poor at casual clothes." An understatement, but there was no real harm in the photo. It was just so hilariously camp.</p><p>Dining with a friend, I was told how she'd once spotted Andy Bell, the fabulous singer from Erasure, on New York's Gay Street, wearing a bum-bag. She mentally filed it away as the campest thing she'd ever seen. "But the Hague photo is camper!" Crucially, neither of us thought any of this (funny photos, ill-judged room sharing) had anything to do with Hague being homosexual. Why, then, did Hague feel compelled to react in such a po-faced, dramatic way?</p><p>Hague should have laughed it off. Sure, there's the whiff of gay Salem around Westminster at times. Right now, we seem to be tripping over politicians coming out or having dramas about their sexuality. However, these people are gay. Merely being accused of being gay isn't the same thing. In fact, it appears to be practically a blooding for a certain stripe of workaholic politician, part of the Westminster territory.</p><p>For Hague suddenly to barge around, making public statements, dragging his wife Ffion's miscarriages into it, hints at a worrying dearth of emotional intelligence. Miscarriages are incredibly sad, but they aren't proof of a man's sexuality. Nor is having children, nor is even a 20-year marriage, as <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/27/crispin-blunt-gay-minister-statement" title="">Crispin Blunt</a> recently demonstrated.</p><p>However, that's beside the point. Hague seems to be a decent man and an experienced international statesman. Why, then, would he embark on a course of action that sends out the toxic message that, if it is not actually shameful to be gay, it is an outright insult to be accused of it?</p><p>This is what Hague has done and, in a way, that presumes politicians are uniquely targeted. Far from it. Even at my low level, I regularly receive missives from people asking charmingly, and sometimes not so charmingly, whether I might secretly be one for the ladies. It's inaccurate; I sometimes feel that I should be checking my desk diary in case I did black out and spend a month or so dating Ellen DeGeneres. However, it's not remotely distressing or insulting.</p><p>Irrelevant? I've not been splashed all over the papers, nor whispered about for years. No, but others have. Take That's new video for "Shame" features Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow parodying the gay movie <em>Brokeback Mountain</em>, making light of the homosexual rumours that have followed the band since the start of their career. Surely if fluffy boyband members can cope with elegance and humour with this kind of thing, a foreign secretary should have breezed it.</p><p>This is the point. If Hague can't cope with bromance rumours, however incessant and irritating, then how can we trust him with issues that really matter, such as Afghanistan or Iran? Arguably, all this pouting and stropping has made Hague seem a million times camper. However, none of us has any right to care a&nbsp;damn whether William Hague is gay or straight.&nbsp;What is significant, and troubling, is that our foreign secretary dealt with gay rumours markedly less maturely than a boyband. <h2>The last word isn't always worth it</h2><p>The case of Californian GP <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/02/doctor-dies-chimney-lover-home" title="">Jacquelyn Kotarac</a> is tragic. Trying to get into her on-off boyfriend's bungalow to confront him over relationship issues, Kotarac didn't realise he had slipped out of the back door to go on a business trip. She climbed on to the roof and into the chimney, getting stuck and suffocating, with her body being discovered several days later. That must have been some conversation Kotarac was determined to have and I, for one, can empathise.</p><p>I've been known to go to startling lengths to have my say or get the last word. These have included the "Follow man into street ranting" manoeuvre, the "Stand outside locked bathroom door, repeating yourself" tactic and the "Maximum embarrassment public ambush" gambit. More recently, experts in the field have had great results with the "And another thing" email blitz (with text option).</p><p>Men do this, too, but women are better at it. A friend once left gouge marks on a door frame, so determined was she to stand her ground and "unburden herself".</p><p>In my youth, when I had what might be termed a lively personality, I once thought it reasonable to run beside a moving train, half-hanging on to a window, "pointing something out".</p><p>Admittedly, this could be a fault line of mine, which some may say has contributed to me ending up in a job which could be unkindly yet accurately described as being gobby.</p><p>Still, extreme as Kotarac's case was, how human was the compulsion that led to her death. "The last word" is one of the holy grails of relationships, oft sought, but rarely found.</p><p>I'm devastated that this poor woman ended up clambering down a chimney because of her desperation to make a point, but a part of me understands.</p><h2>Will it be Chiles play for these cereal seducers?</h2><p>So GMTV is no more. Goodbye sweet, strange sofa-people and your touching interest in amusing pet photos, the health of the prostate, and five-year-olds with A-levels. From tomorrow, we have <em>Daybreak</em>, with main presenters <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/sep/03/daybreak-adrian-chiles-christine-bleakley" title="">Adrian Chiles</a> and Christine Bleakley, and their much-vaunted "chemistry", which is telly-speak for: "Do they fancy the pants off each other?" Or in this case: "Does that poor sod still fancy her?" It's a chance to munch cornflakes and wonder if more than affection flutters in Chiles's tortured breast for Frank Lampard's girlfriend. Or not.