Tom Jackson Online

Manchester Proactive Policing

2011-08-10T13:30:00.002Z

New video footage shows the moment officers from Greater Manchester Police's Tactical Support Unit caught up with looters after a night of violence in the city.

The officers have no hesitation in bundling their criminal suspects from their bicycles into an undignified heap on the ground, throwing in a few baton strikes for good measure. I commend them for their hardline approach and hope they don't hesistate to use the same force tonight if trouble persists.

Their tough tactics follow the Prime Minister's stern warning yesterday that mindless criminality would not to be tolerated on the streets of Britain. Directly addressing those at the centre of violence, theft and arson the PM warned: "If you're old enough to commit the crime, then you are old enough to face the punishment."

David Cameron addressed the nation again this morning, confirming the Government's resolve to dispense swift justice and meet the needs of the police. He confirmed senior police officers were already authorised to use baton rounds and water cannon could be deployed within 24 hours if needed.

With 16,000 Met Police officers strategically positioned around the capital the streets of London were much quieter last night.

Beneath Contempt

2011-08-09T15:12:00.002Z

This amateur video footage is being broadcast by the television news channels this afternoon.

It shows a young man lying wounded in the street surrounded by a pool of blood. As he stands, apparently helped to his feet by a bystander, it becomes apparent that blood is coming from his mouth. He is clearly dazed and confused by whatever has just happened.

Just then another bystander calmly unzipped the injured lad's backpack, rummaged around the contents and then stole some personal electronics.

A truly despicable act of criminal exploitation.

The Met Police has this afternoon published CCTV images of people they want to speak to in connection with London's violent disorder.

London Riots: If I Were Cameron

2011-08-09T08:53:00.014Z

For the third consecutive night terror reigned on the streets of London with criminals smashing, burning or stealing anything in their way.

Shops were looted, cars and homes burnt, years of priceless family history and hard work erased at the hands of arsonist scum. They indiscriminately targeted and wrecked property with such speed and ferocity that outnumbered police stood powerless to act. Like opportunist vermin they grazed the streets looking for easy pickings simply because they could.

I worry that the law abiding majority will see these images of carnage on their TV screens, the police stood impotently agog, and decide to take the law into their own hands. Vigilantism, though I'd completely understand their sentiment, could lead to an even greater escalation of violence as criminal retaliation came to the fore.

Prime Minster David Cameron is chairing a meeting of COBRA this morning. He will be advised by some of the sharpest minds in the business, yet they will be dipping their toes tentatively into unchartered waters. Never before has spontaneous violence on such a massive scale, orchestrated by mobile media, swept the streets of our cities.

There's no doubt that the Government has to take tough and decisive action, but they will want to avoid upping the ante by flooding the streets with riot shields and armoured vehicles.

If I was the PM this is what I would be doing immediately:

1. Recall Parliament: We might need to make rapid new legislation to deal with the unfolding situation. All MPs are to be back in Westminster within 24 hours.
2. Call curfew: Anyone on the streets of London without reasonable cause (e.g. medical emergency or legitimate employment) after 9 pm faces arrest and prosecution.
3. Authorise greater force: The police would be authorised to proactively target and disable (literally if necessary) those clearly identified as criminal aggressors. The public would completely understand and accept if petrol bomb and stone hurling yobs were bundled from the streets. Justice must be seen to be done. The images of unchallenged violence and looting is as damaging as the actions themselves.
4. Advise the judiciary: The courts are to deal with cases swiftly. Those found guilty of mindless criminality are to face the full force of the law with ruthless deterrent sentences. So what if the prisons are full? Imprison them in overcrowded squaller.

Good luck, health and happy hunting to the police.

Pandora's Box Releases Evil Over London

2011-08-08T20:26:00.010Z

Tonight I am ashamed to be British.

Thousands of criminals are terrorising the streets of our capital. Their destructive rampage has seen windows smashed, homes burnt, shops looted and the innocent majority terrorised in their own homes.

Hardworking law abiding people stand helplessly as their properties and livelihoods are engulfed before their eyes. Irreplaceable memories, belongings and peace of mind disappear in flames as the police stand by seemingly doing nothing.

Tonight a very grave situation is unfolding on the streets of London. Decisive action must be taken to stop the continuing terror of these rampaging thugs. Their primeval animal instincts demonstrating the very worst of humanity.

They commit their heinous acts because they know they can. The laws of this nation, eroded by years of political pandering to minorities, impotent to distinguish between what's right and wrong. The fundamental human rights of the victim come after those of the aggressor. The law excessively enforced on the compliant majority, yet habitually flouted by the criminal minority.

That this abhorrent minority integrates seamlessly into society is an offence to all right minded British people. That they accept our hospitals, schools and welfare state with one hand, yet destroy that same society with the other is an outrage.

Pray that good people are safe in their homes tonight.

Tonight I am ashamed to be British.

Tottenham Riots

2011-08-07T11:10:00.009Z

The streets of Tottenham saw the worst civil unrest in a generation last night, with hundreds of troublemakers committing arson, theft and public disorder on a massive scale.

The protests stem from the death of local man Mark Duggan last Thursday, who was killed in an armed confrontation with Metropolitan Police officers after one of their colleagues was shot. The circumstances surrounding Mr Duggan's death are the subject of an ongoing Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation.

Mark Duggan... making funny finger gestures.

Several hundred family and friends of Mr Duggan gathered for what was billed as an evening of peaceful protest outside Tottenham Police Station, which sadly degenerated into an all out riot as darkness fell.

News of the trouble broke shortly after 10 pm last night, with the 24 hour news channels carrying live coverage soon after that. By midnight Tottenham High Road was strewn with burnt out vehicles, shattered glass and broken concrete as several of the nearby buildings burnt helplessly. Missiles, including petrol bombs, rained down on police lines as the protest escalated into the early hours.

Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road.

Hooded louts were seen goading the police and hurling bricks at the passing riot squad vans and fire engines.

Demonstrating the worst of humanity, local criminals exploited the chaos by looting the homes and businesses of their neighbours. As morning broke whole families, including children too young to know the wrongness of their actions, were seen pushing trolleys of stolen goods away from looted shops.

A middle aged woman calmly removed stolen trainers from JD Sports, took them from the box and slipped them onto the feet of her son right before the camera crews. Elsewhere ordinary hardworking families were left destitute as the remains of their homes and belongings smoldered into dust.

A family outing to steal from JD Sports.

I find it rather sickening that the animal instincts of criminal scum come to the fore with such spontaneity. The sad thing is that the police know who the majority of these people are, but are bound by red tape and inane political correctness from dispensing rapid summary justice. If last night's rioters ended up in traction today they wouldn't be so keen to reoffend tonight.

Tonight the police will be ready for them and I wish them the best of luck for a safe and productive hunt.

The End of the World

2011-07-10T00:01:00.005Z

Britain's leading Sunday tabloid rolled off the presses for the final time last night, as the News of the World came to a sudden and premature conclusion.

The newspaper, famed for its hard hitting investigative journalism and barbed headlines, has been embroiled in accusations that former employees illegally hacked into the voicemail messages of high profile personalities and the victims of crime.

Ironic that the NoTW, which has exposed the criminal wrongdoing of countless individuals, stands squarely in the dock accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Last week it came to light that police were investigating whether the voicemails of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler had been hacked by NoTW journalists, giving her family false hopes she was alive. The investigation is also focusing on whether the dodgy journalists snooped on the messages of British service personnel killed in action.

These latest twists in the phone-hacking scandal sent the NoTW's popularity into freefall, with several of their leading advertisers pulling the plug. With the brand irreparably tarnished parent company News Corporation decided to call it a day, bringing down the shutters on 168 years of tabloid history.

Heinous as the NoTW's phone-hacking actions were it is a sad day for the British free press. Not to mention all of the honest journalists tied up in history through no fault of their own.

There is a feeling that media mogul Rupert Murdoch has sacrificed the NoTW to save the skin of News International boss Rebekah Brooks, who occupied the editor's chair at the peak of the paper's phone-hacking activities.

I'm curious as to why he rates her so highly.

Labour Warned of Economic Black Hole

2011-06-11T14:35:00.002Z

Treasury advisers warned Gordon Brown and Ed Balls their spending plans were ill-conceived years before Britain's economy went into free fall.

The damning revelations, published in today's Daily Telegraph, show that senior members of the Labour Cabinet were told that "ineffective spending" must be "closed down" just months before then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, embarked on a £90 bn spending spree that he continued as Prime Minister despite clear advice to the contrary.

By the end of 2008 Britain was teetering on the brink of its deepest recession for a generation, with manufacturing down 7% and unemployment standing at almost 3 million. Gordon Brown's frivolous spending left the nation facing record nation debt, just as the global financial crisis was about to bite.

Yesterday the Telegraph published excerpts from private memos between Brown and Balls, criticising Tony Blair and discussing how to discredit him as prime minster. The treacherous duo then drafted a deal document, which they hoped would accelerate Blair's departure and Brown's bid for premiership.

Michael Fallon, deputy chairman of the Conservatives, said: "As recently as last year, Ed Balls and Ed Miliband were denying something we now know to be true. While Britain's debt doubled, welfare spending spiralled out of control and education standards fell, they were obsessing about getting rid of the elected prime minister and putting Gordon Brown into the position.

In an attempt to deflect from his party's habitual economic incompetence Ed Miliband, Labour leader, described the revelations as "ancient history".

Sonic Resurrection

2011-06-01T09:32:00.004Z

Warning: Another nostalgic post coming up!

Step back in time two decades when the Iron Curtain teetered on the brink of collapse and the fall of communist USSR signalled a new dawn for Russia. Elsewhere, a coalition of 34 nations lay poised to strike Iraq in response to its invasion of neighbouring oil state Kuwait. Across the pond Nirvana struck a surprise hit single with Smells Like Teen Spirit, whilst in the UK legendary rock group Queen were riding high in the charts with hits like Innuendo and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Nineteen-ninety-one was a memorable year for so many different reasons, not least the birth of a modern day pixelated hero - Sonic the Hedgehog. I must have spent hundreds of hours helping Sonic battle the evil Dr Robotnik, preventing the egg-shaped villain from using Chaos Emeralds to take over the world. It was quite a big deal back then.

So I downloaded the Gens emulator and I'm reacquainting myself with games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Road Rash, Paperboy and Gauntlet. The ROMs (game files) are very easy to locate using Google.

That's me occupied until this time next week!

Follow Up - Winterbourne View Arrests

2011-06-01T08:22:00.005Z

It is clear that last night's shocking Panorama programme, showing the institutionalised abuse of patients at the Winterbourne View specialist hospital near Bristol, has sparked widespread outrage across the nation.

That members of a so-called caring profession can take such pleasure in degrading, humiliating and assaulting those in their charge is truly wicked. Hopefully the law will show them the same level of compassion they have displayed in the course of their duties.

Within an hour of publishing my post last night I had received 5,000 unique visitors, with almost 200 people reading my article simultaneously. I also received around 30 blog comments, which I took the unusual decision to stop publishing when people started giving prime suspect Wayne's full name and address.

So aghast by last night's programme I forgot to mention that Avon and Somerset Police have made four arrests in connection with abuse at Winterbourne View. The police investigation is ongoing but the balance of evidence seems damning.

I somehow think Wayne and his fellow bad eggs will get what's coming to them.

The programme is still available on the BBC iPlayer, but for anyone outside the UK it has also been uploaded to YouTube. Be advised that it contains distressing images of patient abuse:

Panorama - Winterbourne View

2011-05-31T20:31:00.004Z

"Assaults at Winterboure View have become endemic."

That's the grim opinion of BBC Panorama's Paul Kenyon, as he reviewed shocking undercover footage showing a culture of patient abuse.

Tonight's programme followed the thuggish behaviour of some workers at the specialist residential hospital near Bristol. Winterbourne View, which is run by the Castlebeck care company, homes some of the south west's most vulnerable adults, with a range of learning disabilities, complex needs and challenging behaviour.

In the hour long show, often painful to watch, we saw members of staff strike patients without provocation, drag them from their beds, pin them to the ground and deprive them of their personal belongings.

In what can only be described as institutionalised bullying we saw one care worker, tattooed thug Wayne, goading patients into harming themselves and belittling them with taunts about their families.

In one particularly venomous abuse of trust we saw Wayne pour ice cold water onto patient Simone, as she shivered uncontrollably on the cold ground outside.

Absolutely horrendous and I hope Castlebeck and the employees concerned face the full weight of the law. They aren't fit to run kennels.

Tory Peer Taylor Jailed for Fraud

2011-05-31T12:15:00.005Z

Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick has been jailed for 12-months today, despite empassioned pleas in the dock to save his own skin.

The 58-year-old corrupt lawyer, who was the first black member of the House of Lords, fraudulently obtained more than £11,000 worth of travel and subsistence expenses by claiming for journeys between a phantom second home and the capital.

It later transpired that the Oxfordshire property at the heart of Taylor's dishonest claims actually belonged to his step-nephew Robert Taylor and, far from residing there, the disgraced peer had only visited it twice.

As part of his defence Taylor maintained that false expenses claims were widely accepted practice within Parliament. Mohammed Khamisa QC, representing Taylor, claimed his client was role model to young black people and should be spared jail.

Passing sentence at Southwark Crown Court Mr Justice Saunders told Taylor he had ruined his life "not by one stupid action but by a protracted course of dishonesty".

Goodbye to bad rubbish. I never did like the slimy chap.

Twitter Sued for Revealing Imogen Thomas Love Rat

2011-05-20T18:32:00.006Z

Thought for the day: Now the entire English-speaking world knows which greasy Premier League football star was adulterous with Imogen Thomas, what does he hope to achieve by suing Twitter.

Does he think he's going to propel himself any further up in people's estimations?

Answers on a postcard please.

They're good these super-injunctions.

Arriva North East - The Epitome of Customer Disservice

2011-05-16T07:57:00.021Z

Having previously been stranded on broken down buses, ignored at bus stops and delayed innumerable hours, I'd probably be forgiven for thinking I'd seen the worst aspects of Arriva North East customer service.

Apparently not, because today for the first time I encountered blatant dishonesty and miscommunication by the north east's largest public transport operator.

It started at 7:33 am this morning when I was waiting for the 505. The minutes ticked by, as they often do with this service being habitually late. Using my mobile I decided to browse to the Arriva North East Facebook pages, where their Commercial Manager Mark Ellis goes by the name of "Arriva Bod", in the hope that a realtime update would be posted there. Fat chance, with some of yesterday's tripe about Saltwell Park adorning the top of their Wall.

By 8:10 am the bus still hadn't arrived so I decided to call the misleadingly titled Arriva customer services hotline. They might have a phone line, but there's certainly nothing hot about it. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. I rang again at 8:15 am and again the phone rang. It rang for so long, at least 3 minutes, that I'd pretty much abandoned any hope of being answered. Just as I was about to hang up someone picked up at the other end.

"Hello, Arriva Customer Services" bold as brass, as if I hadn't been waiting for her to finish her bacon sandwich as the phone rang off the hook. I explained the problem and she told me that no disruption had been reported, but she would contact the depot to see if they knew anything.

A few minutes of silence (Arriva are apparently too tight or disorganised to provide canned music) later she returned with the news that she'd spoken to both the Ashington and Jesmond depots and been told that several buses were off the road due to mechanical problems that morning. As a result they had withdrawn some services. My bus had been one of those hit by these unfortunate circumstances.

I didn't consider this to be a satisfactory explanation, considering the arbitrary way they had inconvenienced their stranded passengers. Somehow I managed to maintain my cool and posed the question: "So if you've known about this disruption for the last hour, how come it hasn't been posted on your Facebook page so people can try to make alternative arrangements?" She explained that the depot had been so busy sorting things out that they'd not had a chance to do that. I relayed the message to the lengthening queue of irate passengers standing at the stop alongside me.

Resigned to the fact the bus wasn't coming I decided to waste another hour of my life and catch the 9:10 am instead. This later bus, service 501, took a slightly different route so I had to walk to the bus station. On arrival at the bus station I was greeted by fellow stranded, frothing at the mouth with anger as they recounted their experiences that morning.

They too had attempted to catch the 505 earlier on, only to discover it had been cancelled without warning. Comparing excuses, of which Arriva have a book full, I quickly learnt that the people waiting at the bus station had been given a different explanation for the morning's derisory level of service. Instead of being told the bus had been cancelled, one of the Alnwick-based Arriva employees had told them that it had actually started further along the route at Felton, thus bypassing us folk closer to its timetabled origin.

Having received comments from former Arriva employees, I can fully believe that they were unable operate a full service this morning due to the woeful maintenance of their vehicles. What I struggle to believe is that a bus company, supposedly customer oriented, is so incompetent that it cancels services at the drop of a hat, fails to tell anyone and subsequently trots out a range of different explanations depending on who they're speaking to.

Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Time and time again in my experience Arriva has set consistently low standards, which it fails to achieve.

Arriva North East really are the pits. Pathetic excuses, abysmal communication, inconsiderate drivers, poorly maintained vehicles and zero concept of customer service. I can't think of any better advert for buying a car.

Defective Cable Threatens to Short Circuit Coalition

2011-05-07T13:57:00.003Z

A senior Liberal Democrat member of the Government has branded Conservative Coalition partners as "ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal."

Dr Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, made the controversial statement on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme with John Humphrys earlier today.

His embittered comments follow the collapse of Lib Dem support in the recent English council, Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliamentary elections. The pro-electoral reform Lib Dems also suffered a humiliating defeat when the nation decided overwhelmingly to reject the Alternative Vote system of election to the Westminster Parliament.

Despite Dr Cable's obvious reservations about the Coalition agreement, he reinforced Deputy PM Nick Clegg's assertion that the Government would continue for the next four years.

Dr Cable told the BBC News Channel: "The basic reason for going into coalition wasn't electoral reform, but the economic crisis. We still have one."

"Some of us never had many illusions about the Conservatives, but they have emerged as ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal.

"But that doesn't mean to say we can't work with them. I think they have always been that way, but you have to be businesslike and professional and you have to work with people who aren't your natural bedfellows and that is being grown-up in politics. We are going to continue to do that."

Another Liberal Democrat member of the Government, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne, reportedly had a Cabinet room bust up with Conservative PM David Cameron about the way the "No to AV" campaign had been conducted. He has also publicly targeted Conservative Chairman Sayeeda Warsi over her support of the campaign, citing First Past the Post as the electoral system of choice for the British National Party.

There has never been a better time to silence the Liberal Democrats by calling a General Election and bringing this limp and conciliatory Coalition to a grinding halt.

Let the people decide and let's have an unequivocal Conservative mandate to govern.

Conservatives Hold Their Ground

2011-05-06T17:44:00.012Z

AV referendum results: yellow = areas voting no to AV,
purple = areas voting yes to AV (not many).

Usually on election night I'm glued to the gogglebox until the early hours of the morning watching the results roll in.

Last night I turned off at the modest time of 10.30 pm expecting the Conservatives to get a pasting on the back of their essential but electorally unpalatable national economic reforms. It hasn't happened, the electorate instead targeting their venom at that most worthy of recipients the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives are four English councils and 81 councillors to the good, with the Lib Dems having lost nine councils and 695 councillors at the time of writing. The Conservatives have also gained two members of the Welsh Assembly, with the Lib Dems losing one. The only fly in the ointment, not unexpectedly, is that the Conservatives lost five members of the Scottish Parliament. Oh well, if Alex Salmond has his way Scotland will be a completely different country within a decade so who cares?

The best result of the night as far as I'm concerned is a resounding NO to the Alternative Vote. Here in Northumberland of the 99,846 votes cast almost three-quarters, 72,500, were opposed to electoral reform. You don't get much more clear cut than that. Nationally the story was similar with 68% of the vote rejecting AV.

The Lib Dems, like opportunist flies swarming a warm dog turd, are out in force claiming the electorate didn't understand the question and the No Campaign was dishonest. A little humility wouldn't go amiss from the most yellow of Liberals including Chris Huhne, who didn't resist the question when it was first decided.

I also see some Yes Campaign mouthpieces on Sky News saying "if the question said would you prefer PR/STV then they would have voted yes, so we'll be pushing the issue again". Bollocks would they. Be magnanimous in defeat and give the people some credit. Voters understand perfectly well that four or five selections on a ballot paper are more costly and time consuming to count than just one selection. The vast majority of people know who they want to vote for and don't give a stuff about second or third choices. The electoral reform bird has well and truly flown and for this generation at least is peppered with duck shot. To coin a phrase from The Wizard of Oz - electoral reform is not only merely dead, it's really most sincerely dead.

The nation decided emphatically yesterday that First Past the Post was a perfectly acceptable means of electing MPs to Westminster. No second chances and no further compromises to the Liberal Democrats.

They have had way too much Tory benevolence already.

Make Your Mark in the AV Referendum

2011-05-04T20:13:00.004Z

Tomorrow is an important day in the democracy of our nation.

Every elector will have the opportunity to decide whether to keep the current First Past the Post system of voting, or replace it with the Alternative Vote system.

I have already voted to retain the current system. First Past the Post normally results in strong Government, which has the power to make sweeping reform and leave an indelible mark on the population. Contrast that with the weakened Government we currently have, which is bound into Liberal left compromise thanks to the hapless Coalition agreement.

As it stands at the moment the candidate that receives the most votes wins. What could be fairer than that? First Past the Post has served this nation well for the last century, producing strong Governments who were actually able to govern.

If it ain't broken then don't fix it.

Whichever way you intend to vote please do make the effort to make your voice heard.

Gillian Duffy - Thick as Pork

2011-04-13T17:42:00.005Z

I got the fright of my life this morning when I opened the pages of my newspaper to find loony-left gobshite Gillian Duffy adorning page 3 - quite apt considering the tit she made of herself by tackling Nick Clegg yesterday.

Gillian, for the benefit of those with failing memories, tackled Gordon Brown on the issue of UK immigration during the 2010 General Election campaign. Brown grinned, said "I agree" in all the right places and was then overheard referring to Rochdale's most menacing pensioner as a "bigoted woman" as he drove away.

Like a preying mantis waiting to wrap her jaws around another photo opportunity Duffy took station at the engineering firm Deputy PM Clegg was due to visit. In what was clearly an orchestrated encounter Duffy was flanked by Labour officials. Sensing the oxygen of publicity she pounced, cameras rolling and gave it to him both barrels.

"Can I ask you one question before you go in because you're in such a rush? I don't want to take the limelight away from these people," Duffy said, her nose elongating with sincerity.

"Can you please tell me why you went with the Conservatives last year instead of going with the Labour (Party)?"

Clegg attempted to explain how the Conservatives were the only party that could form a working majority and that the UK needed strong Government to steer clear of its current difficulties.

Duffy winced, her teeth feverishly chiseling the skin from her bottom lip and brow furrowing at Clegg's elaborate answer.

She continued: "Can you honestly tell me now and look me in the eye and tell me that you're quite happy with all these policies what (sic) have gone wrong for you, for your Party?"

Clegg trotted out a perfectly accurate and plausible answer that the nation was in shit state thanks to her mate Gordon Brown and drastic action needed to be taken to fix the broken economy.

"I've just been listening to you on the television and I've been listening to you on the radio and that's just the same speech you gave out about an hour ago."

With that Gillian slipped into the darkness, hopefully blindly in front of a bus given her total inability to recognise Labour manufactured current circumstances.

Tyne & Wear Metro The Musical

2011-03-27T08:33:00.003Z

After months of preparation and weeks of on-air hyperbole BBC North East and Cumbria's Metro the Musical has finally been unveiled.

The nine-and-a-half minute video is a montage of Tyne & Wear Metro workers and passengers, mostly of dubious singing skills, charting the history of the distinctive cadmium yellow trains since their 1980 introduction.

Further exemplifying the BBC's political impartiality the song quickly highlights the dark days of unemployment, failing industry and Cold War uncertainty that shadowed the new decade.

Just then a ray of hope shines through as Metro, with its bright colours and geometric precision, emerges like a phoenix from the ashes of destitution.

In addition to its primary purpose of delivering people from A to B to musical shows some of the stories behind Metro - the relationships and conflicts that arise using the system. It also shows a lot of dancing and jolity, which is something you rarely see in reality.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I quite like it, but with six months in the making I dread to think how much it cost.

BBC Making the News - Badly

2011-03-26T16:59:00.002Z

Viewers of the BBC's television news programmes will have noticed they have a new bee in their bonnet this week - the use of shotguns by children.

The Corporation sent Freedom of Information Act requests to Britain's 52 territorial police forces asking how many shotgun certificates they had issued to under 18-year-olds in the past 3 years.

Fifty one of the forces responded, confirming that 7,071 certificates were issued. Gloucestershire Constabulary confirmed that it had given a shotgun certificate to a seven-year-old in 2008.

Cue BBC News scaremongering, with the implication that all children trained to use a shotgun run the risk become gun-toting, Post Office-robbing delinquents.

This morning BBC Breakfast wheeled out Lucy Cope, a Mothers Against Guns campaigner, to extol the evils of these heinous weapons plaguing Britain's streets. Cope's views, whilst heartfelt and impassioned, are blinkered by the grief of losing her own child to gun crime.

The unequivocal fact is that the vast majority of these young shotgun users become highly proficient and conscientious in their skill. They know how to handle and store their weapons safely and securely. They use their weapons for the perfectly legal pursuits of shooting game or targets on private land.

They have the right to enjoy their hobby without the persecution of well-intentioned but ill-informed busybodies.

Those intent on criminality don't bother to apply for a firearms or shotgun certificate.

Gaddafi: The End is Nigh

2011-03-19T10:06:00.004Z

Despotic Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi is just a few hours away from UN backed airstrikes that stand to topple his regime.

Over the past month rebels opposed to Gaddafi's rule have occupied several large towns and cities towards the north of the country, including Libya's second city Benghazi. Gaddafi loyalists have staged a series of attacks on the rebel stronghold killing hundreds of civilians in the process.

On Thursday night the UN Security Council sanctioned a no-fly zone over Libya and agreed to "all necessary measures" needed to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces short of an invasion. Crucially, the wording of Security Council Resolution 1973 gives legal backing to preventative airstrikes against Libyan forces and military infrastructure.

Last night, in a calculated bid to delay military action against his supporters, Gaddafi announced a ceasefire. As early as this morning, in another act of defiance to the international community, Gaddafi's forces were shelling the outskirts of Benghazi and buzzing the city with fighter aircraft. Huge cheers erupted as one fighter, apparently a Russian built MiG-23, fell from the sky in a trail of flames.

An international force led by France is amassing in the Mediterranean in preparation for strikes against Libya.

I'm expecting the first action at dusk tonight.

Fearless Fukushima 50

2011-03-19T09:30:00.007Z

Reading Metro yesterday morning, I was struck by the harrowing messages posted by the Fukushima 50's families, as their loved ones battle to stabilised the stricken Japanese nuclear reactors.

The Fukushima nuclear plant suffered badly in last week's mammoth magnitude 9 earthquake, which was centred off the east coast of Tōhoku. As if the quake, the largest in Japanese history, wasn't damaging enough a 10 metre high tsunami swept coastal regions, obliterating everything in its path.

In an ironic twist of fate the Fukushima plant lost power, meaning water pumps cooling the superheated fuel rods ground to a standstill. Spiralling temperatures combined with the catalytic action of zirconium reactor casings caused the break down of water into an explosive mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The gases reacted producing a powerful shockwave, further damaging the already fragile reactor casing.

Since the tsunami struck the nuclear plant workers, nicknamed the Fukushima 50, have battled tirelessly to prevent the catastrophic consequences of the fuel rods melting down. Having lost their homes, families and belongings the way they selflessly expose themselves to lethal doses of radiation is truly astounding.

The daughter of one of the Fukushima 50 Tweeted: "My dad went to the nuclear plant. I have never heard my mother cry so hard. Please dad come back alive."

Another said: "My father is still working at the plant. He says he's accepted his fate... much like a death sentence."

The desperate attempt to cool the Fukushima reactors continues.

Pray for the brave Fukushima 50.

An Exercise in Futility

2011-03-10T20:59:00.005Z

This evening I embarked on an exercise even more pointless than Police Community Support Officers. A task so obsolete that it should have been confined to the dustbin of history decades ago.

This evening I lost half an hour of my life by completed the Census form (unless you're reading from the Office for National Statistics, in which case I actually completed it two weeks from now on 27th March). Do I feel satisfied that I have done my bit to lubricate the wheels of Government officiousness? Not one bit.

We live in a nation where the average urban dweller is captured by CCTV no less than 300 times each day. As Britons we're in the unenviable position of being tracked as we walk the streets, tracked as we drive our cars and even tracked when we buy our daily newspapers.

The personal information of every legal entity in Britain already adorns numerous Government databases, so why can't they cross match the invasive records they already hold?

It's time to bury the Census once and for all.

Plus think of all the money we could save by getting rid of those ONS civil servants!

Dispatches - Secret NHS Diaries

2011-02-28T20:48:00.003Z

Channel 4's Dispatches programme has been following the final days of three patients receiving NHS palliative care.

Tonight's programme was a montage of video diaries shot by the patients' nearest and dearest, chronicling their final days on this Earth. I found one of the stories, that of Harry and Lynn Pinner, particularly moving.

Harry had terminal emphysema after being exposed to asbestos at work. He was accepting of his fate and his only wish was to die at home with steadfast wife Lynn by his side. Harry's days became increasingly pained as nature took its toll. He needed more and more pain relief to make his final days with Lynn as comfortable and dignified as possible.

Lynn had to battle with local NHS services to get Harry the medication needed to end his pain. Something as simple and essential as setting up a syringe driver was a myriad of pointless and time consuming bureaucracy. Lynn lost irreplaceable time with her husband being bounced backwards and forwards between NHS agencies, each offering a different excuse for doing nothing.

The NHS Trusts involved can rightly hang their heads in shame. The quality of care they gave him in his final days was nothing short of a disgrace.

Housekeeping Announcement

2011-02-24T13:53:00.002Z

Apologies to anyone who recently received an email purporting to be from me. Don't worry, I haven't taken up broken Chinglish as a second language, it wasn't really from me.

Some cyber-miscreant managed, somehow, to get into one of my Google Accounts. A quick whois on their IP address revealed the aforementioned miscreant was Chinese based (hope it wasn't you Renner). I now have my Google Accounts signed out, PC well scrubbed and passwords all changed. Given the amount of work I do online I've been pretty lucky to avoid such hiccups thus far. Hopefully there won't be a repeat performance, because I'm loathe to ditch an account with so much information in it.

If you received one of the emails and I haven't spoken to you for years then don't bother to get back in touch!

Cara Confused Sings Chain Reaction

2011-02-17T20:34:00.005Z

You know, it's absolutely amazing how much interest a post can sometimes garner.

Last month I wrote about Cara Confused's rendition of Queen megahit Somebody to Love. This month Cara returns to the small screen for her take on the Bee Gee's Chain Reaction, as made famous by Diana Ross in the mid-eighties.

Cue lots of animated breast-wobbling, hip gyration and the amazing vocals of West End star Louise Dearman. Cara's skirt still resembles Mary Poppins' bag, with a large bunch of flowers and mobile phone being seemingly produced from thin air.

It's another great video, but it's missing one thing... the cute blonde with the ponytail that appeared in the first video!

Edit: Note to oneself: Don't ever, ever, ever use Internet Explorer to post on Blogger.

Scottish Justice

2011-01-30T11:40:00.004Z

I have long admired the Scottish legal system.

On the whole it runs smoothly, efficiently and justice is dispensed in a timely manner. Notwithstanding their recent misjudgement on the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Scots legal system is the envy of many nations. Principal of these are England and Wales, where the sluggish and half-hearted approach to offender management is nothing short of a joke.

I read today that Glasgow Sheriff Court is running a pilot scheme, whereby low-level offenders are sentenced to hard labour in community payback squads. So far this winter more than 33,000 hours of snow clearance has been paid back to Scottish society by people unable to adhere to the rule of law.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "We want to see low-level offenders out paying back communities by doing some tough manual labour.

"Whether it is cleaning streets of graffiti, renovating elderly care homes, restoring fallen gravestones or - as we saw during the recent severe weather conditions - helping to clear pavements of snow, these offenders should be repaying their dues to communities they have harmed."

A brilliant move by Scotland, and one that England and Wales would do well to emulate in these most austere of times.

For maximal deterrence justice must be seen to be done and I can't think of any better way of achieving that aim.

EMA Protests Rebuffed

2011-01-19T21:09:00.003Z

The Opposition has lost an attempt to reverse the Government's planned abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA).

The means-tested allowance, worth between £10 and £30 per week, is available to teenagers in post-compulsory education. It is intended to support their studies, but recipients are permitted to spend the cash as wisely (or otherwise) as they like.

How many cranial-vacant teenagers are taking worthless post-16 qualifications to secure free beer tokens and dodge meaningful employment? Quite a few I'd suggest. How many hard working and socially responsible teenagers would continue with their education even if EMA was scrapped? An even higher proportion I'd say.

Twenty years ago, long before EMA even existed, people stayed on post-16 because they had the academic drive and commitment to do so. Being paid for that privilege never crossed their minds. Talented individuals, regardless of personal circumstance, somehow managed to attend their studies, work diligently and gain worthwhile qualifications.

Contrast that with today.

The whole EMA system epitomises Labour's time in office - conceptually socially benevolent, but marred by financial miscalculation when you scratch the surface. I could be even blunter - EMA is a policy to buy votes with other people's money.

Which bright spark had the idea of paying teenagers for benefiting from a free education? Should we really be luring them into the misapprehension that the state is obliged to bankroll their lifestyles?

And the most galling thing is that even now, with the benefit of 7-month's hindsight, Labour can't see the economic trail of destruction they left in their wake.

No wonder the nation is broke.

Miliband Pounds Oldham Campaign Trail

2011-01-03T12:45:00.004Z

Accidental Labour leader Ed Miliband, that's him in the shadow of brother David, has been preaching to the Socialist Worker readers of Oldham East in the first by-election campaign of the new Parliament.

Young Ed, displaying blissful ignorance of his Party's recent economic recklessness, focused on the tough decisions that the incumbent Government are currently taking to narrow the deficit.

One of their first decisions, to raise VAT to 20%, kicks in tomorrow. The VAT increase, according to young Ed, is likely to cost the average family an extra £400 per year.

Asked how he would tackle Britain's gigantic national debt, half of which is down to his lot, the Labour leader can't provide an answer.

Also on the Labour campaign trail a guest appearance by none other than Osama bin Laden.

Chris Jefferies Released Without Charge

2011-01-01T21:57:00.007Z

The landlord of murder victim Joanna Yeates has been released from police detention without charge.

Chris Jefferies was arrested on suspicion of Joanna's murder at around 7 am on Thursday, 30th December 2010. His arrest came shortly after he made contradictory comments to the police, neighbours and media about seeing the ill-fated landscape architect on the night of her disappearance.

In theory the police could have held Mr Jefferies without charge up to a maximum of 96 hours, subject to the agreement of Magistrates.

On New Year's Eve Magistrates granted the police permission to continue holding Mr Jefferies until 7 am tomorrow, 2nd January 2011, taking his period of detention up to 72 hours since his arrest.

However, the police have obviously decided tonight that there is insufficient evidence to continue holding the 65-year-old bachelor in detention. Put it this way - they've bottled asking Magistrates for a second extension because they've got no new evidence to offer.

There is always the possibility that Mr Jefferies could be rearrested if subsequent evidence is found against him.

My personal feeling, as I've said all along, is that anyone who thinks it's him is barking up the wrong tree.

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say they should be looking slightly closer to home.

Edit: So confident was I that they'd release him, I had this post already written.

Yeates Murder Suspect Deadline Looms

2011-01-01T21:28:00.004Z

Avon and Somerset Police have until 7 am tomorrow morning to decide whether or not to charge, release or seek another extension to the detention of the Joanna Yeates murder suspect.

Magistrates can extend Chris Jefferies' period of detention without charge up to an absolute maximum of 96 hours.

Yesterday Magistrates granted police permission to continue their detention of Mr Jefferies without charge. However, in a point seemingly overlooked by the media, the Magistrates could only authorise an extension of 36 hours detention at the police's first request. That initial extension will expire tomorrow, 2nd January, at 7 am.

Should the police wish to detain Mr Jefferies up to the 96 hour maximum, they will have to approach Magistrates for a second time by 7 am tomorrow. Failing that they have to either charge or release the 65-year-old bachelor.

The police will have to make their next move overnight - the law requires them to.

Stay tuned for updates.

Cara Confused Misses ITV Top 20

2011-01-01T15:59:00.005Z

In an absolute travesty of justice Cara Confused's rendition of Somebody to Love has failed to make it into ITV's top 20 ads for 2010.

Apologies if this post sounds slightly advertorial, but the latest TV commercial by Confused.com has left audience members wondering how tiny Cara has such a powerful voice and asking one important question...

...just where does she pull her microphone stand from?

Cara was introduced in November in response to fears that Confused.com was losing ground to rival price comparison site Go Compare.

In all seriousness I think it's a bloody good ad. The combination of quirky animation and Queen rock anthem is a definite winner.

Ford Prison Riot

2011-01-01T12:02:00.007Z

As the chimes of Big Ben rang in the New Year, prisoners at HMP Ford in West Sussex began a disturbance of their own.

Prison officers were forced to abandon the Category D establishment shortly after midnight when some of the prisoners started setting off fire alarms and vandalising their wing. Unconfirmed rumours suggest the prisoners became rowdy when they were asked to return to their cells following New Year's Eve celebrations.

Prisoners at Ford are coming towards the end of their sentences and are preparing for resettlement. Until today no arsonists or sex offenders were in custody there, although some of the prisoners have convictions for violence.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "At around 12am about 40 prisoners began smashing windows and setting off fire alarms at the establishment and set one building alight.

"Prison staff were forced to retreat and police and the fire brigade have been called. Specialist teams of prison officers have been called in to deal with the incident."

The TV news channels are carrying live coverage of the incident, with overhead shots showing several fires still blazing towards the middle of the prison. Prisoners, distinguishable by their orange and grey jackets, can be seen wandering and socialising between the buildings.

According to the latest Ministry of Justice reports the fire brigade have left the scene, which suggests the burning buildings have been sacrificed to the flames. A large number of specially trained prison officers are at the open prison tasked with restoring order.

I reckon that if the riot team go in hard then it won't take too long to restore order. They're convicted low life anyway, let's not forget.

Police Granted Extension in Yeates Murder Case

2010-12-31T19:19:00.007Z

Bristol Magistrates have extended the length of time that Avon and Somerset Police can hold their Joanna Yeates murder suspect in custody without charge.

A brief statement on the Force's website says: "Police have today, Friday December 31, been granted more time to question a 65-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday December 30, by Magistrates."

The man in custody is retired teacher Chris Jefferies, who was Joanna's landlord before her death.

So what does that actually mean? The legislation governing police custody is the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. For Magistrates to authorise a continued period of detention without charge they must be satisfied it is "necessary to secure or preserve evidence relating to an offence for which (the suspect) is under arrest or to obtain such evidence by questioning".

So the police must still think they have a chance of unearthing enough evidence to charge Mr Jefferies.

The police haven't given many details, but the Magistrates could have extended Mr Jefferies' period of detention without charge by an additional 36 hours. After that time, which would expire at 7 am on Sunday (2nd, January 2011), the police would have to either seek a second extension from Magistrates (taking Mr Jefferies' period of detention without charge to the absolute maximum of 96 hours since his arrest) or release him without charge.

I remain sceptical.

In fact, as I hinted yesterday, I'm not convinced it's him.

And So The Plot Thickens...

2010-12-30T11:02:00.004Z

Yesterday I broke my blogging silence on Britain's most topical news item, the disappearance and murder of Bristol architect Joanna Yeates.

I concluded my article by saying: "So many questions but only a few plausible answers, which makes me think the police are quite close to making a breakthrough."

This morning's news would seem to bear that out, with the arrest of 65-year-old Chris Jefferies, Joanna's landlord, who lives in a separate flat in the same building.

Mr Jefferies, a retired teacher, entered the limelight yesterday with his announcement that he might have seen Joanna with two unknown people shortly before her disappearance on the night of Friday, 17th December 2010.

There are a few oddities surrounding Mr Jefferies, not least the fact it took him a whole week, police crawling around the flat downstairs, to remember that he may have seen Joanna on the night she vanished.

Just as I correctly said with the Suffolk Strangler case, we mustn't automatically assume that the first person arrested, in this case Mr Jefferies, is guilty of Joanna's murder. The police will have to carefully assemble the pieces of the evidential jigsaw, which will prove particularly difficult should Mr Jefferies be the right man.

I say that because as Joanna's landlord, should he (hypothetically) wish to hide his guilt, he would be able to offer a range of entirely plausible explanations to the police. Joanna's flat could, quite legitimately and innocently, be covered with his fingerprints and DNA. He could have used his vehicle to innocently give Joanna a lift to the shops. Joanna could have given him a hand loading items into the boot of his car, thereby explaining her presence in there.

Enough of playing devil's advocate.

My gut feeling is that a man as weak and weedy as Mr Jefferies, wearing his fluffy wool mittens and shuffling along with his woven nylon shopping bag, would not have been physically capable of strangling a fit and healthy girl like Joanna.

