British police have forwarded a file on the "cash for honours" scandal and the UK Labour Party's election fundraising activities to the Crown Prosecution Service, and are reportedly recommending that charges be brought against Lord Levy, New Labour's top fundraiser, and Ruth Turner, one of Tony Blair's advisors. And so now we wait to see whether the CPS will follow through and prosecute, or whether they'll turn a blind eye to political corruption and attempts to pervert the cause of justice.
Unfortunately, I suspect they'll chose the latter. Oh, the CPS lawyers may recommend prosecution, but the case is being closely overseen by Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General - a member of the government and close ally of Tony Blair. Despite a clear conflict of interest in the case, he has refused to recuse himself, and given his past record of changing advice to suit the government - BAE, Iraq - I don't think we can have any confidence in his impartiality.
Interesting parallels with New Zealand. Do the law enforcement authorities have the courage to charge the Prime Minister's top aide when they find him/her likely to be guilty of corruption?
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ReplyDeleteSadly, I/S, I think you're right but for a slightly different reason. If Lord Goldsmith does get his spine out of hock, then I think it's inevitable that the court of public opinion just isn't going to buy the (heroic) spin that Gordon Brown and pretty much the whole senior leadership of the UK Labour Party were kept in the dark by 'Lord Cashpoint' and the evil Tony Blair. First, it's just not credible AFAIC. Second, if it is true, how can you trust a deputy who was sublimely clueless about the finances of his own party to run a bloody country?
ReplyDeleteAs the Tories could tell you, fairly applied or not, 'sleaze' is a label that doesn't stick overnight, but when it does it takes a very long time to shake in British politics. Especially for someone like Brown who has build his whole persona around the idea that he's a dull but competent manager of impeccable probity.
I/S - it's pervert the course of justice, not 'cause of justice'. Probably a typo but you might like to change it.
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