</p><p>I couldn't care less about their chemistry. Nor do I have any animosity towards Chiles or Bleakley, though one can see why some might have become irritated. What a huge smarmy luvvie fuss they made of all of this. Conjoined twins could have been successfully separated with less drama than these two, um, leaving one television channel for another.</p><p>Certainly, they have played a blinder, going from quite-liked screen couple to greedy, overpaid, overrated idiots everyone hates, within just a few short months. Jonathan Ross will be furious – it took him years to achieve that.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/williamhague">William Hague</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/robbie-williams">Robbie Williams</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/adrian-chiles">Adrian Chiles</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/barbaraellen">Barbara Ellen</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OfLDM6aaDe45fJN_wp8WIoMrqj0/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OfLDM6aaDe45fJN_wp8WIoMrqj0/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OfLDM6aaDe45fJN_wp8WIoMrqj0/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/OfLDM6aaDe45fJN_wp8WIoMrqj0/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> William Hague Politics Robbie Williams Music Adrian Chiles Media The Observer Features Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/william-hague-homosexuality-adrian-chiles Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:15 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/05/eu-imf-robin-hood-tax/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/91589?ns=guardian&pageName=International+backing+grows+for+%27Robin+Hood+tax%27+on+banks%3AArticle%3A1447428&ch=Business&c3=Obs&c4=European+banks+%28business%29%2CBanking+%28Business+sector%29%2CFinancial+crisis+%28Business%29%2CIMF%2CBusiness%2CGeorge+Osborne%2CPolitics%2CWorld+news&c5=Credit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CBudget%2CInvestments+%26+Savings&c6=Larry+Elliott&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447428&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Business&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FEuropean+banks" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">EU ministers edge closer to financial transaction levy amid signs that International Monetary Fund is softening opposition to 'Robin Hood tax'</p><p>European Union finance ministers will step up talks on raising extra money from banks this week amid signs that the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2010/apr/20/imf-tax-global-banks" title="">International Monetary Fund is softening its opposition to a "Robin Hood tax" on financial transactions</a>.</p><p>Treasury sources said the chancellor, George Osborne, was prepared to back a financial activities tax on bank profits and pay at the Brussels meeting provided it was universally introduced, but was wary of a broader Robin Hood tax. Campaigners said last night, however, that a leaked IMF report showed growing international backing for a broader tax and urged Osborne to look at the revenue-raising potential of a levy of transactions.</p><p>David Hillman, a <a href="http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/" title="">Robin Hood Campaign</a> spokesman, said: "The rug has been pulled from under critics who claim that a Robin Hood tax would damage the wider economy or is unworkable. The IMF, EC and Leading Group of 60 nations have all said it is feasible. The main losers would be those who make lots of money from socially useless trades but the winners would be millions of people at home and abroad pushed into poverty by the economic crisis or whose public services are under threat."</p><p>An IMF paper, Taxing Financial Transactions: Issues and Evidence, said securities transactions taxes (STT) existed in many countries with little evidence that they distorted markets. It argued that a small levy on transactions might help to dampen the "herding behaviour" encouraged by computer-program trading. "Unilateral STTs, even if levied on fairly narrow bases, are certainly feasible as witnessed by their use in numerous developed countries. The fact that major financial centers such as the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Africa levy forms of STTs indicates that such taxes do not automatically drive out financial activity to an unacceptable extent," it said.</p><p>The paper added: "The impact on financial markets from a low-rate (less than 5 basis points), broad-based STT would likely be fairly modest, beyond its reduction of very short-term trading."</p><p>In its letter to Osborne, the Robin Hood campaign said a financial activities tax could, if combined with other measures, raise as much as £20bn a year in the UK. "We hope that the Ecofin meeting will provide a platform for taking this forward at the European level. Ultimately, we believe that a financial transaction tax has the greatest potential to raise revenue from the financial sector, as it offers a robust, simple to implement and fair mechanism."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/europeanbanks">European banks</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/banking">Banking</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/financial-crisis">Financial crisis</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/imf">IMF</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/georgeosborne">George Osborne</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/larryelliott">Larry Elliott</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FBeBTrlYHpWLInAjRoW1BF7YIkY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FBeBTrlYHpWLInAjRoW1BF7YIkY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FBeBTrlYHpWLInAjRoW1BF7YIkY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FBeBTrlYHpWLInAjRoW1BF7YIkY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> European banks Banking Financial crisis IMF Business George Osborne Politics World news The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/05/eu-imf-robin-hood-tax Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:06 