Welcome to MY world

Head up arse time

2015-02-17T15:34:00.000+00:00

My friend Cogito Ergosum writes
"Thankfully, we are now on the short strokes of the intellectual raping that goes with the lead into a General Erection. We are bombarded with allegation versus allegation, comments upon comments and the ravings of the self-important seeking employment somewhere within easy reach of the trough labelled Westminster. But the latest SillyMillieism (http://bit.ly/1CEznAM) has to be up there amongst the better examples of panicking"
Having been an apprentice, I can really appreciate what he is suggesting and I cannot see it going any further than the LibDem's pledge on tuition fees the last time the Magic Wheel was spun. I have grasped the figure of 80,000 but cannot be arsed to see if that is annual or over the 5 years he is hoping for. At the 5 year rate, it equates to 16,000 year on year.
No mention seems to be made as to who these might offer these opportunities. An apprentice cannot contribute anything to the bottom line until they have undergone the full gamut of training. They will take up the time of qualified employees required to teach and monitor their efforts; are there enough regular workers capable and willing to impart their knowledge? Nothing is learned by 'sitting alongside Nelly' so extra office equipment or workshop machinery would be required. Together with a work space where our old friend Health & Safety comes into play.
That covers finding a vacancy - who will deal with costs of compliance? Some forms of apprenticeship may well require day release for concentrated tuition. Some form of examination as the years pass so there are many additional costs. We have seen what a hash the education system makes of implementing a long established curriculum. That connects to the base entry standard of 2 'A' levels where the culture of appeals and re-sits is already well settled.
What would be the pay for an apprentice? Back in 1952 I received the weekly sum of 30/6d (£1.52'ish for new readers) Doing the calculation to get today's equivalent gives us £41 a week so that explains another problem.
Maybe Ed should stick to bacon sandwiches?

6 Things Women Are Tired Of Seeing

2015-01-14T01:07:00.001+00:00

My rights, your rights. All wrong

2014-03-10T16:01:00.001+00:00

A few miles away from me there is a rest area adjoining a roundabout off the main A1 road. It is nicely secluded, screened by trees and with a footpath down to the river. There are toilets which were always clean and fresh. I say 'were' but the whole facility is now shut with massive concrete blocks shutting off the only access.
Why? Because a large group of 'travellers' colonised the place for a fortnight or so and, when finally moved on, left piles of rubbish and filth behind.
The usual excuse for this sort of vandalism is that there are not enough officially designated sites for travellers and they have to stop somewhere - it is part of their life-style. We have a Naked Rambler who exercises what he sees as his right to ramble in the buff. There are many things I would like to do as a 'right' if I had the brass neck to set them up.
The official stop-overs for the fraternity soon become unavailable as families occupy them on a semi-permanent basis. The saga of Dale Farm shows the complexity of the issue. The costs to tax-payers cannot be justified in these hard economic times.
As I see it, there is a simple solution. These should be in place for a location. A set time limit needs to be imposed for presence on a site. Areas designated as rest areas should also have a definite period limiting stays - say, 60 hours. After these periods, eviction is guaranteed without recourse to legal action; a similar bar is needed to avoid travellers seeking legal permission to stay or to resist being moved on.
At the designated time, the travellers would be reminded of the limitations. Those who refused to vacate should be towed away from the prohibited area. Once on a public road the normal sanctions should be used. If a vehicle fails to meet MOT standards there are directives as to limitations and use. Checks should be made as to driving licences and insurance. There is provision for vehicles to be seized and even destroyed. All of these should be considered.
These actions put responsibility where it belongs; I might decide on a change of life style. If I decide it is my right and life style to swim amongst sharks then the results are purely my choice

Rattling a blunt sabre

2014-03-05T12:57:00.001+00:00

This is a letter appearing in today's Telegraph. The writer talks of his time with a major Corps serving in Germany in 1968 but it is the final paragraph that concerns me. I would hope that no one is asking the question as to preparedness; should there be some gung-ho subaltern doing so he should be chopped off at the knees. In 1968 we still had forces capable of putting on a show. We would be hard pressed now in finding sufficient troops to fill a good size trench. Let me make no criticism of the good General. But then, I saw little wrong with Colonel Blimp.

Welcome to MY world: That other shoe

2014-01-31T10:09:00.001+00:00

Welcome to MY world: That other shoe: "Waiting for the other shoe to drop" was a phrase I heard often when working with Americans; I thought they had created it but it ...

