The continuing hubris of the News International lot is really quite astonishing. These people do not seem to have realised they no longer have the world in their pocket. I thought this one really took the biscuit; Rebekah Brooks’ lawyer complains that the police have damaged her reputation. To which the reply is, what reputation?
When you consider how Hayman, Coulson and Brooks conspired to trash the reputation of newly murdered Jean Charles De Menezes by publishing deliberate lies about him, that is sick. Even more sick when you consider that Cressida Dick, who orchestrated Menezes’ murder, is now in charge of the anti-terrorist squad as a result of all the resignations.
It is particularly fascinating that the squad of police in direct charge of pumping out years of lies to bolster the “War on Terror”, in close collusion with Brooks and Coulson, was put in charge of the investigation into those two. I have yet to see a convincing explanation of why the News of the World investigation was given to the anti-terrorist squad, as opposed to any of the Met’s many thousands of other detectives. Was this Ian Blair keeping it in politicially safe hands who would not progress it? Almost certainly yes, I would say.
The most obnoxious policeman of all time has not yet come under the spotlight in all this. He will.
She will have her legal counsel alongside today to advise her on her answers. Another piece of theatre for the gullible watchers.
Thanks, correction made.
“I have yet to see a convincing explanation of why the News of the World investigation was given to the anti-terrorist squad, as opposed to any of the Met’s many thousands of other detectives.”
Now you’re talking. This is the most important aspect of the story, and I agree with your conclusion. This is not just the politicization of the police force (which is inevitable at top brass level) but the politicization of security as a concept. Number 10 owns security, and it’s so important that it can’t be questioned. Then when they don’t investigate something, they can say they were busy with a whole pile of security shit. Don’t expect opposition parties to go digging here though – it’s a cosy arrangement that suits everyone.
The most obnoxious policeman of all time has not yet come under the spotlight in all this. He will.
Never lived in Manchester have you Craig?
Despite the seriousness I had to smile at The Guardian’s most viewed items.
1. News of the World phone-hacking whistleblower found dead
2. Police examine bag found in bin near Rebekah Brooks’s home
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/19/sean-hoare-journalists-tributes-news-of-the-world
The last paragraph of the 2nd article starts: ‘Rebekah Brooks was arrested on Sunday under suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, and of corrupting police officers.’ She has a lot to answer for but cannot be blamed for corrupting police officers. They’re either incorruptible or they’re not.
10 Questions The MPs Will Not Ask Murdoch
By Robin Beste
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July 18, 2011 “Stop the War Coalition” —
What was it about the relationship with Murdoch that made Tony Blair feel it was appropriate to take a phone call from a newspaper proprietor just hours prior to the most momentous decision a prime minister can make: ordering the country’s armed forces to war?
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When Rupert Murdoch appears before the parliamentary committee on 19 July 2011, here are ten questions the MPs certainly will not ask about the relationship he had with Tony Blair during the run up to the Iraq war, when Murdoch was, in the words of Blair’s former press officer Lance Price, “the third most powerful figure in the Labour government”, after Blair himself and Gordon Brown.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28624.htm
This can be added to a long list of strange deaths http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/11/02/call-for-fresh-probe-into-1985-death-of-snp-activist-willie-mcrae-86908-22684032/
“Cressida Dick, who orchestrated Menezes’ murder,”
That constitutes libel in your tiny Third World country.
It might even constitute libel in my big First World country, as you’re clearly acting out of malice.
Speaking of libel …
Heh Angrysoba, I’m thinking of setting up a Craig Murray Watch blog to highlight many of the bizarre statements he’s made recently. I can’t believe how far this guy has fallen.
Full rundown of what happened here http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/special-reports/crimes-that-rocked-scotland/2007/10/19/the-mcrae-mystery-86908-19978476/
I am guessing that the grandly titled Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington might fit the bill in the last sentence.
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After his retirement as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, on 6 April 2005 he was created a life peer as Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, of Kirkwhelpington in the County of Northumberland.
