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“As many as four of the NHS terror cell suspects were already known to security services, it emerged last night,” reports The Daily Mail this morning. This revelation is bound to set off a debate about whether MI5 has bungled or not. But before you jump to conclusions, consider what Fraser Nelson wrote after it became public that
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Asim Siddiqui has a powerful op-ed in the Guardian today on the futility of blaming foreign policy for terror attacks. As he writes: “And once we’ve left Iraq, will they be satisfied? Of course not. Their list of grievances is endless: Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine, Burma … so long as the world is presented as
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My apologies to George Osborne. Daniel Finkelstein’s blog points out that young Gideon does have election experience from his days in the 2001 campaign, not none as I unkindly said. I still think Douglas Alexander is a formidable counterpart as election maestro: I’ve never had a conversation with wee Dougie that hasn’t involved election mechanics.
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It’s a bit rough out there. Every day brings a flood and dry cleaning bills. Anglican bishops taking time off from gay-obsessions tell us the rain is all our fault and God’s judgement on our careless ways. For which relief much thanks go to Bishop Jones of Liverpool (and the Mersey Delta). But it was
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Gordon Brown’s justification for his constitutional meddling is that “the best answer to disengagement from our democracy is to strengthen our democracy.” Which begs the question of why are people disengaged from politics? If I had to take a stab at explaining why, I’d say it is some combination of the following: the lack of
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If anyone was wondering what the political parties think the key battleground of the next few years will be, just look at the people taking on the children, schools and families brief. Gordon Brown has placed his right-hand man Ed Balls in charge of this new department. Shadowing him will be Michael Gove, the pick
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Today’s Sun report on the after party for the Diana concert, says that: “Harry became one of the first people in the country to break the new smoking ban—as he lit up in the indoor VIP arena less than 24 hours after the law came in.” All of which begs the question, who will be the first
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Visit the website of Press TV, Iran’s new global news channel. The Guardian has a good review of the, how shall we put this, idiosyncrasies of the site’s coverage here.
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If Coffee House has not slaked your thirst for reshuffle analysis, Conservative Home and Iain Dale both have comprehensive takes on it.
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David Cameron’s choice of Sayeeda Warsi to shadow Hazel Blears, further illustrates how far the Tories are moving away from a hawkish position on the war on terror. Here is what she said soon after 7/7: “We must start engaging with, not agreeing with, the radical groups who we have said in the past are
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Dame Pauline Neville Jones recently gave evidence to Paddy Ashdown’s Iraq Commission. With today’s news, her testimony makes for fascinating reading. Here’s the key section of her remarks: “I think liberal intervention jolly difficult, jolly difficult, and we should be careful I think about being terribly gung-ho about the duty to protect, though the duty
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Dame Pauline Neville Jones is apparently joining the shadow cabinet in a security role. She’s a very establishment figure with very establishment views. Her record over Bosnia suggests that she has fairly realist views.
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Conservative Home has confirmed that Liam Fox is staying where he is.
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Not much detail about those arrested over the last few days in connection with the failed Glasgow Airport and London attacks – but Alex Salmond’s administration has been keen to say they’re not “born or raised here in Scotland”. More detail than he should have given, it turns out, but he’s keen to kill off
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So, how much—if at all—does the Israel/Palestine conflict ‘cause’ terrorism? Matt argued yesterday that it is a “great error” to think that there’s a “causal link between the growth of Islamism and the Middle East conflict.” To which, Anthony Barnett over at Our Kingdom responds: “Of course there is a causal link between the growth
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Gordon Brown has spent a large part of his honeymoon trying to destabilise the other two parties. As Jackie Ashley, whose columns will be essential reading in this new Brown era, writes today: “The offers to Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams, and the roles for Julia Neuberger and Anthony Lester, may not have been the
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Last night’s Diana concert was ostensibly a tribute to the late princess on what would have been her 46th birthday. But its deeper function was – yet again – to demonstrate the awesome resilience and adaptability of the monarchy. Those who have doubts about Prince Charles need only look at the next generation, the sons
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Interesting report from ABC News on the Glasgow attacks: “U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of a possible terror attack in Glasgow against “airport infrastructure or aircraft,” a senior US law enforcement official tells the Blotter on ABCNews.com.The intelligence reports also warned that airports and aircraft in the Czech Republic
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A partisan presentation Sir: Last week Melanie Phillips attacked the West’s approach to the Palestinians as deluded (‘Gaza: another front in Iran’s war’, 23 June). But if her analysis carried sway it would only reinforce the hand of those who see no point in negotiations. Phillips’s view is based on a partisan presentation of history.
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Were they Scottish? The response to the failed Glasgow airport attack will be dictated by the identity of the perpetrators. Early reports say Asian men were seen leaving the car, and Glasgow certainly has a large Asian community – more akin to that that of Bradford than London, ie, poorer and perhaps more susceptible to