Time will tell.

The police can only hold Mr Jefferies for 36 hours without charge, before having to apply to Magistrates for an extension up to a maximum of 96 hours.

Joanna Yeates' Murder

2010-12-29T18:32:00.004Z

Like most other people I've been following the Joanna Yeates disappearance now murder enquiry with interest.

For the benefit of my non-UK readers, I will quickly give some background details.

The 25-year-old landscape architect was last seen on the evening of Friday, 17th December 2010. Her disappearance was reported by her boyfriend on Sunday, 19th December 2010.

An ever expanding string of clues follows her home from the Ram pub on Park Street to Canynge Road in the Clifton area of Bristol. She stopped off at Waitrose, then the Bargain Booze off-licence, then Tesco before arriving home shortly before 9 pm that night.

CCTV and eye witness accounts have revealed that Joanna bought a pizza at Tesco and two bottles of cider at Bargain Booze.

Today, according to reports on Sky News, Joanna's landlord told police that he might have seen her leaving the flat with two thus far unknown people at around 9 pm.

Joanna's fully clothed body was found by dog walkers early on Christmas Day. Their gruesome discovery was at Longwood Lane, Failand, about 2 miles south west of Joanna's flat across the Avon Gorge. Heavy snow and hard frosts delayed post-mortem results on the body until yesterday, when it was revealed that Joanna was strangled.

Far be it for me to second guess the police investigation, but a few reasonable deductions can be made about the night of her disappearance.

She left the pub early at about 8 pm, bought a decent-sized pizza and two bottles of cider. Her boyfriend was away, so she was home alone at the time. Photographs have shown Joanna to be a slender girl, so is it likely she was going to eat the pizza and drink the cider by herself? I suggest not. It's probable she bought them because she was expecting company later in the evening.

If the landlord is correct with his observations and timings then Joanna left her flat very shortly after arriving home from the pub. In the space of that 15 or 20 minutes the two unknown people arrived, half a bottle of cider was consumed and Joanna was somehow coaxed back out of her home. Again, I don't think it's likely Joanna downed half a bottle of cider by herself in such a short space of time. I don't think it's likely that two complete strangers managed to get Joanna back outside, seemingly without struggle or disturbance, on such a bitterly cold and dark evening.

Her mobile phone and keys were left behind, as if she wasn't expecting to be away for very long. As she left her keys behind, it's a reasonable assumption that she left the door unlocked on the way out. A person would only do that if they were just nipping out, not going far at all. Was she lured outside on the pretence of briefly looking at something?

Whatever the ins and outs, the only possible conclusion is that Joanna knew her visitors and willingly left the flat with them. The fact that these two visitors haven't come forward implicates them in her disappearance.

Curiously the pizza box, empty or otherwise, has never been found. Did Joanna take it with her when she left with these two people? Did it even get as far as Canynge Road? If it didn't, why did the cider not get left at the same place?

So many questions but only a few plausible answers, which makes me think the police are quite close to making a breakthrough.

The police continued their detailed forensic examination of Joanna's flat today, with the outside door and intercom being removed for closer scrutiny.

God speed the investigation and I wish the police the best possible luck in identifying the killers and bringing them to justice.

Edit (@30/12/10): Police arrested the landlord on suspicion of murder this morning.

Cable: The Turd That Doesn't Flush

2010-12-21T17:39:00.003Z

Mmm, this is embarrassing.

Just goes to show that you should take Daily Mail Reporter's Twitter feed with a pinch of salt. Turns out he's not a real DM reporter at all. The impersonator must be sat at home gloating that dim bint Kay Burley gave him the oxygen of publicity live on Sky News.

Contrary to our earlier post, apparently Vince Cable is not stepping down from the Cabinet. The exact details are still unknown, but it looks like Dr Cable has been severely rebuked by the Prime Minister (and his Deputy). He will be remaining as Business Secretary, but has been removed from influence over all matters pertaining to BSkyB.

It wouldn't surprise me if there was more news on this tonight.

Cable Gone

2010-12-21T16:13:00.005Z

An hour is a long time in politics.

In reference to our earlier post Vince Cable has resigned from his post as Business Secretary.
Yet again the Lib Dems prove they are unfit for Cabinet responsibility.
First David Laws, now Vince Cable - such minor players in Government having such a high proportion of Cabinet resignations.
Bring on the election next year!

That'll be £45 please Ladbrokes!

Close the Door Behind You Vince

2010-12-21T15:13:00.007Z

Sky News are breaking the story that the Daily Telegraph withheld key information from their covert recordings of the Business Secretary published earlier today.

Earlier today we reported that undercover DT reporters Holly Watt and Laura Roberts, posing as two Twickenham constituents, lulled Dr Cable into admitting he could "bring the Government down" if the Liberal Democrats were unable to win key Conservative concessions within the power sharing pact.

According to the latest reports Dr Cable also told undercover DT reporters that he was "declaring war on the Murdoch empire". Australian-born tycoon Murdoch owns the vast News Corporation group, which controls media assets around the globe.

Dr Cable explains: "I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven't seen.

"And I don't know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win."

Several News Corporation publications came out in support of the Conservatives at the last General Election. There is now the significant risk that Murdoch's goodwill towards the Coalition will be eroded by such a high profile Cabinet member making confrontational remarks.

Having embarrassed the Government could Cable be the next Cabinet scalp? His partiality as Business Secretary is seriously cast into doubt. Ladbrokes have him odds on favourite to be the next Cabinet departure. I'm sticking a tenner on at 7/2.

Turncoat Cable

2010-12-21T13:20:00.002Z

Lib Dem big cheese Vince Cable has been forced into a humiliating climb down today, after being secretly recorded claiming he could "bring the Government down".

Undercover Daily Telegraph reporters Holly Watt and Laura Roberts visited Dr Cable's Twickenham surgery, pretending to be constituents concerned about proposed changes to the benefits system.

Dr Cable compared membership of the coalition to "like fighting a war" and said that he could use the "nuclear option" of quitting.

The entire transcript can be read in today's DT.

Stella English Wins The Apprentice 2010

2010-12-19T21:13:00.005Z

Steady The Apprentice candidate Stella English has trumped rival Chris Bates in tonight's final.

The task was to design and market a brand new alcoholic drink, pitching their ideas to some of the sharpest minds in the industry.

Several rejected contestants from earlier in the series returned to help English and Bates with their final task.

Bates' team quickly seized on the idea of a pomegranate flavoured rum called Prism, while English's team eventually arrived at a spicy flavoured Bourbon called Urbon.

Bates' team encountered several problems along the way, including miscommunication over appearance of their drink and difficulty targeting their advertising.

Steady Stella adopted a characteristically methodical approach throughout, ensuring that even the finest of details were considered. Her product appealed to a more traditional market than Bates' sickly pink rum, which helped her edge to victory in the boardroom.

CCTV Mugshots of Student Protest Suspects

2010-12-12T10:57:00.005Z

As Central London edges closer to normality, the Metropolitan Police Service has released images of fourteen protesters involved in the worst disorder at last Thursday's tuition fees protest.

The fourteen, pictured above, are suspected of violent disorder and criminal damage in the most bad tempered protests on the streets of London for more than a decade.

Det Ch Supt Matthew Horne said: "We want the public to help us identify these people who may have been involved in violent disorder, attacking police officers and smashing buildings, shops and windows."

Buildings targeted included the Treasury and Supreme Court, which had windows smashed and walls grafittied in a frenzy of public defiance. Photos published the following day show protesters desecrating the Cenotaph and urinating on Churchill's statue.

Protesters dispersing from Westminster targeted the Rolls Royce of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who were en route to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. Photographers captured the Duchess's terror as the car was daubed with paint and had windows smashed.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact the Operation Malone incident room on 020 8358 0100 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

I hope that these thugs face the fullest consequences of the law. If it was up to me they would return to their Media Studies courses on Monday to be met by a burly security guard with the message to "f*** off and don't come back". Having demonstrated a complete disregard for the rules of society, they would also forfeit all state handouts for the rest of their pathetic existences.

Arriva North East - Public Transport from Hell

2010-12-11T11:19:00.009Z

Arriva North East (image from FreeFoto.com)

Brace yourselves for another infomercial about diabolical customer service.

Arriva North East, for those fortunate enough not to know already, operates bus services in the North East of England. Unfortunately, from my point of view, that includes my stomping ground up in God's Allotment.

Sheer belligerence prevents me from buying a car, despite having passed my driving test many moons ago. As a consequence of this lifestyle choice, I tend to travel quite frequently by bus and train. Unfortunately this includes travel by Arriva North East.

Their level of service is atrocious to say the least. Their "Customer Service" people are not told of half the problems passengers encounter. Their drivers are not given any information to fend off disgruntled passenger complaints or enquiries. Quite simply, they would struggle to choreograph the running of a bath - let alone the running of an efficient public transport system.

A quick glimpse of their new Facebook site demonstrates that the Arriva North East arse doesn't know what the elbow is doing. So many contradictory reports on those pages. So many passengers complaining that the bus has missed their stop or hasn't even turned up. Coincidentally, if anyone dares to be critical on that public forum it is quickly airbrushed out or dismissed with the retort "take it up with Customer Services and not on here".

Despite being absolutely furious at the time, I chose not to write publicly about an occasion where an Arriva driver completely ignored a queue of us at the bus stop. Arriva will inevitably discover this blog post, which will remain here in perpetuity, so I will jog their memories: the incident involved Service 505 departing Alnwick at 10:03 hrs on 26th July 2010.

So livid was I at the time that I actually wrote to them to complain for the first time ever: "Despite there being four passengers waiting at the stop, two of whom signaled with their arms to the approaching driver, the bus continued straight past and failed to stop as requested.

"To make matters worse the driver had clearly noticed us at the road side, because he pointed in response to our arm signals. As the bus went past we could see several empty seats on the nearside, so the driver's failure to stop couldn’t have been in response to overcrowding.

"I also recognised the driver as one of the long serving regulars on the route, who would have been well aware where all the stops were."

Characteristic of their abysmal level of service it took them more than a fortnight to reply to that. Their reply, which I immediately discarded in disgust (sadly before scanning), told me that their Ashington depot manager had reviewed CCTV footage and found that none of the four people at the stop had signalled to the bus.

Furthermore, as all their stops are request stops, it is the responsibility of those waiting to attract the approaching driver's attention clearly. What come back could I possibly have when their Ashington manager, a person of some standing (if that's possible) in Arriva circles, fabricates a different chain of events to what actually happened?

Last night took the biscuit. I was returning home from work, having had a pretty long day already. I caught Service 505 at Morpeth on this occasion. The bus was scheduled to leave at 17:10 hrs, but it was 17:50 hrs before it started limping towards Berwick.

As my Twitter readers will already know, the driver couldn't even force a welcome smile - let alone a conciliatory explanation for the delay. That's common practice for Arriva drivers. They are so used to poor punctuality that they expect passengers to accept the same shoddy standards. Their drivers are so entwined by lateness, that they seem to forget people with important business haven't always got that luxury.

I was somewhat relieved to be making progress home when the bus inexplicably pulled over at the side of the A1 near Tritlington. An alarm could be heard in the driver's cab and ear wigging his subsequent phone call revealed there was a problem with the brakes so he couldn't continue. The bus stood disabled at the roadside, trucks flying by within feet, with our seats shaking in their wake. Ten minutes passed and the internal lights and heating stopped working, so we were left sitting shivering in the dark. The bus shook as another truck hammered by, his horn blaring with disapproval.

A concerned passenger asked the driver how long would we be stranded in this perilous position? The reply came: "How long's a piece of string? Don't ask me, I'm just the driver." Not a word of a lie, as was reported live on my Twitter feed last night. Another lady went to the driver for reassurance that the back of the bus was clearly visible to approaching traffic. His reply: "If you're worried you can always move to a seat further forward. There'd be something wrong if they (the approaching drivers) couldn't see a big double-decker bus."

A replacement bus came about 30 minutes into our roadside breakdown experience. We then had to struggle along the snow covered verge in the pitch black to board the second vehicle. Despite having my digital camera in my pocket, I somehow resisted the urge to take a snapshot of elderly walking stick users fighting along the icy roadside. It would have set this article off nicely, but with tempers already fraying I didn't want a thump for my journalistic endeavours. Pram users had an equally difficult battle, struggling to find their balance with the ice slipping between their wheels and feet.

At last we were again making progress. By the time we arrived at Alnwick the 20 miles from Morpeth had turned into a 2 hour nightmare. I pity the poor folk who were travelling all the way to Berwick and hope they made it safely.

I'm debating whether it's worth writing another letter of complaint, given the pitiful response I received last time. The Ashington depot manager would probably deny anything untoward had ever happened: "Just another day of quality Arriva service."

What they deliver is consistently pathetic, regardless of excuses like the weather. The majority of their fleet, particularly on the 505 route, is in an appaling state of repair and communicating with their drivers is like talking to a brick wall.

Arriva North East - absolutely woeful.

Noticed Again...

2010-12-10T20:27:00.003Z

Traffic is up threefold today and closer investigation reveals why - Iain Dale chose us for his Daily Dozen list yesterday.

Le Monde, The Scotsman and now Iain Dale's Diary... who says we don't get noticed?!

Student Mentality

2010-12-09T16:58:00.004Z

What was billed as a peaceful student protest has again descended into chaos, with police being pelted with rocks and flares outside the Houses of Parliament.

The Government's controversial proposal to raise university tuition fees is currently being debated in the Commons, with the final vote expected within the next hour. With the nation facing almost unprecedented economic turmoil, I fully support the Government's proposals to allow top universities to charge top fees.

Outside on the streets of Westminster thousands of students are in running battles with the police, with several officers hospitalised as the crowd becomes increasingly aggressive. The television news channels are carrying live coverage of the skirmishes, with police struggling at times to maintain order. At one stage a mounted policeman was thrown from his startled horse, which then trampled on him as he lay winded on the ground.

