Empty apology from Jacqui Smith

Reading the Telegraph online I noted that Simon Heffer started his piece with a great turn of phrase: he used the words "When I surveyed the spectacle of Jacqui Smith winning the Nobel Prize for Insincerity on Monday ... " Yes, absolutely right Mr Heffer, it made me cringe that's for sure. She only did the sorry bit because she was told she had to and technically it might have been an apology but it certainly didn't sound heartfelt to me. In the end she owned up to the fact that in one year at least she was spending more nights at the constituency home in Redditch rather than her sister's house in London. She kicked off in her all of 1 minute 59 seconds of apology by saying it was a mistake that she had included the cost of films in with her expenses (this included those porn films that her husband watched it will be recalled) and that she had repaid this sum of money. Oh well done Jacqui, you're a star - not. She of course could easily afford to repay the relatively minor cost of the film hire and no doubt she was hoping that once repaid perhaps people would forget that little mistake. Er, sorry Jacqui but no, people won't forget that one.

A bit late on she went on to point out that she hadn't 'flipped' properties. A totally irrelevant comment to make Ms Smith. Nobody was suggesting you were, your misdemeanour was never about that, unlike some of your colleagues so why mention it. You don't get a gold star for that. And so it went on. She has been found guilty so far as at least part of her expenses claim is concerned, she has had little option but to admit to that yet she has not been required to repay any money. It is an absolute disgrace and I'm looking forward to her getting booted out of Parliament at the next General Election.

MPs shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush

There is plenty of comment being voiced right now both in the main stream media and online about the expenses being claimed by MPs. My view is that our MPs are representative of this country's society as a whole: in other words many are seriously on the make grabbing everything they can from an inadequate system whereas others really are concerned about their constituents and their 'calling' if you like and are not abusing their expenses claims. It would be totally wrong to tar everyone with the same brush and this is where huge swathes of people look at the worst examples and imagine that they are all at it.

A long time ago I stated my concerns about how ministers can both attend to their designated job in government and adequately represent their constituents. I don't know how it could be arranged but in a perfect world ministers wouldn't be doing both jobs, if it's a full time job for a backbench MP it must be much more than that for someone on the front bench. Having said that ministers do have the availability of an army of civil servants to advise and inform them, and it should be emphasised just how important it is for those MPs running the country to get out there and see what is happening in the real world.

Back to the main centre of attention of the media - Jacqui Smith. She may or may not have broken the rules concerning her second home but it's absolutely obvious that she has gone against the spirit of them. Regarding her husband's choice of viewing material I will make no comment other than she deserves some embarrassment, whether or not she was aware of the films he was watching I don't know but it was her responsibility to check the submission of expenses for payment not his at the end of the day. Husband Richard Timney has in the past written letters to their local paper in Redditch extolling the work done by his wife until someone rumbled that this leader of the 'Jacqui Smith Fan Club' was none other than her spouse. Maybe not illegal but just showing how far the pair would happily twist things to present the MP in the best possible light. She has a narrow majority in her Midlands seat and she is going the right way to lose it. Regardless of party label I certainly wouldn't vote for her.

A tale of two MPs (2) Jacqui Smith

Blogs have been reporting on a story in today's 'Mail on Sunday' regarding the expenses of the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Ms Smith represents Redditch so obviously needs the availability of two homes to carry out her duties in both government and constituency. The rules regarding expenses make clear we are told that the MP concerned can claim expenses on a second home but which of the two properties would that be? It evidently depends on which house is slept in more often. The assertion is that Ms Smith returns to Redditch on a Thursday and comes back to London on either the following Sunday or Monday.

Now consider these facts: (1) Ms Smith stays with her sister when up in town (2) Ms Smith claims that this house, her sister's home, is her primary residence (3) Jacqui therefore claims that the house in Redditch is her second home even though her husband and children live there and she spends the weekend with them (4) She would have to return to London on Sundays more often than on Mondays for the sister's home to become the primary residence, this only applying when the HoC is sitting. If one were to logically think about the recesses as well then surely she will be spending far more nights at Redditch. (5) As Home Secretary she has a 'Grace and Favour' apartment available in London should she want it.

A point picked up by some bloggers is that the G&F apartments have a police security presence as a matter of course. They suggest that there is a very considerable extra cost in providing additional policing at the sister's house. I would like to know more - is this G&F place being used at all, I think we ought to be told.