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/05/julia-finch-david-cameron-big-business/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/71829?ns=guardian&pageName=The+Prime+Minister+demonstrates+how+he+will+%27stand+up+to+big+business%27%3AArticle%3A1447422&ch=Business&c3=Obs&c4=Business%2CEconomic+policy%2CDavid+Cameron%2CPolitics%2CPublic+sector+cuts+%28Society%29%2CPublic+services+policy+%28Society%29%2CPublic+finance+%28Society%29%2CSociety&c5=Society+Weekly%2CCredit+Crunch%2CPolicy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets&c6=Julia+Finch&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447422&c9=Article&c10=Comment&c11=Business&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FEconomic+policy" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">David Cameron's new advisory panel is full of corporate big shots. But didn't he promise he would fight against the influence of special interests?</p><p>Just four months into the coalition and a prime minister who pledged to "stand up to big business" is instead sitting down with it. A cabal of corporate types has been signed up to provide wise counsel to David Cameron.</p><p>We have former BP chief Lord Browne, newly installed as senior non-executive director on the Cabinet Office board – whatever that means. Then there's Topshop's top dog, Sir Philip Green, as efficiency tsar, and on Friday another five were named: BT and easyJet chairman Sir Mike Rake, vacuum cleaner mogul Sir James Dyson, advertising boss Sir Martin Sorrell, CBI president Helen Alexander and Sainsbury chief executive Justin King. They will be joined by another seven big names in the coming weeks, plus a new trade minister, when someone can be persuaded to swap the chauffeur-driven company transport for one of the austerity government's pool cars and an economy-class train ticket. Two captains of industry, a banker and a shopkeeper are understood to have been approached, but each has found the offer a tad underwhelming.</p><p>Ostensibly, they are all there to advise on where the axe will fall – but every one of them would fight tooth and nail to ensure it doesn't land anywhere near their business. One of BT's biggest customers is the government. How's that going to work in practice? So much for Cameron's pre-election spiel that he would fight against the influence of "special interests".</p><p>The new panel will take over from the old one recruited by Gordon Brown, which met infrequently and produced nothing of note. One of those on the previous committee confided that the entire procedure was a charade, but a good networking opportunity.</p><p>Interestingly, one of the few businessmen who went into politics, Archie Norman, hasn't been signed up. The fact is he found Westminster like wading through treacle.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/economy">Economic policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davidcameron">David Cameron</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/public-sector-cuts">Public sector cuts</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/policy">Public services policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/public-finance">Public finance</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/juliafinch">Julia Finch</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/db72lAsW6-U3mDYE8tZLCRIyER4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/db72lAsW6-U3mDYE8tZLCRIyER4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/db72lAsW6-U3mDYE8tZLCRIyER4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/db72lAsW6-U3mDYE8tZLCRIyER4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Business Economic policy David Cameron Politics Public sector cuts Public services policy Public finance Society The Observer Comment http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/05/julia-finch-david-cameron-big-business Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:04 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-mary-beard/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/90878?ns=guardian&pageName=Mary+Beard%3A+%27The+best+thing+about+the+Blair+book+was+the+stuff+about+boo%3AArticle%3A1447367&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CPolitics%2CMary+Beard%2CLabour%2CPolitics+%28Books+genre%29&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Mary+Beard&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447367&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The professor of classics at the University of Cambridge gives her verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>The best thing about the Blair book was the stuff about boozing. I had always imagined that New Labour was a "Perrier-and-rocket-salad" party, and that they dispelled the stress of government with 30 minutes on the treadmill. Here was Blair confessing to a stiff G and T and a half bottle of wine (aren't GPs always told to double what the patient 'fesses up to?). He instantly seemed a bit more like me – a 50-plus human being with a tough job, in need of a break.</p><p>It was a shock to discover that most reactions weren't like mine. True, there were a few sectors of the rightwing press that gave him a sneaking toast. But few could resist politicising, decrying or anxiously defending that nice (half) bottle of claret.</p><p>Alastair Campbell, who has presumably long forgotten the effects of the grape, was "genuinely surprised": he had never seen the PM the worse for wear the next morning. The <em>Mail</em> decided to assure us that it was Gordon Brown who had driven him to drink (not Blair's line at all). The <em>Guardian</em> had a tough article about our recommended units of alcohol and a dig about how his government had extended the licensing laws.</p><p>How ironic. It was, after all, New Labour who had fired up the nanny state with its obsession with "units". That obsession was now being turned on one of Blair's more innocent pleasures. Served him right, maybe.