In the past I have been critical of the Metropolitan Police Service on this blog, although I have to commend them for showing such restraint this evening with a barrage of missiles raining down on their lines.

The BBC's Ben Brown asked one protester why he thought it was necessary to set a car on fire. The reply came: "Well, it's quite cold out here".

Jeremy Who?

2010-12-06T19:28:00.004Z

Veteran Today programme presenter Jim Naughtie dropped a clanger live on air this morning when he accidentally mispronounced the name of Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Quickly realising his embarrassing mistake, fooling nobody, Naughtie tried to cover his tracks by pretending to suffer a fit of coughing. Alas the damage was already done, with members of the blue rinse brigade having already regurgitated their muesli in disgust.

Here is the incident as it unfolded live on Radio 4:

Proving himself to be a good sport, Jeremy tweeted: "They say prepare for anything before going on Today but that took the biscuit. I was laughing as much as u Jim."

It might be the ideal opportunity for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to take a second look at the unique way the BBC is funded.

The Poly Kids On Tour

2010-11-30T18:43:00.002Z

Guido sums this up nicely.

Merlin - BBC Production on the Cheap

2010-11-29T13:56:00.002Z

Despite spending millions of licence fee payer's money on the BBC1 adaptation of Merlin, they could even select an appropriate piece of footage for the trailer.

Check out the wall bending at 21 seconds on this trailer.

Poor show BBC.

The Long Walk Home

2010-11-29T12:05:00.017Z

Photo of the day: The long walk home.

My ruler is officially too short for measuring the snow outside, which is now well into the feet instead of inches.

More snow fell overnight, adding to the icy compacted layer here since Wednesday last week. I guess we must be talking about 20 inches on my patio now. Last night also saw flashes of lightning, particularly near the coast.

In addition to the danger posed by icy roads and pavements there is an increasing overhead danger. Snow, ice, slates and guttering are all falling from rooftops around the town. Lots of trees and branches have also fallen under the weight of accumulated snow.

Such severe weather means stocking up on supplies (microwave meals and lager) whenever the opportunity arises, so I wandered down town during a break in the weather. All of the roads in my photos are what I'd consider to be important through-routes:

East down Greensfield Avenue.

North along Blakelaw Road.

Fallen tree at the side of The Dunterns/Hope House Lane.

The same fallen tree blocks the Dukes School gate.

North down Hope House Lane.

The Market Place, with the next blizzard just starting.

Bondgate Within. This exact spot is where the
snow piles and trucks were yesterday.

Looking west up Swansfield Park Road.

A nasty surprise awaits Co-Op shoppers on Victoria Road.

Looking west up Greensfield Avenue
(opposite end of the road to previous photo).

Looking south along Weavers Way.

If you'd like to use my photos, which you're very welcome to do, please refer to conditions given in this post.

Ten Things the US Aren't Likely to Admit

2010-11-28T18:48:00.007Z

According to the State Department documents published on Wikileaks...

1. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is like Hitler.

2. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is a "naked emperor".

3. Half the Arab world want the US to make military strikes against Iran.

4. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is "driven by paranoia".

5. German Chancellor Angela Merkel "avoids risk and is rarely creative".

6. The Russian Government is linked to organised crime.

7. US diplomatics were ordered to spy on the diplomats of other nations at the UN.

8. President Obama "has no emotional link with Europe".

9. Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi "is the mouthpiece of Putin".

10. Russian PM Vladimir Putin is an "alpha-dog".

US Government Attacks Wikileaks

2010-11-28T16:53:00.007Z

Whistleblowing website Wikileaks is currently the victim of a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, just hours before it was due to release embarrassing US Government secrets.

According to media reports the website has obtained more than 3 million sensitive documents, relating mainly to US international relations. Apparently US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is frantically phoning her foreign counterparts pre-empting any fall out when the documents are published.

The timing of this cyber attack is entirely coincidental, I'm sure!

Snowy Trudge

2010-11-28T13:32:00.035Z

Photo of the day: Looking east along the Pastures towards Denwick.

Like Captain Oates I ventured into the snowy wilderness earlier this morning, muttering those fateful words that I may be some time.

The novelty is wearing a bit thin now, with our prolonged entombment becoming rather inconvenient. Every day we shovel snow, every day our efforts erased by further flurries. As I type this it is snowing persistently again.

Yesterday, for the first time since this wintry episode began, we had a plough up the road. The Council appear to be taking a more considered approach to road clearing than they did in January. Back then the plough came along and furrowed an impenetrable bank of ice in front of everyone's driveway. They are now scooping up the snow and dumping it semi-considerately at the roadside. In the town centre they are using trucks to remove the snow completely.

To begin with the usual photos from around the house:

Up an inch from yesterday - now 13 inches around the pots.

The untouched patio now has 16 inches of snow.

I cleared this part of the patio yesterday, but there
is now 3 inches of snow.

The car on the road outside.

Looking up the road outside. It was ploughed yesterday,
but is now covered by 3 or 4 inches of snow again.

Now for my walk around the town:

A snow plough works St James Estate - one of the
main access roads to the south of Alnwick.

Also available in white. Not many cars being
sold by Tustain Motors today.

Picture postcard. Snow on the cemetary and chapel.

Lions on the Tenantry Column.

Clearing snow on Bondgate Within.

The Market Place.

A nasty surprise awaits pedestrians walking
beneath this on Narrowgate.

Lion Bridge.

The B6341 entrance to Alnwick, on the north of town.

The snow is waist deep in parts along the Pastures.

Icebergs on the River Aln?

No, it's the resident Mute Swans out for a paddle.

Another snowy front drifts in from the north.

Denwick Bridge peeks out from behind some trees.

The B1340 entrance to Alnwick, on the north east of town.

The War Memorial and Bondgate Without.

View of the Tenantry Column from South Road.

Looking west up Swansfield Park Road.

Looking west up Greensfield Avenue.

Looking west up Weavers Way.

If you'd like to use my photos, which you're very welcome to do, please refer to conditions given in this post.

Student Protests

2010-11-27T14:35:00.002Z

A new wave of militancy sweeps the nation, with university students vehemently opposed to the future prospect of bumper tuition fees.

Lord Browne's recent review of Higher Education funding, conducted at the behest of the previous Labour administration, recommends that England's top universities charge a premium rate for their courses. According to media reports the most prestigious institutions could charge undergraduates as much as £12,000 per year towards their studies.

When I was an undergraduate I paid for my fees, safe in the knowledge that university success would pave the way to a well paid job. I paid my own fees, which wasn't easy at the time but I didn't want to burden my family for an education that would ultimately benefit me.

The state didn't owe me a free lunch back in those times of economic prosperity. It certainly doesn't owe any student a free lunch now, at a time when the nation is crippled with debt and economic uncertainty. I could see the longer term benefits of a good degree from a good university.

I have been sickened by the recent student protests around the nation. Those same students vocally defending their right to a discounted education, happily abandon it and terrorise the streets of our cities. Perhaps my opinion is skewed, having recently seen this video montage on YouTube:

If I was in Government I'd be going through that video with a fine tooth comb, identifying all of those involved in criminal acts. Their university studies, heavily subsidised by the taxpayer, would be terminated immediately.

Anyone thinking a Labour Government wouldn't be making the same savings as the current incumbents is in cloud cuckoo land. Of course Labour would be sneaky about it, slowly making their savings behind closed doors instead of grasping the shitty end of the stick so openly.

As I've said ad nauseum, we haven't got any other option. Years of economic recklessness have put Britain on the same financial footing it was in after spiralling debts of the Second World War.

This is only the start. Contrary to D:Ream's club hit things won't be getting any better - at least for quite a while.

More Snow

2010-11-27T10:34:00.007Z

Another couple of inches of snow last night and no thaw in sight.

No gritter/plough in sight either, with our road looking just as white as it did yesterday. Next door managed to get their car up to the top of the drive, so that photo is blocked this morning. If there's no thaw before Monday then I'd say work was unlikely then too.

More photos from 10 am this morning:

Looking south.

Another inch of snow here today.

Slightly different part of the patio (the other bit was cleared)
with the snow now 13.5 inches deep.

The car on the road, with the snow much deeper around
its wheels than yesterday. The roof was cleared yesterday
(hence the disturbed snow nearby) but was recoated last night.

Snow Report

2010-11-26T09:04:00.011Z

I should rename this blog "Tom's Snow Log" or something similar.

It seems a long time since I wrote a semi-cerebral blog post and today isn't going to break that trend, with a look at the current chilly weather. It's the earliest significant snowfall since 1993, according to media reports.

It's been snowing on and off since about Wednesday afternoon. According the BBC local news "much less snow fell last night than the night before." I can officially quash that rumour, certainly here in the Alnwick area, where it would be no exaggeration to say about 6 inches of snow fell last night.

Someone laughingly suggested to me that I should try to get into work this morning, but I'd struggle to get further than the bottom of our road as the photos below show. These were all taken at 9 am this morning:

These plant pots, 6 inches high, are bordered by snow at least twice that depth.

Closer detail on those plant pots.

Ruler pushed into the snow lying on my patio, showing 13 inches depth.

The view south over the fields, the air thick with snow and
visibility down to only a couple of hundred metres.

A car outside, with snow about 2/3 of the way up its wheels.
Bear in mind this car is also parked beneath a 3 inch kerb,
so the snow must be at least 10 inches deep.

The road outside covered with a good 5 or 6 inches of snow all over.

Suppressing Free Speech

2010-10-27T14:44:00.006Z

A video has appeared on YouTube showing the moment BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson took the law into his own hands by criminally damaging the placard of an anti-war protestor.

The minute-long video shows the closing seconds of Robinson's live commentary on the BBC's Six O' Clock News programme. He then leans over and snatches the "Cut the War, Not the Poor" placard from the protestor's hand.

The former Young Conservatives Chairman then destroyed the placard by stamping on it like a huffed toddler trashing his stickle bricks.

Conservative or not Robinson has always struck me as a bit of a cock, which is aptly reinforced by his latest outburst.

That being the case I just had to post this video!

Reckless and Cynical

2010-10-26T15:12:00.005Z

A planned strike by London firefighters timed to coincide with Bonfire Night has been condemned as "reckless and cynical" by the Prime Minister.

Around 5,500 of the capital's firefighters will abandon the public in a row over working hours. London Fire Brigade is terminating firefighter's existing contracts, so they can be re-employed on new shift patterns.

The action is being orchestrated by the militant Fire Brigades Union, which also led the 6-month national strike in 2002/03.

At the moment firefighters work two 9-hour day-shifts followed by two 15-hour night-shifts. London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson and Tory fire authority chairman Brian Coleman want to redistribute working hours so that firefighters work two 12-hour day-shifts followed by two 12-hour night-shifts. The lengthened day-shifts would allow the firefighters to engage in more community safety work.

London firefighters have already walked off the job once this week and plan another 8-hour stoppage on 1st November before their 48-hour walk out over Bonfire Night.

London Fire Brigade has employed a private company, AssetCo, to provide emergency cover during the disruption, but their efforts are being hampered by the barricading of fire stations and picket line intimidation.

Addressing the Commons yesterday Fire Minister Bob Neill said: "I find the threat of industrial action on Bonfire Night disgraceful."

"When Londoners will be trying to enjoy these events, I'm sorry that it seems that the FBU wil be working to actively maximise the risk to them."

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said the union had no choice but to initiate strike action.

Unlimited Tuition Fees

2010-10-12T09:07:00.002Z

English and Welsh universities should be able to charge unlimited tuition fees, according a review by eminent engineer Baron Browne of Madingley.

The review, conducted at the behest of the former Labour Government, proposes that the current one-size-fits-all maximum fee of £3,290 be scrapped, with the most prestigious universities being allowed to charge top dollar for their courses. Leading universities could charge undergraduates as much as £12,000 per year for their studies.

Speaking to BBC News Lord Browne was at pains to stress his proposals wouldn't land graduates with mortgage-style debts, with interest on future tuition fee loans being linked to the Government's rate of borrowing. Under the new system graduates wouldn't start to repay their loan until their earnings were at least £21,000, which is £6,000 more than the current repayment threshold.

"If you choose to go into a job which doesn't pay very much or if you choose to go out of the workforce to build a family, you won't have to pay it back," he said.

Lord Browne's recommendations, if adopted by the Government, would signal a dramatic u-turn on Liberal Democrat manifesto promises to scrap tuition fees completely.

Speaking even as someone with his pocket dented by tuition fees I can wholeheartedly say I agree with them on principle. Those that can afford to pay should. Those with the natural talent to go to university who can't afford to pay shouldn't be penalised.

Those with zero talent, doing dead end courses at dead end universities, purely to dodge meaningful employment, should be out on their ear.

Points of View

2010-10-10T15:20:00.004Z

I'm struggling to think of a more nauseating programme than the BBC's Points of View.

Week after week viewers complain about the BBC delivering poor value programming of dubious editorial quality.

Week after week the BBC, through the medium of their own nauseating Points of View programme, rebuff all criticism and secure that all important opinion-forming final word. When the BBC report BBC news stories the bias is just as farcical. They are seemingly unable to hold their hands up and say "we're sorry, we just didn't get it right."

I would encourage the Government to look very closely at the future of the Corporation. Gone are the days where any broadcaster deserves a free lunch at the expense of the taxpayer.

Proposed Closure of Druridge Bay Middle School

2010-10-09T09:38:00.003Z

Northumberland County Council and the Coquet Federation Governing Body have just released details of the proposed closure of Druridge Bay Middle School.

The consultation document, circulated to stakeholders in the area yesterday, reveals that DBMS is working at less than half capacity, with only 164 pupils on the school roll compared to the 380 places available. With staff and maintenance costs edging ever upwards, the Governing Body has deemed the continued operation of DBMS unsustainable.

