/** Tools */

13 May 2007

Herr Doktor John Reid's making the news in order not to make the news

After deciding that doubling (not 'splitting') Home Office resources was going to take two and half years, a defiant Herr Doktor John Reid announced at the end of January this year, 'I won't quit'. Less than four months later, last Sunday in fact, Herr Doktor Reid of the eternally 'not fit for purpose' Home Office announced that he would resign from the government within weeks, citing a bunch of traditionally lame, pat excuses for his departure.

That, superficially at least, is the beginning and end of the story. Except, as with most things behind the mendacious, mass-murdering State -- currently continuing to be led by Tony Blair, who should have been hung for his war crimes a long time ago and who still hasn't fucked off even after delivering a speech of which Adolf Hitler himself would have been proud -- there's always at least one story behind the story that makes its way into the headlines.

So what is the real story as Herr Doktor John Reid slips out of the Home Office after doubling it into the Department of Constitutional Affairs and a Ministry of Justice?

Justice, as anyone with any experience of the State's rule of law that purports to deliver it, is not something that is meted out very often, if at all. Just ask Harry Roberts (11 years in jail without charge or even knowing why he's still being held) or, if your memory doesn't stretch that far back, Dhiren Barot or the Crevice 5 who themselves have just joined the ranks of the Guildford 4, Birmingham 6, Maguire 7 amongst many, many others. See here and here. There is, however, a major difference between the alleged Irish terrorists that weren't and the alleged Muslim terrorists that weren't. Ignoring for a moment the travesties and miscarriages of justice they represent, at least with the Birmingham 6, Guildford 4, Maguire 7, and various other alleged Irish terrorists who were entirely innocent of the charges against them, crimes had been committed for which somebody had been charged. That real terrorist crimes had been committed for which innocent people were jailed should, although doesn't very often, lead to the asking of the question: If those charged, tried, convicted and jailed for real terrorist crimes that happened weren't the people responsible, where are the true perpetrators of those attacks?

Maybe someone should ask the new Head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, or maybe even Sir John Stevens under whose watch the Crevice 7 were watched and arrested and who said it was a case of "when not if" London was attacked by terrorists.

The crime of the 'new normal' is that of Thought Crime so you best all get a thinking cap on your head while its still free from 7 bullets.

But back to the point of this post which was the real story, a mini-scandal in the making, behind Herr Doktor Reid's resignation, the story that you won't read about Reid in many places, no doubt because all the dead-trees are observing voluntary D-notices about the matter. What might it be? Here's the story, in full, just in case it disappears from its source, as such things have a habit of doing:

John Reid’s nephew is fined over weapons

THE teenage nephew of Home Secretary John Reid has walked free from court after being convicted of possessing two deadly weapons in public.

John McGowan had been caught by police concealing a telescopic metal baton and a craft knife.

The 18-year-old from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, stood timidly in the dock at the town's sheriff court as he was fined a total of £400.

McGowan, an apprentice joiner, of "Kinkell", Drumbathie Road, was stopped and searched by police following an incident in Hallcraig Street, Airdrie, last month.

Fiscal Depute Agnes Meek told the court how McGowan had been attending an 18th birthday bash in the nearby Caritas Club.

The prosecutor said there had been "trouble" at the party on April 15 - which didn't involve McGowan - that was serious enough for the police to be called.

McGowan was one of several people searched by uniformed officers in Hallcraig Street and was found to be concealing the baton in his sock.

When they searched his car they found the knife, which had a blade attached.

The court also heard McGowan, whose father is a company director and one of his sisters a law student, was a first offender.

McGowan had pleaded guilty to both offences when he appeared at the custody court the day after the party.

At that appearance Sheriff Carole Cunningham had released him on bail.

But she also called for a social enquiry report, as well as a community service assessment and a restriction of liberty order assessment on the youth.

Defence lawyer Con McAfee told the court McGowan had found the baton in the car park, and that the knife was a tool for repair work he'd been doing.

He said: "He had been doing some work for his grandmother earlier in the evening, repairing her bath. He forgot he still had the knife with him."

Yesterday Sheriff John C Morris fined McGowan £300 for possession of the baton and a further £100 for possession of the craft knife. He was ordered to pay the total fine at £20 per week.

The irony that the Home Secretary, who has made one of his core businesses imposing control orders and ASBOs on ordinary members of the general public, can't even keep his own fucking family in order, is not lost on anyone.

No comments: