A DESPERATE NEED...

A desperate need for News International

Much has been made of David Cameron’s (DC) blunder in relation to the phone hacking case, especially by the party formerly known as New Labour which moved swiftly to put the boot into DC. DC’s blunder whether unfortunate or calculated was not a criminal act and won’t land him in the International Court at The Hague, unlike some acts of one former New Labour leader. Legal issues and angry judges aside, at the end of the day, if the party formerly known as New Labour had not outlived its usefulness to News International then we may have found ourselves somewhere else. Perhaps employment opportunities within 10 Downing Street (and Scotland Yard) may have been as open to former News International employees under Gordon Brown as they were under DC. Perhaps if the party formerly known as New Labour had not been dropped by the Dirty Digger, then perhaps DC might have been attempting to put the boot in rather than Mr Milibland.  Additionally if the relationship with News International been maintained just exactly how vigorously would the party formerly known as New Labour pushed for any regulation of the news media or any enquiry into Fleet Streets misdeeds. Historically plenty of villains (elected or otherwise) and iffy media moguls - from Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, etc onwards -  have trodden the floors of Downing Street from the days of Lloyd George, who openly sold honours for cash, onwards. Putting the legal rumpus to one side there will be consequences of this mess that last longer than the media headlines. Basically as long as the incestuous relationship between the (mostly) Westminster based political leaders and Fleet Street remains important then there is no chance of any independent regulation of the worst aspects of the press behaviour, as personified by the phone hacking scandal. 

TIME TO CALL IN A FEW FAVOURS?

  Saif al-Islam - Photo: Ismail Zitouni/Reuters

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son / spawn of Muammar Gaddafi, was captured yesterday near the southern Libyan oil town of Obari, as his armed companions were trying to smuggle him out of the country. The fact that he threw in the towel unlike his old man is currently being held in custody means that he might avoid an immediate and violent retribution for his crimes.

Oddly enough this news, as has been noted by the Independent on Sunday (20.11.11) may make some former grandees a tad twitchy. Saif al-Islam was Gaddafi’s heir and was feted in the West in his time. As a keeper of the regimes secrets and someone who was in the thick of brokering Gaddafi’s deal with the West his survival could be described in some circles as awkward.

Tony Blair, Lord Mandelson and other high rollers such as Oleg Deripaska and Nat Rothschild have all got links to Saif al-Islam. What may make this even more interesting is if he decides to blow the lid on the lot in court and call character witnesses, something that would be more difficult for those involved to avoid any trial takes place in the Hague.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a warrant out for Saif al-Islam arrest for crimes against humanity which could make things interesting. So far the Libyans as of yesterday were pretty determined that he would be put on trial in his own country to start with. The ICC is in contact with the Libyan Justice Ministry and one of its prosecutors would now fly to Tripoli for talks.

Mahmoud Shammam, the Libyan Information Minister, said: "This is the final chapter of the Libyan drama. We will put him on trial in Libya and he will be judged by Libyan law for his crimes." A guilty verdict and sentence of death in Libya would upstage any possible proceedings at The Hague and could lead to a number of UK based individuals breathing a deep sigh of relief - I wonder if any 'favours' will be called in? Watch this space!

THUS SHOULD DIE ALL TYRANTS...

He won't be missed...save by his friends

The news that the Libyan ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after fleeing an assault on his home town of Sirte will I suspect lead to the shedding of few tears for his passing. He may be missed by members of his family and his friends but by few other people. There will be more tears from the relatives of his victims and their surviving family members. Gaddafi may not have dodged the NATO bullets but he has successfully avoided a day in court at the Hague on War Crimes charges. Hopefully the National Transition Council will once its fully in-charge will publish any recovered paperwork relating to the supply or arms to the previous regime and hopefully have a full and public investigation into just who supplied the Libyan dictator with his weapons over the long and brutal years of his rule.