Fellow Coquet Federation school Amble Middle is also running below capacity with 257 of its 396 places currently filled. The Governing Body seek to retain Amble Middle School because of its larger roll and close proximity to Coquet High School.

The Governing Body propose to close DBMS with effect from 31st August 2011, with pupils being transferred to AMS for the new school year.

Consultation meetings will be held at the following times and venues:
- DBMS, Mon 1st November, 3.30 pm (staff only)
- DBMS, Mon 1st November, 5.00 pm (Governors only)
- DBMS, Mon 1st November, 6.30 pm (parents only)
- DBMS, Tues 2nd November, 6.30 pm (public)
- AMS, Wed 3rd November, 3.30 pm (staff only)
- AMS, Wed 3rd November, 6.30 pm (parents only)
- AMS, Thurs 4th November, 6.30 pm (public)

Further information is available on the Northumberland County Council website.

Under Attack

2010-09-28T20:28:00.003Z

A few people have asked why my blogging has been slow of late.

It's mainly do to the fact that my desktop is screwed by virus/spyware. I'm pretty good at keeping my antivirus/spyware up to date and I can usually fix any minor problems, but this time I'm struggling on a resolution. It would be much cheaper in terms of time and effort just to buy a new desktop, which I plan on doing in mid-October.

I could also have posted from my laptop, but it's too much of a nuisance (open case, slide out laptop, connect to mains) so I've just not bothered to post.

Of course it's quite nice just to have a break!

Too Taxing

2010-09-11T11:37:00.003Z

Almost 1.5 million Britons face an eye-watering income tax claw back, after the worst tax cock-up in a generation.

The unlucky workers will have their tax codes readjusted as Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recoup an average of £1,500 from each underpayer.

But it isn't all doom and gloom, with 4.3 million workers expected to receive an average £418 rebate after overpaying via the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system of revenue collection.

The discrepancies were identified after HMRC installed a new computer system in 2009. The former PAYE system, in existence since the 1940s, struggled to take account of contemporary working patterns, which often mean contributions are paid by several different employers over the space of a working lifetime.

Britain's top HMRC civil servant, Permanent Secretary Dave Harnett, enraged taxpayers today by refused to apologise for the Department's blunder. He also warned that those who had underpaid by more than £2,000 would have just 3 months to make good their debt.

Speaking to the BBC's Money Programme, Mr Hartnett said: "Those [who owe] more than £2,000 will be given an opportunity to pay based on a notice from us, or, failing that, they will be brought within self-assessment.

"People who enter self-assessment are expected to pay within three months and a little bit more."

Anyone owing less than £2,000 will have money deducted from their pay or pensions over the next 12 months, or 3 years for those facing exceptional hardship.

I can understand entirely the Government's wish to recoup this lost revenue, but I disagree with their savage repayment terms at a time when people are feeling the financial squeeze already. The average worker, if they're anything like me, would have been completely oblivious to any error in their contributions and some may struggle to balance their finances during the repayment period.

Although this isn't an error of the current Government's making, in the current climate we have a moral obligation to make the repayment process as painless as possible. I'd hope to see HMRC adopt a more sympathetic attitude over the days ahead.

Saint Who?

2010-09-05T18:36:00.002Z

The five contenders in the Labour leadership race went head to head earlier today in a live television debate.

Diane Abbott, Ed Balls, Andy Burnham, David Miliband and Ed Miliband spent a conciliatory hour acknowledging the inadequacies of the New Labour project and attacking the inevitable Conservative cuts their previous floundering Government left in its wake.

Adam Boulton drew the programme to a close by throwing in a few general knowledge questions to see how in touch the candidates were with the rest of the nation. Embarrassingly only two of the five hopefuls, David Miliband and Ed Balls, knew that St George's Day is 23rd April.

If I was unfortunate enough to be a Labour Party member that ignorance would be enough for me to immediately strike Abbott, Burnham and Miliband Junior from my shortlist.

Local Rag Reinforces Ineptitude

2010-09-02T15:53:00.003Z

If you were a nondescript local newspaper of extremely limited readership and barely two ha'pennies to rub together, you think you'd be pretty sure of your facts before naming and shaming anyone on your front page.

Apparently not if you're the Northumberland Gazette.

This week the newspaper was forced to print an embarrassing retraction after incorrectly stating that Judge Beatrice Bolton was "charged with causing injury to a dog" (their words). Judge Bolton actually stands accused of an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act (e.g. more likely to entail sheep worrying than dog beating).

One thing the Gazette did get right was to remove the offending article from their website, although they allude to their balls up here.

Other local newspapers take note: if you're going to make parts of your story up, it's much safer to target burglars rather than Crown Court judges!

Hague Advisor Quits Amid Scurrilous Allegations

2010-09-01T16:33:00.003Z

One of the Foreign Secretary's special advisors has quit, amid "untrue and malicious" rumours the pair had an improper relationship.

Christopher Myers, 25, stepped down from his post less than 24-hours after fellow blogger Guido Fawkes revealed the pair had spent the night together in a twin bedroom during the General Election campaign. According to Guido's unnamed source "the room sharing couple’s body language at breakfast was eye opening".

In response William Hague issued an emotional statement, denying any impropriety and reaffirming the strength of his marriage to wife Ffion. Mr Hague also explained the couple's personal struggle trying for a baby.

"It has been an immensely traumatic and painful experience but our marriage is strong and we will face whatever the future brings together," explains the Richmond MP.

"This made even more difficult the fact that we had only just experienced another disappointment. We have never made this information public because of the distress it would cause to our families and would not do so now were it not for the untrue rumours circulating which repeatedly call our marriage into question.

"We wish everyone to know that we are very happily married."

The appointment of Mr Myers, a history graduate of limited political experience, raised eyebrows at the time, not least because the Foreign Secretary already had two very proficient advisors.

Iain Dale slammed Guido's relentless lies, smears and innuendo against Mr Hague.

Having read a few posts from Order-Order, I certainly share the opinion that Guido would be the perfect candidate for his own "Twat Watch" feature.

Interceptor

2010-09-01T14:32:00.005Z

During another action packed morning at Jackson Towers I decided to revive my acquaintance with some of the eighties' finest television game shows.

One of my absolute favourites, stored in perpetuity thanks to the magic of YouTube, was the 1989 show Interceptor.

The Thames TV show, trendsetting entertainment years ahead of its time, now has a cult following thanks to recent re-runs on the Challenge TV channel. Thames commissioned only eight episodes of Interceptor, which attracted audiences well into the millions every Wednesday evening.

Unfortunately by the early nineties the writing was already on the wall for Thames, which had planned on filming a second series. The company was to lose its ITV franchise at the end of 1992 and saw little point in pursuing the project.

The format, briefly, was that two contestants, always a man and woman, were dropped by helicopter about 6 miles apart. The contestants had to use their brains and brawn to find their partner's key along the route and rendezvous with each other.

Prior to being dropped off each contestant was given a backpack by the show's host, former tennis star Annabel Croft. One of the packs contained £1,000 prize money and the other was empty. The contestants didn't know which pack was which, so they had to meet up and exchange keys to unlock the loot.

That seemingly straightforward task had one added complication - the Interceptor. Towering Scotsman Sean O'Kane played the title role with boundless energy and zeal. Using the intimidating Agusta A109 at his disposal the Interceptor was tasked with hunting down the contestants and "zapping" the infra-red receptors on the rear of their packs.

Once zapped the packs were permanently sealed and the contestants forfeited any prize contained within. The Interceptor's helicopter, piloted by his long-suffering sidekick "Mikey", would swoop down to within feet of the contestants to facilitate a clear shot at their packs. The Interceptor's shock value was enhanced by his head-to-toe black leather attire and eagle-like screech at the contestants. The Interceptor was also adept at tracking down his prey on foot, which was considerably aided by the use of his Maserati sports car and high powered motorcycle.

Health and safety eejits would probably prevent any resurrection of Interceptor now, with helicopters buzzing by with only feet of clearance and thrilling chases along moving train wagons. Total Wipeout wouldn't be fit to wipe the arse of Interceptor.

For Interceptor episodes, check out animegirlUK's channel over at YouTube.

The Stig Unmasked

2010-09-01T14:25:00.002Z

Some say he naturally faces magnetic north and that all of his legs are hydraulic.

What we now know is that he's called Ben Collins.

Despite frittering away tens of thousands of pounds of licence fee payers money, the BBC has failed in a High Court bid to keep Top Gear's tame racing driver's identity a secret. Bristol-based racing driver Ben Collins is releasing his autobiography next week, which will finally confirm rumours that he is indeed the Stig.

Poor old BBC.

It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.

Anglo-French Navy

2010-08-31T11:01:00.004Z

The British and French Governments are in discussion about sharing the naval assets of both nations.

Britain currently has two operational Invincible class aircraft carriers, which are due to be replaced by the two new Queen Elizabeth class carriers currently under construction.

According to the Secretary of State, Dr Liam Fox, the Ministry of Defence is facing a £37 billion "unfunded liability" over the next decade. The Department is under increasing pressure to finance a Trident replacement from its own budget, meaning £20 billion of defence earmarked funds will be diverted from elsewhere.

Under the proposed new Entente Cordiale the two British carriers, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious, would join their single French counterpart Charles de Gaulle in patrolling the world's oceans. The move could see one of Britain's replacement vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, being downgraded or mothballed entirely.

Opponents of the plan have voiced concerns about the response of the French, world-renowned as surrender monkeys, if British interests like the Falkland Islands were threatened.

I dread to think what Admiral Lord Nelson would make of it all.

Memory Like an Elephant

2010-08-13T17:39:00.005Z

My eyes are crap, but I've got an acute sense of hearing and a photographic memory for detail.

Just seen Newcastle taxi driver Tom Lake on BBC Look North (NE & Cumbria) complaining that Maccy D's are charging cabbies for parking on their property.

"Who's he?" I hear you cry. Well, as I mentioned earlier I have a memory for these sorts of things. Behold Tom Lake in his former life as a wrongfully-dismissed BTP policeman. Obviously his £400,000 pay off wasn't enough to keep him from destitution.

Spooky.

Dr Fox Outlines Prescription for Change

2010-08-13T16:09:00.006Z

The Secretary of State for Defence has warned his Department will become "leaner and less centralised" in sweeping "difficult and painful" cuts that lie ahead.

Dr Liam Fox, addressing members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors earlier today, levelled blame for the difficulties ahead squarely at the door of his Labour predecessors, who have left the Ministry of Defence facing a £37 billion "unfunded liability" over the next decade. That's the equivalent to the entire defence budget.

It is looking increasingly likely that the Department will have to finance a replacement for the Trident nuclear weapon system, which could cost an additional £20 billion. Trident comes to the end of it's working life in about 15 year's time, which may seem distant but it will take a similar length of time to design and manufacture the replacement.

Dr Fox fell short of announcing the direction of cuts, but as a member of the Opposition he expressed dismay that the Ministry of Defence had almost as many civil servants as it did Regular Army troops.

Commenting on his recent visit to troops in Afghanistan, he said the trip had reminded him "that the prime purpose of what we are doing is to make sure that our armed forces on the front line have everything they need".

Reaffirming his Opposition stance, he added: "That means that the backroom sometimes has to do without to make sure that the front line gets what it wants."

Dr Fox denied rumours that he was planning to merge the Armed Forces, but said he would "consider whether the current senior rank structure across the services is appropriate".

Brace for impact.

Boffins Call for Kelly Inquest

2010-08-13T10:09:00.009Z

A group of prominent medical experts have called for a full and frank inquest into the death of former UN weapons inspector, Dr David Kelly.

In a letter to The Times (now subscription) the leading academics cast new doubt on the Hutton Inquiry's ruling that Dr Kelly took his own life by slashing his wrists during a walk in the Oxfordshire countryside.

Dr Kelly, employed by the Ministry of Defence, became a thorn in the side of Tony Blair's Labour Government by airing their very dirty laundry in public.

He revealed to BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan that the Government had knowingly "sexed-up" a dossier of evidence against Saddam Hussein to give credence to the need for military action against Iraq. Most notable was the Government's claim that Iraq could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45-minutes, which Dr Kelly and others at the Ministry of Defence knew to be misleading.

Gilligan's report was broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. It was closely followed by a Mail on Sunday article, which alleged that top Government spin-shyster Alistair Campbell had been the main driving force behind deceptive claims in the "Dodgy Dossier". It later transpired that a significant amount of the dossier was plagiarised from an Oxford student's PhD thesis.

Enraged their half-truths had been exposed and that (purer than the driven snow) Alistair Campbell had been dragged through the mire the Government were eager to flush out the Whitehall mole. Dr Kelly, grief-stricken with self-guilt having exposed the Government, was quickly identified as the main suspect.

A couple of months later the Westminster shit storm was in full flight, with Dr Kelly called to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Former Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay, who chaired the Committee, spat venom at Dr Kelly with a brusque critique of his conduct: "I reckon you are chaff; you have been thrown up to divert our probing. Have you ever felt like a fall-guy? You have been set up, have you not?"

Dr Kelly was visibly shaken by his encounter with the Committee, which had widespread television and media coverage. It emerged in the Hutton Inquiry that Dr Kelly had privately described MacKinlay as an "utter bastard", which certainly seems a reasonable appraisal.

Two days later Dr Kelly left his Oxfordshire home for some fresh air and never returned.

There has been widespread speculation that the Blair Government were somehow instrumental in his death. To put not too fine a point on it, some people believe David Kelly was bumped off by the Government after causing them extreme embarrassment and public discomfort.

The authors of The Times' letter doubt the injuries described are compatible with Dr Kelly's death.

"Insufficient blood would have been lost to threaten life," they write. "Absent a quantitative assessment of the blood lost and of the blood remaining in the great vessels, the conclusion that death occurred as a consequence of haemorrhage is unsafe."

With Tony Blair's memoirs about to hit the bookshops, the current Government would be missing a trick if they failed to investigate this new evidence further.