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/mary-beard">Mary Beard</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/politics">Politics</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/uzIp5CuyiAKoiMpiyO8ZKoN93sk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/uzIp5CuyiAKoiMpiyO8ZKoN93sk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/uzIp5CuyiAKoiMpiyO8ZKoN93sk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/uzIp5CuyiAKoiMpiyO8ZKoN93sk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Politics Mary Beard Labour Politics The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-mary-beard Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:56 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-tony-benn/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/98973?ns=guardian&pageName=Tony+Benn%3A+%27What+is+really+significant+about+Tony+Blair+was+that+he+set+%3AArticle%3A1447363&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CLabour%2CBooks%2CPolitics%2CCulture+section&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Tony+Benn&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447363&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The veteran Labour politician and president of the Stop the War Coalition gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p><em>A Journey</em> tells the story of Tony Blair's remarkable career – 10 years at No 10. Like any memoir, it highlights the story and illustrates it with comments about some of the people with whom he worked. But what is really significant about his political life was that he set up a new political party, New Labour. This transformed the Labour party from being a radical alternative to the Conservatives into a quasi-Thatcherite sect that made three electoral victories possible, with the backing of Rupert Murdoch and other proprietors.</p><p>My interpretation of New Labour was that it arose when Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson concluded that Labour could never win unless it adopted the economic policy that Mrs Thatcher had set out.</p><p>In this regard it succeeded and transformed British politics in a very fundamental way, culminating in Labour's defeat in the 2010 general election. This was brought about by the alienation of New Labour from its natural base of public support, and created a general sense of cynicism about British politics from which we are still suffering.</p><p>Those who read <em>A Journey</em> would do well to discover the thinking that lay behind this move to the right and why it is that so many solid Labour supporters feel deeply disappointed by the outcome. Indeed, it should become clear to every reader that the book is a journey describing Tony Blair's political career with very little in it about the history and nature of the Labour party, which I do not believe he ever understood or liked very much.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/tonybenn">Tony Benn</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tQ-H8mUWoAXaL9iOwzexj_iAaOE/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tQ-H8mUWoAXaL9iOwzexj_iAaOE/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tQ-H8mUWoAXaL9iOwzexj_iAaOE/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/tQ-H8mUWoAXaL9iOwzexj_iAaOE/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Labour Books Politics Culture The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-tony-benn Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:55 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-justin-cartwright/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/32818?ns=guardian&pageName=Justin+Cartwright%3A+%27Blair+makes+it+clear+that+he+found+Brown+dull+and+sl%3AArticle%3A1447356&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CPolitics%2CLabour%2CPolitics+%28Books+genre%29&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Justin+Cartwright&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447356&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The novelist gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>Tony Blair's account of his political life is apparently the fastest selling book Waterstone's has ever had. This may in part be because it is the only multiple bookshop still standing,&nbsp;and because it is discounting&nbsp;it heavily, but still, in an era when political memoirs are often leaden self-justifications, this one has clearly caught the popular imagination. Why?</p><p>The answer lies in the personality&nbsp;of&nbsp;Blair, who makes it clear&nbsp;that he found Brown dull and slow; where Brown always tried to reframe the question to suit his cast of mind, he liked to answer the hard questions, confident of the quickness of his. He was, in a very contemporary&nbsp;way, a romantic. He puts it this way: "The best communication comes from the heart." He and Clinton were, he says, soulmates in this respect. He makes a distinction between those who stuck faithfully to doctrine and those who operated from the heart. His words about Diana – "the people's princess" – could never have come from Brown, a rationalist rather than a romantic. The romantic ideal in politics is essentially the notion, increasingly shared by ordinary people, that you must trust your self, that your self is the ultimate truth. We're all Wordsworths now, drawing personal comfort from daffodils. It is significant that dear old Clause IV was one of the first things Blair changed when he became leader, as though it carried a potentially deadly whiff of the Marxist&nbsp;armpit.</p><p>And so here he comes, still brightly unrepentant, still fascinatingly complex, still a man of conviction and some style, besieging the bookshops of Britain. I find it wonderfully&nbsp;refreshing.