Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told Sky News that he had no prior knowledge of the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green.
For a Government not noted for minding its own business, it is odd that the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and other ministers were all unaware of the arrest until after it had taken place.
Especially so, since we learn that Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Conservative Leader David Cameron and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin all knew that the arrest was about to happen.
Here’s the video from Sky:
The BBC also reports here.
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3 Comments
Its not odd at all. The Met who have no reason to lie for political ends have said exactly the same thing. As I understand it there was no reason ministers had to be informed. However, as you say Cameron and Johnson did know so if they were so bothered why didnt they do anything about it like contact a minister or the press or the numerous other things they could of done…?
Maybe because there is no cheap opinion poll points in an almost martyr??
When Labour ministers give such a consistent line about not knowing about the arrest it becomes obvious that this is spin, and like playing spin in cricket the best strategy is to go with the spin and play it accordingly.
If something has come from spin doctors, we should assume that this is the most convincing thing that ministers could say. For example, they did not say “We knew nothing about the investigation until Damien Green was arrested”.
It is a reasonable presumption that ministers knew an investigation was underway but that they instructed police that they did not wish to be informed further until an arrest had been made. If that was the case, it is a wholly reasonable presumption that the police spoke to the speaker, the Mayor and the Leader of the Opposition because they were told to do so by ministers who knew that an arrest was possible.
After all, we have just heard from Ian Blair that he resigned because he lost the confidence of the Mayor although he was appointed by the Home Secretary. How strange then that Blair’s successor informed the Mayor, but the Home Secretary says she wasn’t informed about the arrest. Clearly she wouyld be seen as the more important person to keep informed, so we should presume that she knew about the investigation even if she is correct about any arrangements whereby she says she was not told about the arrest.
David Blunkett has joined the attacks. David Blunkett!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/29/whitehall-damian-green-blunkett
“The Met who have no reason to lie for political ends”
You having a laugh?