Lord Stevens is the Executive Chairman of Quest Ltd, a London based Corporate Intelligence, Investigations and Risk Mitigation Company. Among at least four remunerated company directorships held by him are non-executive directorships of the financial services company Invicta Capital and of Mercer Street Consulting. ++ Stevens also writes for the News of the World newspaper++. On 28 November 2005 he was appointed Chancellor of Northumbria University.
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On 29 June 2007, in-coming Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed Lord Stevens as his Senior Advisor on International Security Issues.
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Lord Stevens is patron of the United Kingdom’s largest professional security organisation, The Security Institute.
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His Register of Interests on the House of Lords website:
1: Directorships
Non-executive Chairman, Mercer Street Consulting Ltd
Non-executive Director, Travelex (money exchange)
Non-executive Chairman, Monitor Quest Limited (risk mitigation)
Non-executive Chairman, Protector Group (security services)
Executive Chairman, Axiom International Ltd (forensic science and police training courses)
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Non-executive Director, LGC Limited (diagnostic services)
2: Remunerated employment, office, profession etc.
Stevens Consultancy
Contracted to JLA to give speeches on leadership, management and policing
Member, UN Commission for Global Road Safety (funded by World Bank)
Chairman, Buddi Ltd (GPS personal tracking device and tagging company)
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5: Land and property
Residential land in Kirkwhelpington (expected future income)
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10: Non-financial interests (a)
Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister on International Security
Chairman, Border Security Advisory Committee (set up by David Cameron MP for Conservative Party)
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Since 1 January 2010 leading Stevens 3 Enquiry and examining certain cases investigated by Historical Enquiries Team, Northern Ireland
10: Non-financial interests (b)
Chancellor, University of Northumbria
10: Non-financial interests (e)
President, Durham County Cricket Club
Chairman, Newcastle Cathedral Appeal
Chairman of Board, Skills for Security
Member, Nominations Committee, St John Ambulance
Trustee, Alnwick Gardens Trust
President, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association UK (AOPA UK)
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All bases covered.
PS LGC Forensics
http://www.lgc.co.uk/divisions/lgc_forensics.aspx
Privatised forensic science and pathology. Not a good idea if you get my drift??
“I have yet to see a convincing explanation of why the News of the World investigation was given to the anti-terrorist squad…”
I understand it was first given to them because the initial suspicion was around hacking of the royal family. That explanation is understandable.
The fact it never made it out of the anti-terrorist domain, despite the reams of evidence found on Glenn Mulcaire pointing to hacking on an industrial scale, that’s where the official explanation comes up well short.
Anon,
Thanks – the comment on the link adds more fascinating detail. Yes, that is very peculiar indeed.
A bargain! Only £5k-£10K a pop. Wonder how they decide who goes on the list.
http://www.jla.co.uk/after-dinner-speakers/john-stevens
I inferred Baron Blair of Boughton, Mary, but I guess there could be wide speculation as to who is the most obnoxious of the retired Commissioners. Anon’s second post reawakens the Hilda Murrrell murder as well as the death of Willy Macrae. Something not quite right there with either murder. Robert Green,who believes the conviction of Andrew George for Hilda Murrell’s murder to be unsafe, has had his home in New Zealand broken into, and interference with his phone and mail; over which he suspects the British secret services. It was forensic evidence which convicted George in a reopened ‘cold case’.
Also on the list of (piss) artists John, but a tad cheaper at £2.5k – £5k.
http://www.jla.co.uk/conference-speakers/ian-blair-of-boughton
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The Director of Public Affairs at the Met whose name I likened to one likely to be found in the cast list of The Godfather, Dick Fedorcio, has been referred to the IPCC.
As I thought might be the case, requests for answers to questions are now being demanded by the Defend Tommy Sheridan people.
http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1311069285.html
Willie Macrea’s office must have been bugged or he was watched receiving these documents, or he had a mole in his office. Whoever gave him these documents can’t be very safe either now.