Seventy One Years of Movie Magic

2010-08-12T21:32:00.006Z

Users of the world's biggest search engine can't fail to have noticed the distinctive Google Doodle adorning its homepage today.

Seventy one years ago Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer were releasing their very first Technicolor movie. Little did they realise that seven decades later people would still be enchanted by the magic of The Wizard of Oz.

I have previously written about my affection for the movie, so I won't repeat myself today.

Suffice to say it's a great film, which still takes pride of place in my DVD collection. It's the ideal pick-me-up on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

A very worthy choice by Google.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

2010-08-12T12:34:00.003Z

Northumberland County Council are embroiled in controversy today over the generous redundancy package given to a former top officer.

Trever Doughty, former Executive Director of People, left employment with the Authority suddenly at the end of March citing a change in pension rules for his rapid departure.

Today it emerged that Mr Doughty, 54, received a severance package totalling £400,000 and weeks later accepted a comparable £140,000 job at Cornwall County Council. To add insult to injury Mr Doughtly failed to mention his interest in re-employment when plans for his departure from Northumberland were being finalised.

Communities and Local Government secretary Eric Pickles said: "This looks and feels wrong. It's not right for people to retire from the public sector with a huge pay off then cash in with another six-figure salary elsewhere at the taxpayers expense."

Insiders at Northumberland County Council are reportedly "furious" at the massive payout given to Mr Doughty, at a time when the Authority is having to make hundreds of staff redundant, reduce employees' working hours and implement a pay freeze.

Unite union spokesman Allan Douglas said: "The whole thing stinks. Once again the rich get the money.

"Ordinary people can only dream of gold-plated deals like Mr Doughty's while my members face the rest of their life on the dole in a part of the world where there is a waiting list for jobs pushing trolleys.

"Morale is at rock bottom and staff are very, very angry. We have a pay freeze and fear more cuts next year."

Former social worker Mr Doughty received a £143,000 salary and £160,000 worth of perks in his last year with Northumberland County Council.

McDonald's Unhappy Meal

2010-08-10T14:50:00.004Z

Video footage has been released of the moments an Ohio woman attacked a McDonald's drive-thru worker in protest at the menu.

Melodi Dushane, 24, visited the restaurant at East Toledo's Front and Main Streets in the early hours of New Year's Day. She ordered Chicken McNuggets at the serving window, but the sales assistant told her they were unavailable because they were only serving the Breakfast Menu. Evidently enraged at the unavailability of her nuggets Dushane launched at the assistant, landing several blows around her head.

Only in America could people get so aerated about a snack with the nutritional value of processed dog shit.

Today's Thorny Issue

2010-08-10T13:05:00.004Z

Watching the old idiot's lantern the other evening I happened across the "UK Border Force" documentary on Sky 1.

I'm quite keen on these documentaries and, with an ever baffling array of pseudo-law enforcement agencies sprouting in the UK, there's no shortage of televisual titillation.

The programme struck a chord with me and probably not in the way you're expecting.

UK Border Agency officers were tracking down illegals on the tough backstreets of Glasgow. Intelligence took them to an Indian restaurant, where half a dozen Indian immigrants were seen working in the busy kitchen. Their hearts must have sank as they saw the stab-vested authorities descend on their place of work like locusts devouring a crop.

All those workers were trying to do, unlike hundreds of thousands of their workshy UK-domiciled countrymen, was scratch together an honest living working in inhospitable surroundings. It's the very essential job they'd been deprived of in their homeland, yet swathes of unemployed Britons would turn up their noses in disapproval.

Those Indians had the drive and motivation to make a go of life in the UK and I felt for them. Perhaps their only opportunity to succeed snatched from grasp because of an outdated passport stamp.

Britain needs people prepared to work, who can speak the language and industriously make their own way in life. We can no longer afford those who only take, contributing nothing in return.

We are a small nation with only a finite capacity. We simply haven't got the resources to support an ever expanding population and I appreciate entirely the need for rigorous immigration controls.

But if we have to start somewhere, let's target those with no interest in speaking our language or making a contribution and facilitate those with a commitment to work and make a difference.

Wild Swimming

2010-08-08T10:09:00.009Z

Another pursuit I'll be adding to my "to do" list is wild swimming.

I watched a fascinating documentary about it on BBC Four the other night (get it quick on the iPlayer). Alice Roberts, medical doctor turned anthropologist, slid into her snugly fitting wetsuit and swam in the wake of wild swimming author the late Roger Deakin.

Alice's journey took her to the crystal clear River Wye, where she was quickly at one with nature. The current effortless carried her body down stream, with Sika deer drinking from the water's edge, Kingfishers diving for minnows and Swans gliding past her semi-submerged body.

The shackles of everyday life seemingly abandoned at water's edge, Alice explored an aquatic paradise untouched by the interfering hand of man.

All rather nice and the perfect accompaniment to a hard weekend's Lighthouse Bagging!

Mysteries of the British Judicial System

2010-08-04T09:56:00.006Z

This week we learnt that an extrovert antique dealer, with a penchant for wearing funny costumes, was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for handling a scabby old book written in an almost foreign language.

We also learnt that a smack head lout, who callously killed a soldier outside a Newcastle night club, was jailed for only 5 years for his totally unprovoked attack.

It's right what they say - there's no "F" in justice.

Open Water

2010-07-31T20:35:00.002Z

Turn back the clock a decade and I remember heading to the Odeon in Newcastle and watching the movie Open Water.

I obviously had a lot of spare time back then in my undergraduate days because I distinctly remember writing a review of Open Water after seeing it on the big screen. My conclusion back then - absolutely pants.

I reaffirmed that conclusion last night when I watched it for the first time on the small screen.

A young married couple, obviously quite sporty given their well toned bodies and love of diving, head off on a Caribbean break to escape their hectic work schedules. They go for a spot of diving, get left behind when the boat skipper miscounts their fellow divers back onto the boat, float around for a couple of days and then get eaten by sharks.

What sort of a movie plot is that? Surely they're meant to narrowly escape the jaws of death by fighting off the sharks and licking fresh droplets of condensation from their diving masks? Not a bit of it. Instead they spend an hour floating about, being circled by sharks, which then inevitably eat them.

What a load of bollocks.

Pondlife Claims Compo

2010-07-31T20:06:00.003Z

If there's one thing guaranteed to make me angry enough to blog it's criminal scum deciding to make a quick buck by cashing in on the same laws they have total disregard for.

Today's papers are bulging with the shameless exploits of convicted nonce and child murderer Ian Huntley, who was unfortunately wounded when a fellow crook slashed his throat in HMP Frankland near Durham.

The only unfortunate thing was that the makeshift barricade constructed by Huntley's attacker didn't hold back prison officers long enough for him to bleed to death.

Huntley murdered 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in the Cambridgeshire village of Soham in 2002. Odd ball Huntley, the local school caretaker, took the girls into his trust before luring from the street and committing wicked acts with them.

Huntley could now be in line for £100,000 in damages for the injuries he sustained back in March this year. It is reported that he'll claim £20,000 for injuries, £60,000 for the authorities breaching their duty of care and £15,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Even more sickening is that the CICA paid the Wells and Chapman families only £11,000 each when their children were murdered.

Colin Moses, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA), said: "This fits right in with something we think is overtaking the prison service - a compensation culture from inmates."

Mr Moses contrasted Huntley's demands with damages awarded to injured prison staff, working in increasingly dangerous and arduous circumstances across the country.

With any luck someone at Frankland will finish Huntley off before the Home Office has to write him a cheque.

All Hail the Purple Beaked Psychic

2010-07-11T21:02:00.001Z

Paul the Octopus comes up trumps yet again.

Final score Spain 1-0 Holland, after extra time.

I suppose that makes Spain World Cup Champions too, although that's of secondary concern to me.

Thats 8 out of 8 for Paul.

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

2010-07-11T16:28:00.003Z

Once upon a time there was a twat...

A twat so devoid of morality that he's trying to cash in on all the sleazy little scandals his putrid Government contaminated our nation with over the past decade.

Let's not all rush out and buy The Times tomorrow.

Paul the Octopus Right Again

2010-07-10T22:00:00.002Z

Well what do you know, Paul the Octopus correctly predicted that Germany would beat Uruguay in the World Cup third place play-off earlier this evening.

The final result was Uruguay 2-3 Germany.

That makes a clean sweep of 7 out of 7 correctly predicted results by the purple beaked psychic.

Just to throw a spanner in the works I reckon that Paul has dropped his first bollock (if Octopuses have such things) by incorrectly predicting Spain's win tomorrow.

Paul says Spain but Tom says Holland.

Moat Drained of Life

2010-07-10T08:20:00.007Z

View Raoul Moat's Last Stand in a larger map

And so the hunt for Britain's most wanted man has ended.

Raoul Thomas Moat, cornered by police on the outskirts of Rothbury, took his own life shortly after 1 am this morning. After Moat fired the the fatal shot the police quickly whisked him off to Newcastle General Hospital, but to no avail. The damage was already done. If the gunshot hadn't finished him, the 50-stones of police officer that landed on his limp body afterwards would have done.

Now the questions begin:

Why did Northumbria Police, forewarned of Moat's malicious intent by Durham Prison, fail to pass that information on to Samantha Stobbart?
Why didn't they warn officers that Moat had telephoned in a threat, shortly before he slotted PC David Rathband? Surely their uber efficient Airwave radios could have got word around pretty quickly.
Why did they only release details of Moat's black Lexus the day after it appeared in Rothbury?
How could they have missed Moat if he was hiding within the town all along?
Thankfully, as this all happened early on Saturday morning, the Northumberland Gazette will get at least another week's coverage out of it. What are they going to write about after that?

Don't get me wrong, this has been a reasonable conclusion - members of the public safe, Moat no longer a threat, taxpayer saved from keeping him in prison for the rest of his days - but the police appear to have had more good luck than judgment.

I'm sure there'll be many more questions other than these asked over the next few days.

Go Away You Naughty Journalists

2010-07-09T20:30:00.003Z

Northumbria Police has just Tweeted that they're going to implement a 10 mile exclusion zone around Rothbury for journalists.

In their most serious finger wagging voice they say the following: "Your presence is affecting the ongoing operation. 10 mile exclusion is being put in place. Please respect this."

So why don't they want the people to see the conclusion of this week-long operation?

And exactly what law are they going to invoke to move journalists, going about their lawful business in a completely lawful manner, to ten miles away from the action? Could it perhaps be the Terrorism Act 2000?

Answers on a postcard...

Moat's Extraordinary Last Stand

2010-07-09T20:02:00.007Z

As I type police have shotgun wielding murder suspect Raoul Moat cornered on the edge of Rothbury.

Paul the Octopus was apparently right, when he earlier predicted that Moat was still lying low in the idyllic Northumberland backwater.

The stand off is currently taking place in the Riverside area of the town.

Sky News have some remarkable video footage showing police negotiators apparently within metres of Britain's most wanted man. He is so close that firearms officers have their Tasers trained on him as well as their automatic rifles.

I don't expect this to last much longer. If Moat is out in the open he'll eventually get cold, thirsty, hungry and tired - police will then be able to seize the initiative. If all else fails the police can wait until November and Moat will be flooded out. The blood thirsty Northumberland midges might finish him off a bit quicker than that.

I'll be glued to the goggle box until this is over.

News hot off the press from my friend Mark: Sir Alan Beith, MP for this Parish, plans to put in a special expenses claim for Moat clearing.

Boom boom.

New Weapon in Hunt for Fugitive

2010-07-09T18:28:00.001Z

After seven unsuccessful days hunting for an armed murder suspect, Northumbria Police re-evaluate their search strategy:

Inspector's Blonde Moment

2010-07-09T17:05:00.003Z

A senior Northumbria Police officer has caused embarrassment by reading out on live TV that fugitive gunman Raoul Moat is a "nutter".

Inspector Sue Peart, Neighbourhood Inspector here in God's Allotment, dropped the unanticipated clanger whilst sat next to her boss, Chief Constable Sue Sim, in a packed news conference carried live on Sky. Inspector Peart was reading well wishes from a card, which included the reference to Moat.

The police had been at pains to address Moat in a respectful manner, to avoid antagonising him while he's still at large. The news channels are now replaying the offending footage in case Moat missed it the first time.

Moat, wanted in connection with three shootings in Newcastle, has evaded capture for the last seven days.

Northumbria Police issued an apology on their Twitter feed a few moments ago.

Big "F" for Gove

2010-07-09T12:12:00.006Z

Only two months into office and the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has managed to alienate the public and educationalists alike by his shambolic handling of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

BSF was yet another Labour white elephant, which appeared virtuous but was actually a minefield of hidden financial incompetence. Labour promised to rebuild 200 schools by the end of 2008, but only achieved 35 rebuilds with most of those marred by massive overspend and botched construction jobs.

In a wave of cost cutting measures the Government announced their decision to scrap BSF, which will leave the 1,100 schools signed up for the scheme high and dry. That was never going to be palatable news to break, given that many of these schools are literally crumbling around the ears of their pupils.

To compound the schools' misery the Department for Education released a list of axed projects, which omitted the names of some schools involved. With the mistake now corrected these schools have also had their hopes dashed.

Most people are realising that the dire state of the nation's finances can only be cured by taking tough decisions. The Government has to be completely transparent about the hard decisions it takes.

All in all not a great week for the new Government.

Manhunt Continues

2010-07-07T17:21:00.003Z

Police from across the UK have converged on the sleepy Northumberland town of Rothbury in the hunt for shotgun killer Raoul Moat.

Last night operations in Rothbury subsided and an air of normality returned to the local area. This morning the police were back in even greater numbers, following the discovery of Moat's tent at Wagtail Farm on the south eastern outskirts of town.

This morning the Chief Constable, Sue Sim, and her detective side kick, Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson, gave their now routine news conference at Northumbria Police HQ in Ponteland.