That other shoe

2014-01-31T10:07:00.000+00:00

"Waiting for the other shoe to drop" was a phrase I heard often when working with Americans; I thought they had created it but it seems it may have been we Brits who coined it for them. It came back to me when thinking of the phone hacking as now being described in the Wade & Coulson trial now in progress. Why did we not hear far more of the revelations so easily captured from the mobile telephones of the rich and famous or the pseudo-rich ad famous? After all, the surveillance industry has many nifty little gadgets for eavesdropping and I have not heard anything about their being used. Most companies have premises swept for electronic bugs but a device does not have to be in the physical cartilage of the offices.
These musings led me to think deeper. Did anyone do widespread or targeted eavesdropping or was it impending interest that directed the buggers? For example, was anyone dropping in on the conversations of that 'fragrent' wife of an erstwhile Lord? Why did we not hear long ago about la sauce hollandaise? Given what passes as politics in America there must have been rich pickings hanging on low branches. Not that we would want daily situation reports - we have the Daily Wail and the Sun for such stuff - but those times when someone goes on a updated Tea Party. Mention of the Wail reminds me that the Daily Mirror used to have a feature called The 3am Girls. These were not even undercover but were party girls with loads of front and large ears. There was a report that when Posh was in America and Beckham mania was high a 3am girl was established in America just to hone in on the buzz. Not a big step from party going to the surveillance shop one would have thought.
We do seem to have come upon hacking a little late. It was 1989 that our bonnie Prince contemplated resurrection as a Tampax. That was captured on a simple scanner and the story is that Special Branch had a number of recordings from various sources. The technical advances in communications have killed off the scanner routes but modern day interception of phones is not difficult anyway.
Of course, once one gets into the depths of theorising about this, it can go haywire. Could it be that the current drama of flooding is the result of some secondary Thames Barrier created by abandoned phones dumped in the Thames? And, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when the Metropolitan Police Underwater Search Team were told they were going under to find a mobile phone.

Right hand meet left hand.

2013-11-09T11:40:00.001+00:00

I have been following the hoo ha about the Snowdon revelations. Yesterday's performance by the three Big Brothers of our intelligence agencies left me with more doubts than it provided reassurance.
Foremost in my thoughts has been the very fact that Snowdon, and the Wikileak community were able to gather the vast amount of information that they did. The drive of objections regarding Snowdon is that he has revealed how we go about intelligence gathering and just how pleasing this insight has been to Al Queda et al.
One would like to think that this supposed previously unknown information was well protected with high levels of access and limited need to know. Snowdon was not Top Man in any int unit and Assange got his treasure from a very low ranking soldier. So - how was it possible for this vast hoard of documents to be transmitted without any of its supposed guardians suspecting that a mole was in their lawn?
Much was made that our foes would gain benefit from knowing the mechanics of our surveillance. They apparently would change their procedures so as to make their conversations impenetrable. I was a user when working of the adage that what man invents, man can circumvent. Our experts are operating in a free and sophisticated world with very big budgets and full access to the black arts of IT. Benefits that are (or should be) unavailable to the terrorist plotters. It does not require a master's degree to work out why so many of their casualties met their end whilst talking on a mobile telephone to the background of a loud droning overhead.
That raises a further concern for me. Great emphasis was made yesterday that we are constrained by the law. Yesterday also saw a Royal Marine SNCO convicted of murder after killing a wounded insurgent. This with a background of drones in Pakistan, Somalia and other war zones arbitrarily dishing out death and destruction to whole families without so much as a perfunctory challenge.
And another worm has started. It seems that the Border Agency had information regarding illegal immigrants but failed to investigate effectively. 49.00 tip offs lead to 2695 investigations. As a result, 660 people were deported - aabout as many as one sees in Tesco on a busy morning.
The whole intelligence and counter-terrorist community is just crying out for Talbot Rothwell's Carry On films to be re-written.