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/politics">Politics</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w1x5E225dHI1jsDkkTYUdaySi8A/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w1x5E225dHI1jsDkkTYUdaySi8A/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w1x5E225dHI1jsDkkTYUdaySi8A/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/w1x5E225dHI1jsDkkTYUdaySi8A/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Politics Labour Politics The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-justin-cartwright Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:53 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-richard-eyre/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/86349?ns=guardian&pageName=Richard+Eyre%3A+%27Blair+had+a+very+considerable+skill+as+a+performer%27%3AArticle%3A1447355&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CPolitics&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Richard+Eyre&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447355&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The film and theatre director gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>When I talked to the sixth form at Fettes college in 1970 about <em>The Crucible</em>, I was unaware that a future prime minister was in the class. Tony Blair and his classmates had been to see my production of the play and many years later he told me that the play had&nbsp;woken him up to the latent tyranny&nbsp;of a repressive society and the dangers incurred in dissent. He also said that my "enthusiasm and evangelism" had made him want to be&nbsp;an actor.</p><p>Reader, he succeeded: he starred in the role of prime minister for 13 years. His misfortune, however&nbsp;– even from excerpts of his memoirs – was that he devised his own plots and&nbsp;wrote&nbsp;his own scripts. He had a very considerable skill as a performer&nbsp;but, as he noted himself during the 1997 election campaign: "I can see how, if you're not careful, whatever public persona you have starts taking over your private being."&nbsp;Indeed.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/richardeyre">Richard Eyre</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/qTh-MOAXNNgHSpwRMdL2itBx3HA/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/qTh-MOAXNNgHSpwRMdL2itBx3HA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/qTh-MOAXNNgHSpwRMdL2itBx3HA/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/qTh-MOAXNNgHSpwRMdL2itBx3HA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Politics The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-richard-eyre Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:52 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-michael-howard/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/6871?ns=guardian&pageName=Michael+Howard%3A+%27Tony+Blair+was+a+brilliant+politician.+But%2C+ultimately%2C%3AArticle%3A1447346&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CPolitics%2CLabour%2CPeter+Mandelson&c5=Not+commercially+useful%2CUnclassifed+Contributors&c6=Michael+Howard&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447346&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The former Leader of the Conservative Party gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>Much has been written about the apparent candour of Tony Blair's memoir. He even concedes that on occasion he stretched the truth past breaking point. And he asserts that "politicians are obliged from time to time to conceal the full truth, to bend it and even distort it, where the interests of the bigger strategic goal demand it be done."</p><p>There is no doubt that Blair benefited greatly from this elastic approach. During the 2005 general election, he described Gordon Brown as "my friend" and said: "Whatever speculation is in the papers, we work pretty closely together." And who could forget the occasion when they ate ice-cream together to persuade people they were joined at the hip.</p><p>Yet months before, relations between the two had been so bad that a hotline system between No 10 and 11 was proposed "in case of flare ups". Nor did we know then that Blair considered his chancellor "mad, bad, dangerous and beyond hope of redemption". But then winning the 2005 election was something Blair no doubt regarded as part of the "bigger strategic goal".</p><p>One of the many problems of this approach is the distrust of political leaders it engenders. This is regarded by many as one of Blair's most potent legacies, along with his failure to carry out reforms to which he professes himself committed. To grasp the reason for this second failing, we have to turn to Peter Mandelson, who in his memoir quotes former BBC director general and Blair adviser John Birt as saying: "The bewildering problem with Tony is that while he knows what he wants, and he has the focus and direction of a good CEO, he doesn't give clear, direct orders. He doesn't do anything when people fail to carry out his wishes... He'll discuss and interrogate, and try to move individuals along, but he doesn't do a Thatcher on&nbsp;them."</p><p>Blair was a brilliant politician. Facing him at prime minister's questions, it was impossible not to admire the agility with which he would extricate himself from tight corners. And I doubt whether we shall ever see another Labour leader win three general elections. But, ultimately, he was a failed prime minister. And to understand why, Lord Mandelson's book is more useful than his own.