Mr Adamson broke news of their recent discovery: "You will probably be aware that Mr Moat is familiar with the surrounding area, having spent time there in the past. We have established that Moat has been living rough in a tent in a secluded spot near Rothbury.

"We have recovered the tent and other items from the scene. This includes another letter, purportedly to be from Mr Moat."

Armed officers from as far away as the Metropolitan Police Service have been drafted in to support their Northumbria colleagues, who are fatigued by their fifth consecutive day of searching for Britain's most wanted man.

In scenes reminiscent of the 1980s Lebanon the Police Service of Northern Ireland has provided twenty armoured cars, capable of withstanding direct gunfire in the event of Moat's anticipated dramatic last stand.

I still doubt he's in Rothbury. His two "hostage" mates probably left that tent and smouldering camp fire for the police to find, thus diverting their attention from Moat's real location.

I reckon he'll he roughing it with the seals on the Farne Islands by now!

Rothbury Exclusion Zone Lifted

2010-07-06T20:40:00.004Z

Northumbria Police has lifted the 2-mile exclusion zone imposed around Rothbury, where shotgun killer Raoul Moat was earlier suspected of hiding out.

Moat's black Lexus was found abandoned in the town earlier this morning. A heavy armed police presence decended on the area and stopped all movement in and out. At around 9 pm this evening the armed police left and by 10 pm Rothbury was back to normal with people moving freely.

Earlier this evening police focused their search efforts to the Fairmoor area on the outskirts of Morpeth.

This morning they searched a property in the Kenton area of Newcastle.

Which all goes to confirm one thing... they haven't got a clue where he actually is.

Can't say I'm surprised, given their past form for dropping bollocks.

Hunt for Moat Continues

2010-07-06T18:42:00.003Z

Dozens of armed police swarmed on the Northumberland town of Rothbury earlier today, after the vehicle of shotgun killer Raoul Moat was found parked on the local industrial estate.

In the early hours of Saturday morning Moat, 37, shot his former girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and killed her new boyfriend Chris Brown, 29, outside her Birtley home.

The following day, shortly after telephoning a chilling warning to Northumbria Police, he calmly walked up to a police car in the East Denton suburb of Newcastle and shot the occupant, PC David Rathband. PC Rathband received gunshot wounds to the face and chest, but is stable in hospital.

Moat was released from Durham Prison last Thursday after serving an 18-week sentence for assault. His parting words, which it now transpires Northumbria Police were forewarned of, were his intention to harm Samantha.

Northumbria Police has been slowly drip feeding snippets of information to the media over the past few days. Only this morning they confirmed their interest in the black Lexus, which had raised suspicions of Rothbury locals yesterday afternoon.

Tonight Rothbury is in a state of lock down, with police stopping and searching all vehicles entering the town. School children were held back after lessons, amid fears the gunman could endanger them at home time. Police with loudhailers patrolled the streets warning locals to stay in their homes until told otherwise.

The police believe Moat is still in the Rothbury area, which is surrounded by rolling moors and woodland. He is familiar with the area, experienced with the outdoors and could have easily slipped away into the wilderness by now.

Brace for Impact

2010-07-03T21:29:00.001Z

The Treasury has ordered fellow Government departments to plan for up to 40% worth of budget cuts, according to news reports this evening.

The Departments for Health and International Development are protected under election promises to ring-fence their budgets, but anything else is fair game including the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence, which have each been asked to plan for cuts of 10% and 20%.

The Government, faced with tackling the record national debt amassed by their Labour predecessors, has already announced plans to counter the deficit by freezing public sector pay and forcing benefit claimants back into meaningful employment.

A Treasury spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: "We are determined to tackle the record budget deficit in order to keep rates lower for longer, protect jobs, and maintain the quality of essential public services.

"The Cabinet has been briefed on the planning assumptions that their departments should use for the initial phase of the spending review.

"These assumptions will be negotiated so that we both tackle the deficit and support the freezer, fairer and more responsible Britain we want to see."

Shitzkreig

2010-06-27T15:40:00.005Z

England have embarrassingly limped out of the World Cup after suffering their worst ever tournament defeat at the hands of Germany.

Germany steamrollered their beleaguered English opponents into the pitch at the Bloemfontein Stadium. To say the match was one-sided is an understatement.

Not once did England have the upper hand. The appalling England defence made the same mistakes over and over again, which Germany were more than happy to capitalise on. If it wasn't David James the lacklustre England defence could have let in a dozen goals.

Final score Germany 4-1 England.

My only consolation is that I have Germany in the office sweep stake, so hope they play on to World Cup victory.

Clucking Ridiculous

2010-06-27T13:58:00.001Z

Meddling European Union legislators plan to outlaw the sale of eggs by the dozen.

The draft EU Food Labelling Regulations, which could come into force as early as next year, would make it illegal for retailers to sell groceries by the number contained within the outside packaging.

According to trade magazine The Grocer the wacky rules could see the end of eggs by the dozen, bread rolls by the half dozen and eight rashers of bacon. Under proposals the packaging would have to give the metric weight of the food, making no mention of the number of units inside.

Last week MEPs voted down an amendment to the legislation, which would have allowed member states to sell certain food items by number.

The absurd changes would cost retailers millions of pounds, with many more items needing to be individually weighed and labelled.

Andrew Opie, food director of the British Retail Consortium, which represents 90 per cent of UK shops, said: "This is a bad proposal – we need to help consumers, not confuse them."

Does the EU really think it's more appropriate to sell eggs in 360 gram boxes rather than by the half dozen? What better evidence that Britain needs to further distance itself from these imperialist crackpots.

Cameron's Budget Message

2010-06-22T19:55:00.002Z

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has defended today's emergency Budget, which will see swingeing tax hikes and public sector cuts affecting every man, woman and child in the UK.

In a message to the Conservative Party faithful, David reminded members that today's measures were the unavoidable result of years of economic neglect by the Government's incompetent Labour predecessors.

Labour's "spend today, sod tomorrow" attitude has left the nation facing crippling debt, the likes of which haven't been seen since the end of the Second World War. According to Labour's own former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liam Byrne: "Sorry, there's no money left."

The full text of David's email:

Dear Tom,

I know how worried people are about the state of our economy and the decisions we have to take as a country. So I wanted to write to you personally about the emergency Budget the Chancellor delivered today.

I'm not going to hide it from you - what the coalition has announced is tough. But let's be clear, it's also entirely necessary and entirely unavoidable. Never forget - Labour left us with one of the worst economic inheritances imaginable. They racked up one of the biggest budget deficits in Europe - with the government borrowing one pound for every four it spends - and they doubled the national debt.

Doing nothing about this isn't an option. Greece stands as an example of what happens to countries that don't deal with their debts. And we cannot afford to be timid either - take just small steps now and confidence in our economy will fall, interest rates will rise, we'll carry on with this debt cloud hanging over our whole economic recovery.

That's why these difficult times call for such decisive action. And that's what this emergency Budget is about. Unlike the Budgets of the past thirteen years it's not a random shopping list of policies to buy short-term popularity. It's a thoughtful plan to pay for the bills of the past while planning for our future prosperity. At the heart of George Osborne's Budget are three principles.

First, responsibility. We will bring some sense and sanity back to the public finances by reducing our deficit by an extra £40 billion over the next five years. The majority of this will come from spending cuts - though as we always said, we will protect the NHS and international aid budgets. But tax rises are required too. I know you won't like that. Believe me, I don't like it either. But there's a high price to pay for Labour's incompetence, so VAT will have to rise to 20 percent to deal with their deficit.

Second, freedom. The economic growth needed to create jobs and opportunities for all will only come when we get enterprise flourishing again, so this Budget sends out a signal to the world that Britain is back open for business. In its pages are plans to cut red tape, stop Labour's jobs tax, reduce corporation tax rates, improve our infrastructure, support a low-carbon economy and spread new industries to every corner of our country.

Third, fairness. As I said, this Budget is tough. But it's also fair. That's what I'm about, what this Party is about, it's what this coalition is about. That's why we have asked every part of society to make some sort of contribution to paying off our debts - with the richest paying most. For example, Capital Gains Tax will rise for top rate taxpayers - but I think most people will agree that 28 per cent is a fair rate.

At the same time, we have also done everything we can to protect the least well-off. So while there will be a two-year public sector pay freeze, we will make sure those earning less than £21,000 still get pay increases. We will also increase the personal tax allowance by £1,000 for low and middle income earners, re-link the basic state pension to earnings and make sure it rises each year and reform the benefit and tax credit system so we reward work and protect the most vulnerable. What's more, we have committed an extra £2 billion in child tax credits for the poorest families - helping to ensure there is no increase in measured child poverty over the next two years. This is what we mean when we say we're all in this together.

Tom, in this emergency Budget I believe you have the measure of this government. Will it provoke debate? Certainly. Will it cost our coalition some popularity? Possibly. But is this the right thing to do - for the health of our economy, for the poorest in our society, for the future of our country? I passionately believe it is.

Get the Violins Out

2010-06-14T18:18:00.002Z

More than 400 MPs were short changed in May, when a Westminster computer glitch messed up their pay.

The 418 members re-elected to the Commons after the 6th May election were underpaid by £119.63 each.

The oversight happened when the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) took over administering the MPs' salaries from House of Commons authorities.

The unfortunate MPs, who only received a miserly £5,358.54 rather than £5,478.17 in their May pay packets, will have the shortfall made up at the end of this month.

A spokesman for IPSA said: "This is a technical discrepancy which often happens in switching payroll systems.

"We've already put in place the means to make up the difference. We've paid every MP even when they haven't given us their bank details and in some cases that meant hand delivering cheques."

Cumbria Shootings

2010-06-02T17:15:00.001Z

The idyllic lakeland county of Cumbria has been rocked by news that a local taxi driver killed twelve people in a three hour shooting spree earlier today.

Derrick Bird, 52, began his rampage shortly after 10:30 am in the tourist town of Whitehaven. Police quickly responded to reports of gunshots in the Duke Street area, where Mr Bird frequented the taxi rank. Bird sped off in his silver Citreon Picasso leaving at least one person, a fellow taxi driver, dead in the street.

Bird then headed down the coast, with several people being killed and wounded in the Whitehaven, Seascale and Egremont areas. His trail of terror passed the Sellafield nuclear powerstation, which was locked down as a precaution. Police instructed local residents to stay indoors until they heard it was safe to venture out.

Shortly after 1 pm the police found Bird's vehicle abandoned in Boot, not far from the popular Eskdale and Ravensglass Railway. A couple were shot at in their car. About an hour later his body was found in nearby woodland.

The current death toll is 13, including Bird, with at least 25 people hospitalised.

Britain already has the most archaic gun laws of the western world, although it wouldn't surprise me if the Government tightened up firearms licensing even further.

Sadly, most people who shoot other people don't really care about the law, so I hope any legal response is proportionate and doesn't punish the law abiding majority.

Laws Resigns from Government

2010-05-29T18:26:00.005Z

A leading Liberal Democrat member of the coalition government has resigned from his post amid embarrassing revelations about his parliamentary expenses.

Earlier today the Daily Telegraph reported that David Laws, Chief Secretary to the Treasury for less than a month, reclaimed almost £40,000 for a room he was "renting" from his partner James Lundie. The article also ended any speculation about closet-gay Mr Laws's sexuality.

The Yeovil MP stands accused of breaching strict new rules, which forbid MPs from claiming Housing Allowance on properties rented from a partner.

Mr Laws told the Telegraph: "At no point did I consider myself to be in breach of the rules which in 2009 defined partner as 'one of a couple… who although not married to each other or civil partners are living together and treat each other as spouses'.

"Although we were living together we did not treat each other as spouses - for example we do not share bank accounts and indeed have separate social lives.

"However, I now accept that this was open to interpretation and will immediately pay back the costs of the rent and other housing costs I claimed from the time the rules changed until August 2009."

Many people will find it inconceivable that Cambridge educated Laws didn't consider Lundie his partner, despite cohabiting and being in a relationship for nine years.

Laws has referred his own actions to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, John Lyon.

BA Strike Talks Sabotaged

2010-05-22T18:00:00.001Z

Talks between British Airways and Unite have been postponed today, after protestors stormed the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service's headquarters in Central London.

The protestors, waving Socialist Worker placcards, managed to access the building by a side entrance before pushing past reception. In heated scenes they surrounded BA chief executive Willie Walsh, who had to be escorted from the building by police.

BA is currently is dispute with workers over plans to cut their annual cabin crew budget by £62.5 million - a move that has already seen 1,000 voluntary redundancies and staffing levels on long haul flights reduced.

Mr Walsh further infuriated the union by removing striking workers' entitlement to discounted travel on BA flights. In response Unite general secretary Tony Woodley criticised the "petty, vindictive attitude of the company".

As it stands at the moment BA cabin crews will abandon their passengers for three further five-day strikes starting on 24th May, 30th May and 5th June.

BA's cabin crews have become rather accustomed to their over-generous salary and benefits, which far exceed those of rival airlines. They should consider themselves fortunate to have jobs at all, considering the state of the nation's economy. If I was looking to cut staff I'd be looking at the possibility of dispensing with disloyal workers first - I'm sure some smart arse employment lawyer would know the legal loopholes to facilitate this.

BA announced a pre-tax loss on £561 million earlier this week.

Opik to Become Comedian

2010-05-22T09:31:00.002Z

Should be an easy transition, because he's already considered a bit of a joke.

Did I tell you the one about the Liberal Democrat MP and the Cheeky Girl...

Pac Man Google Doodle

2010-05-21T20:40:00.003Z

An interesting Google Doodle has appeared on the homepage of the world's favourite search engine.

The animated and audio-enabled doodle, shown above, celebrates the 30th anniversary of that other great cyber invention Pac Man. Better still you can actually play Pac Man using your arrow keys when you visit Google today.

When I first heard the siren sound effects I thought we were being raided by the swat team.

Obviously I'm too hot and bothered for serious blogging today too!