Ms Smith has replied to the criticism in the Mail on Sunday saying that she's acting entirely within the rules. I'm dubious about this, she's certainly not within the spirit of the rules that's for sure. It's really important that the traditional media and the blogosphere run with this as she is setting such a poor example. Another point to be made is the deception that came to light regarding the behaviour of her husband. It had come to light that he had been writing to their local newspaper and that his letters had been heaping praise on her as an MP! It might be that 'Smith' is her maiden name and that he was using his own surname to try to hoodwink the public but evidently they were rumbled. She is sitting on a far from comfortable majority and would be quite lucky to hold the seat at the next General Election.

She seems to have been promoted to a post way above her abilities and I am very unimpressed with her. In making this comparison between two MPs today and similarly on 23 January in each case it was a female Labour MP that got the thumbs down. For the avoidance of any doubt it is not because of their gender or their party label that I have been so highly critical. It is purely because I think that both Dawn Butler and Jacqui Smith are appalling people and shouldn't be representing us. It's as simple as that.

Thoughts on knife crime

Mercifully living where I do I feel happily remote from the knife injuries and deaths causing so much concern in this country at the moment. But I am not happy about the torment and anxiety many people are feeling at the present time as a result of so many people carrying knives. Although I can't offer solutions anymore than the next person I'll just make a few general observations:

• Ever since Cain slew Abel if the Bible is to be believed or, if you prefer, from time immemorial man has been guilty of exerting extreme violence on his fellow man. One would expect though, as civilisation develops, there would be proportionately less of this behaviour and that the judicial system would also put a brake on it.
• The nature of the violence and the weapons used changes with time.
• In the forties and fifties whilst I was growing up any violence seemed to be targeted with a motive - now there appear to be random attacks for no reason whatsoever.
• Following on from the last point we now have that lethal cocktail of drugs AND alcohol but to what extent this is fuelling the behaviour of people using knives I don't know.
• And this is a point that doesn't get aired enough - casual violence on people is becoming accepted as a norm. This is a terrible indictment on our society. When I was a child any sort of killing of the sort we are seeing lately with people being murdered with knives would have evoked feelings of absolute horror. But then we weren't being bombarded with the images so prevalent today. For anybody caught up in or close to a violent attack then the event is obviously horrific but sadly for many of us our senses have been somewhat dulled by the number of these awful events.
• I remember Mary Whitehouse being constantly derided when she railed against the violence and sex being shown on TV but I think she had a point. It seems to me that the degree of violence seen on TV, in films and I understand in computer games has reached an extreme and far more than should be permitted.

I remember a person saying that if you didn't like what you saw on TV you could turn it off; this, quite frankly, was an absolutely inane remark. Obviously if it was something the viewer didn't like they could switch off or change channels. But that's not the point, not by a million miles. It's the person whose subsequent actions might be influenced by what he or she has just seen that is the cause for concern. What I'm saying is that there is an element in society who are affected by the images some of our film makers are keen to display.

There are plenty of occasions when I disagree with this government but the shock tactics proposed by Jacqui Smith including some of those carrying knives seeing examples of the terrible injuries on hospital patients, as a result of knife wounds, might be one way forward.

Being Home Secretary can be a lonely job

Yes being Home Secretary can be a very lonely job I think. Although one of the top ranking jobs in government it is in some ways a poisoned chalice. The 'Question Time' programme on BBC TV started again last Thursday and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was one of the panellists. Almost throughout the show she appeared very downcast but right at the end of the programme one of the others on the stage said they agreed with her. With that her face momentarily lit up and she mouthed a "thank you" to her rescuer (I don't remember who it was I'm afraid).

Ms Smith has just been in the news with the revelation in the 'Sunday Times' that she would be afraid at going out at midnight in London not only in Hackney but in upmarket Kensington and Chelsea as well! This doesn't seem to reflect too well on the past 10 years of this government's attempts at reducing crime. I don't know how I would react to finding myself in a melee of alcohol fuelled humanity at midnight in a metropolis, something I've not experienced for myself - yes I know I've led a sheltered life! Conversely I have no fear whatsoever about being alone, in the dark, in the countryside at midnight, something that might worry those who have never been in that environment.

Going back to the Jacqui Smith article she apparently said in reference to people wandering around at midnight "I just don't think that's a thing that people do, is it, really?" Well sorry Jacqui you really are out of touch with the real world, a criticism of many a government minister I have to say. Because of her position she has police protection so I would suggest the occasional foray at this unearthly hour just to see the reality of life.

I have long been a critic of ministers who have never done a "real job" and who find themselves cut off from the way people live today. Time for them to get out and about, in fact if they didn't get bogged down with all the new legislation and bureaucracy so prevalent today and got a better perception of people's hopes and problems we would be a better country.