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/peter-mandelson">Peter Mandelson</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KrNqyQwX9MUHRcRSUVlc5Uw08iY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KrNqyQwX9MUHRcRSUVlc5Uw08iY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KrNqyQwX9MUHRcRSUVlc5Uw08iY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/KrNqyQwX9MUHRcRSUVlc5Uw08iY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Politics Labour Peter Mandelson The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-michael-howard Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:50 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-christopher-hitchens/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/42364?ns=guardian&pageName=Christopher+Hitchens%3A+%27The+righteous+will+evidently+never+tire+of+the+pe%3AArticle%3A1447351&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CCulture+section%2CBooks%2CPolitics%2CLabour%2CPolitics+%28Books+genre%29&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Christopher+Hitchens+%28contributor%29&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447351&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The author and journalist gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>The righteous will evidently never tire of the pelting and taunting of Tony Blair, and perhaps those like him who choose to join the Roman choir of extreme unctuousness must expect their meed of abuse. But I cannot forget the figures of Slobodan Milošević, Charles Taylor and Saddam Hussein, who made terrified fiefdoms out of their "own" people and mounds of corpses on the territory of their neighbours. I was glad to see each of these monsters brought to trial, and think the achievement should (and one day will) form part of the battle‑honours of British Labour. Many&nbsp;of the triumphant pelters and taunters would have left the dictators and aggressors in place: they too will have their place in history.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/politics">Politics</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/christopherhitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/N9aO6F4sDCFzQN8MyH9QZU11-yU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/N9aO6F4sDCFzQN8MyH9QZU11-yU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/N9aO6F4sDCFzQN8MyH9QZU11-yU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/N9aO6F4sDCFzQN8MyH9QZU11-yU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Culture Books Politics Labour Politics The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-christopher-hitchens Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:50 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-fiona-milar/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/56408?ns=guardian&pageName=Fiona+Millar%3A+%27His+perceptions+about+people+and+acute+eye+for+the+comic+%3AArticle%3A1447328&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CCulture+section%2CBooks%2CPolitics%2CLabour&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Fiona+Millar&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447328&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The journalist and partner of Alastair Campbell gives her verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>In spite of my&nbsp;mixed relationship with the Blairs over the years, I prefer to think the best of them: their combined warmth, his humour, energy, determination, her formidable intelligence and feistiness. The book justifies those instincts. His perceptions about people, unvarnished style and acute eye for the comic make it a good read. It is all too easy to forget, under the weight of later disappointments, what an achievement his election victories were. But equally fascinating to read him explain how his cherished political instincts&nbsp;started to fail as the optimism of the early journey was replaced by battles on legislation and party funding and titanic clashes with Gordon Brown.&nbsp;</p><p>In one florid passage he recounts his life in Downing Street in 2006. His reform programme was "buzzing", scandal and controversy swirled about. "In my eyrie, high in the trees, with my soulmates, we could replenish mind and body before venturing back out in to the undergrowth below." In his eyes the undergrowth was populated by a toxic combination of media enemies, leftwing intellectuals and old Labour thugs who never "got aspiration".</p><p>In this key passage he inadvertently sums ups New Labour's brilliance, and its fatal flaw. Inspired, enervating and necessary in its time, it became an ever-shrinking cult made up of true believers fighting imaginary battles with old enemies and potential allies, while the public gradually lost interest.&nbsp;This book may distil the essence of Blair's genius, but the next stage of Labour's journey needs to be very different.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/fionamillar">Fiona Millar</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-4pjZ7ED8HckxW--2tdbffN4cbM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-4pjZ7ED8HckxW--2tdbffN4cbM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-4pjZ7ED8HckxW--2tdbffN4cbM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/-4pjZ7ED8HckxW--2tdbffN4cbM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Culture Books Politics Labour The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-fiona-milar Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:48 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/blairs-memoirs-journey-for-all/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/36504?ns=guardian&pageName=Tony+Blair%27s+memoirs+are+a+journey+we+can+all+enjoy%3AArticle%3A1447326&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CPolitics%2CBooks%2CUK+news&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447326&c9=Article&c10=News&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">"A Journey" tells us about everything from excessive drinking to the Labour leadership</p><p><strong>It was more than a publishing event. The launch of Tony Blair's memoirs, <em>A Journey</em>, became the text through which a whole host of people could examine a whole host of subjects. Like a sacred text, with added gush, <em>A Journey</em> swiftly became all things to all people. Here's what it tells us about:</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>'Excessive' drinking </strong>(<em>Blair admitted to the occasional half bottle of wine a night) </em></p><p>"One theory I heard was that this shows Blair has been spending too much time in America, where they tend to be a bit more puritanical about these things."