As they have did not instantyly recognised the bullet hole it must have been a small calibre, maybe a 22 high velocity projectile, fired from, sticking my neck out, a Heckler and Koch or a Glock, most definately an assassination by someone who did not want him to have a weekends read of some very sensitive papers by the looks of it.
Does this mean one could not trust Strathclyde to investigate the Met?
mary, thanks for that link, I saw the black shadow video that they claimed was of Sheridan!, its all starting to make sense now.
Craig
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Letting righteous indignation run ahead of logic and fairness again?
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I never thought I’d ever agree with Larry / Yugo on anything but the crack at Cressida Dick goes a bit too far.
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It’s clear she was misled by the people on the ground, not on the pace and gave unclear orders (to arrest him, but whatever you do, don’t let him get on the Tube or words to that effect) but orchestrating his murder is an unsupportable charge. Both the inquest and the Jury in the trial of the Met did not blame her personally for the series of cock-ups that led to the assasination of an innocent man or the lies the Met told about it afterwards.
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Whether she can do the job she now has in view of the baggage of the de Menezes fiasco is a different, perfectly valid, question.
Latest on the French boat voyage to Gaza
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Canadian Boat to Gaza
For Immediate Release
July 19, 2011- 4:30AM EDT
Dignité attacked: one Canadian on board Gaza-bound French boat
Organizers of the Canadian Boat to Gaza (CBG), the Tahrir, lost
contact with the French flagged boat Dignité from the Freedom Flotilla
II, at 10:10AM local time when the boat was in international waters
north of Arish, Egypt, and are deeply concerned for those aboard,
given the likelihood the vessel has been boarded by the Israeli Navy.
The Dignity had managed to get out of Greek territorial waters and was
sailing towards Gaza. The Israeli navy recently threatened to
intercept any ships heading to Gaza……
Was she aware of the dudm dum ammunitions the team had loaded John G.? and why was this ammunition chosen if he was not to get on to the tube, indeed how did they miss their chance when he came offthe bus and into a very highly populated, confined space of a station?
She clearly made the wrong decision, imho, and was never challenged. What constitutes murder when the Mets crack team, and we know of their gung ho behaviour during their Hereford training, is unable to validate their conduct with CCTV,it dissappeared, when witnesses are intimidated by the teams ‘overwhelming evidence’?
In short it stinks and she is not the right person to let loose again.
Breaking news http://www.firmmagazine.com/news/2496/Cathy_Jamieson_blocked_from_grilling_Brooks.html
More breaking news
http://www.firmmagazine.com/news/2495/Scottish_MP_urges_investigation_into_%22police_corruption%2C_collusion_and_shortcomings%22.html
John K
You will recall that the judge ruled at the inquest that the jury could not bring in a verdict of unlawful killing, and directed them very strongly to bring in a verdict of lawful killing. They refused, and brought in the most damning verdict they were allowed – an open verdict. She, and the rest of those involved in the killing, was in no sense cleared by the inquest jury.
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Craig
She clearly made many mistakes – I think Gareth Pierce said over 20? – but that’s a long way from “orchestated Menezes’ murder”: I don’t think anyone alleged that she ordered the men on the scene to kill him. The police generally, on the ground and in the control room, were clearly incompetent and badly briefed, but that’s cock-up not conspiracy.
I do however agree she is tainted by the Open verdict for the rest of her career.
And none of this will bring Mr. de Menezes back.
“You will recall that the judge ruled at the inquest that the jury could not bring in a verdict of unlawful killing”
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It beggars belief. Does a judge in those circumstances have to justify such a ruling? Thank god for a sane jury. I wish they could have done more and convicted the lot of them.
Thanks Anon, this scandal now seems to tick all the boxes of the description epidemic.
Thanks for reminding us that Ms Dicks was never cleared of being partial to the killing, Craig, any police recruit with uncluttered principles would be a better candidate.
“MP Cathy Jamieson blocked from Murdoch committee”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-14198514
Oh dear, are the tories manipulating the make up of the committee hearing!, what does that tell everyone!, are they trying to protect David Cameron ?.