</p><p><strong>Andrew Sparrow, Guardian blog</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Blair Inc</strong></p><p>"It's not about score-settling or making money. It's not about self-vindication. He's using his memoirs to build Blair Inc and he has created an extraordinary business model."</p><p><strong>Fraser Nelson, Coffee House blog</strong></p><p><strong>How the Tories are right </strong></p><p>"Tony Blair agrees, as we do, that public spending needs to be brought under control. He recognises that if the deficit remains high, that saps confidence and people think there are higher taxes round the corner. He has endorsed our view that we need to take action now to tackle the deficit and get the economy going. He is backing our view and coming out against his successor."</p><p><strong>Mark Hoban, Conservative Treasurer</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>The Labour Leadership campaign</strong></p><p>"If I was David Miliband, I would be asking Tony Blair for a period of silence. I think Tony Blair is 101% behind David Miliband because he sees David Miliband as the continuation."</p><p><strong>Leadership contender Diane Abbott</strong></p><p><strong>The revival of the word nicompoop</strong></p><p>"Freedom of Information. Three harmless words. I look at those words as I write them and feel like shaking my head till it drops off my shoulders. You idiot. You naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop. There is really no description of stupidity, no matter how vivid, that is adequate. I quake at the imbecility of it."</p><p><strong>Tony Blair, <em>A Journey</em></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Credit for the Bank of England's independence</strong></p><p>"Brr Brr phone keeps ringing. All about some book. Latest call from hack says Blair claiming it was his idea to make Bank independent! LOL"</p><p><strong>Ex-Gordon Brown spin-doctor Charlie Whelan</strong></p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li></ul></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/F0zrhz-pVa2pNikVIMAZsegsn68/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/F0zrhz-pVa2pNikVIMAZsegsn68/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/F0zrhz-pVa2pNikVIMAZsegsn68/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/F0zrhz-pVa2pNikVIMAZsegsn68/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Politics Books UK news The Observer News http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/blairs-memoirs-journey-for-all Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:48 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-andrew-ohagan/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/20533?ns=guardian&pageName=Andrew+O%27Hagan%3A+%27Blair+is+cursed+with+a+strong+sense+of+his+own+decency%27%3AArticle%3A1447324&ch=Books&c3=Obs&c4=Books%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CCulture+section%2CTony+Blair%2CPolitics%2CLabour&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Andrew+O%27Hagan&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447324&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Books&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FBooks%2FBiography" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The novelist gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>The Lord God so liked his little Tony that he placed him on Earth to show humanity how it should never trust a man who thinks his goodness is axiomatic. That's where the story begins and ends, but not for Tony, who mistook his mission, believing that loyalty to one's good intentions means the same thing as living the moral life. Not far into his memoirs, I began to enjoy them, knowing I had found the comic novel of the decade. The tone is Pooterish and perfect throughout: ideal for a lawyer gone off his head with ambition and self-justification.</p><p>Blair is cursed with a strong sense of his own decency, and his book shows how that sense can truly deform a person. He talks about feelings, but his feelings are hackneyed beyond belief. Everything he says is strategically vacuous. On his mother's early death: "There is nothing like losing a parent. I don't mean it's worse than losing a child. It isn't. I don't think anything can be. I mean that it affects you in a unique way." There he is, the excitable, small-minded guy in love with the spectacle of his own normality. "The other call I had taken was from Bill Clinton. That was great – he was really warm." He thinks politics is about putting on your best face and setting out your basic pitch and "making tough decisions". When it comes to moral expansiveness and grace, he is the unpopular, uncool boy in the playground, who one day told the bully he would hit him if he didn't stop. "Silly, isn't it," he writes, "to recall that tiny moment of character development after all these years?"</p><p>Silly, yes, to think of it as character development. Next to him, his "valued friend" Gordon Brown looks like an ethical titan, a man of Shakespearean depths and echoes. In <em>A Journey</em>, we finally get the memoir that British political literature has been begging for: that of a grasping, blind, over-promoted, arch manipulator of the baser sentiments, a man who sent thousands of people to their deaths in Iraq so that he could prove with finality that he was a bigger man. "All I know," he writes with the comic simplicity of the trendy vicar, "is that I did what I thought was right."</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/andrewohagan">Andrew O'Hagan</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8V4rZeY7Wro7N3iXjS1AggxKTMg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8V4rZeY7Wro7N3iXjS1AggxKTMg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8V4rZeY7Wro7N3iXjS1AggxKTMg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/8V4rZeY7Wro7N3iXjS1AggxKTMg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Books Biography Culture Tony Blair Politics Labour The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-andrew-ohagan Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:47 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-clare-short/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/2888?ns=guardian&pageName=Clare+Short%3A+%27I+was+surprised+by+how+messianic+and+hubristic+it+is+right%3AArticle%3A1447318&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CClare+Short%2CPolitics%2CLabour&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Clare+Short+%28contributor%29&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447318&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The former Secretary of State for International Development gives her verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>I was not intending to read the book, any more than those of Alastair Campbell or Peter Mandelson, but I was sent a copy for comment and curiosity got the better&nbsp;of me.</p><p>I was surprised by how messianic and hubristic it is right from the start. Early on, Blair was not like this. In the first term he used his charm to keep everyone happy as we implemented Labour policy on things such as the minimum wage, devolution and freedom of information. It was in the second term that he became obsessed with his legacy and got carried away with himself. The whole book is written as though he, single-handedly, made Labour electable and was personally responsible for all good things that were achieved.</p><p>The chapter on 11 September is the most shocking. He says that from then on we were at war. And that events in Lebanon, Algeria, Chechnya and Kashmir are all linked to this problem. He says "we" must take on this version of Islam that threatens our way of life. And "we" must reshape Islam.</p><p>It is very sad. He wasn't a bad man. But power does corrupt.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/clareshort">Clare Short</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/clare-short">Clare Short</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DJD6LIvaLx29PDRuekmUQ1at5Ac/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DJD6LIvaLx29PDRuekmUQ1at5Ac/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DJD6LIvaLx29PDRuekmUQ1at5Ac/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/DJD6LIvaLx29PDRuekmUQ1at5Ac/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Clare Short Politics Labour The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-clare-short Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:46 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-peter-wilby/print <div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.20.4/25461?ns=guardian&pageName=Peter+Wilby%3A+%27Anybody+who+studies+Blair+is+forced+to+the+conclusion+that%3AArticle%3A1447312&ch=Politics&c3=Obs&c4=Tony+Blair%2CBiography+%28Books+genre%29%2CBooks%2CCulture+section%2CPolitics%2CLabour&c5=Not+commercially+useful&c6=Peter+Wilby&c7=10-Sep-05&c8=1447312&c9=Article&c10=Review&c11=Politics&c13=&c25=&c30=content&h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FTony+Blair" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The New Statesman and Guardian writer gives his verdict on Tony Blair's memoir</p><p>Tony Blair was always the most mysterious of Britain's prime ministers, largely because, before he became Labour leader, he had never, unless you count assistant secretary of a Labour party branch, attained office of any kind, not even school prefect. None of his numerous biographers quite managed to define what made him tick. He was not a socialist or social democrat, but nor was he a Tory,&nbsp;a Thatcherite or a liberal. So&nbsp;what&nbsp;was&nbsp;he?</p><p>His memoir casts little light. It purports to be an account of what it is like to be prime minister and it succeeds, sometimes through agonised interior monologues, in conveying the pressures, fears and excitements. It is often very funny, particularly in the description of Prince Charles worrying that when John Prescott sat opposite him, with legs apart and "crotch pointing a little menacingly", it was a gesture of "class enmity". It admits, in disarming fashion, several mistakes, though mostly on peripheral matters such as the Dome, Ken Livingstone and his final cabinet reshuffle. It has several hundred exclamation marks. But Blair's motivation – put simply, why he was in the Labour party, or for that matter politics, at all – remains elusive. He claims repeatedly to be "a progressive" (so does the <em>Mail</em>'s Melanie Phillips) and "a moderniser" but never explains these categories.</p><p>Anybody who studies Blair is forced to the conclusion that what is really at the core of him is Christianity. But you will not find God in the index of this book. On page 79, Blair confesses that, for him, religion came first but adds "in a sense". What sense? On the penultimate page, he writes: "I have always been more interested in religion than politics." In between, we learn almost nothing about how faith determined his actions in government. It is as if Lenin had written an autobiography without mentioning&nbsp;Marx.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/tonyblair">Tony Blair</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/biography">Biography</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/labour">Labour</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/peterwilby">Peter Wilby</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" /> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/d2SLGNS1q-QR5D-2BE4QTbkt0Vc/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/d2SLGNS1q-QR5D-2BE4QTbkt0Vc/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/d2SLGNS1q-QR5D-2BE4QTbkt0Vc/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/d2SLGNS1q-QR5D-2BE4QTbkt0Vc/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p> Tony Blair Biography Books Culture Politics Labour The Observer Reviews http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/05/tony-blair-journey-peter-wilby Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:46 GMT