Droning on

2012-05-26T07:52:00.000+00:00

Drones. No, not idle bees but those buzzy things that America uses to despatch those skulking beyond the reach of ground forces in lands where governance is poor or partial to terrorists. It seems that our government are concerned at our involvement. My learned friends are retained. The Americans would seem to be fireproof; they simply said it is not a crime to attack drone strikes against terrorist suspects overseas. That nice Mr Obama says it is 'in full accordance with the law'
There would seem little point in maintaining GCHQ if nothing is done with the information it plucks from the ether. We are allies with USA in the war on terror. There would seem no suggestion that we - the Brits - are in any way physically involved in drone attacks. If, for example I know that a gang of Asians are grooming very young girls for what amounts to prostitution, my proper course is to report this to the police. It is for them to take action. Or not.
So, with the simplicity of mind of the child who saw that the Emperor was naked, I would be perfectly happy to confirm that there were instances where we had followed the spirit of the war on terror and passed information to CIA or whoever. What they did with it was their business; we accepted it was their right to make their laws in their country. We did not issue or request that a drone be deployed; GCHQ was adding to any intelligence file maintained in and by a foreign ally.
Yes - it is a grey area. Evasion by us is not the answer here. There is clearly an agenda. The Pakistani lawyer involved in the current shindig is reported as saying "Once we find out if they do provide information then the debate will pass on to the killing of British Nationals" We should not take the worm of this fishing trip. The whole ethos of intelligence is that it be secret. The terrorists know very well that we have the capability and intent to tune into their telephones. They are wily enough to know what comes from this intelligence.
The question of fronting up is not just drones. We are drawn into rendition. My simple mind has an explanation for this also - render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. If it be ruled that information may not be passed to an ally them damn sure it will apply to bodies also. We must not take even one small step back in our war on terror. We are told that it is this war that is the reason our forces are being killed and maimed in Afghanistan. I cannot countenance anything which would prevent that war being furthered anywhere in the world. If GCHQ can find anyone suspected of being involved, then it is right that we pass that to add to the files.

What's it all about Alfie?

2012-05-21T14:34:00.001+00:00

I was a keen young theater- goer at the time when Lionel Bart was filling London show-houses with his hits. I saw Fings two or three times and it struck a chord then but my appreciation of the words of the song is stronger now when I view just what we have lost since my youth.
My belief is that we started to lose our way in the years immediately after the 39-45 War. We had seen the way the American GIs went about things and became fascinated with the American way of life. For them it worked. USA was a very diverse place with cultures and life styles from all the poor and oppressed that flooded in through the piers of Ellis Island. We did not have this; we had been nett exporters of poor and oppressed from Highland clearances and potato blight. Slowly but surely we became the 49th State. Our cars began to look American, we ate Spam, ballroom became rock and roll, the streets started to be paved with chewing gum and nylons covered chilblain blotches. It did not stop there. American management styles came to the workplace. Automation.
We have not handled the changes very well. We had other matters on our mind. Our colonial heritage was being dismantled. Iron Curtains and Cold Wars. Our place in world affairs was surrendered bit by bit to The United Nations; one of whose charters was to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms. Action that we had entrusted to a District officer responsible for many square miles of African real estate now became the subject of endless discussion at the UN. This loss of our status was added to by the influences of the European Court of Human Rights and the stresses and strains of the Eurozone. We have gone from a plastic America to an invertebrate worm.
The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. What was supposed to be a review of likely demands upon our armed forces and how these would be met turned into a financial compromise. Delivery times on new ships were extended regardless of developments likely to increase the killing power of new weapons. The cost of the Army was used to determine how many personnel we could afford and not how many we might need to counter an unknown threat. We have troops on operations allegedly entered into so as to reduce the risk of terrorism on our streets. Lives are being lost and ruined but we still suffer home-grown terrorism such as the 7/7 explosions on London transport services which were planned and executed without our intelligence or police forces becoming aware of what was afoot. Our efforts in Afghanistan have inspired terrorists and led to the opening of branch offices throughout countries of the Muslim crescent.
There was a problem with the other arm of defending the Realm. Our police and criminal justice system had many problems not always of their own making. The tradition of policing by consent, which used to make Britain the envy of the world, is in danger from political interference that is alienating the police from the public.
Meanwhile, the style of governance was in flux. The Tories had been long in opposition and, as is quite normal, had been thinking what they would do if they were returned to power. They came up with a manifesto that was written to appeal to those who wanted change. Where they fell down however was that they did not look beyond the Golden Dawn of New Conservatives. Their Power Point schemes lacked depth. We Will was OK but How We Will was not explored and this led to abandonment, delay and U-Turns when pipe dreams were brought up against implementation; all seized upon by by the disenfranchised Socialists. The need to go into coalition with the Liberal Democrats meant more confusion and compromise and internal dissatisfaction amongst the turnip Tories.
The general public had much they wanted to see changed. Immigration controls and racial integration. Welfare benefits. Our apparent inability to run our own affairs in the face of decisions reversed by the Court of Human Rights. And then, the money men let us down. They had been allowed to run things their own way; firms were making profits, banks were paying bonus and other benefits. Everything in the garden had seemed rosy. But this was illusionary; a mirage. The government took little time to decide what should be done and spent even less time on explaining their decision and the implications. As government departments and industry announced their economy measures, something akin to panic spread and disillusion and discontent spread fanned by the main stream media. This, added to the U Turns and false dawns, put more pressure on the coalition.
There seems to be no way out. The Eurozone is in free fall and we are tied into that. There seems to be nothing that our government can do to rectify our situation. Truly, Fings Ain't what They Used To Be.

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T09:30:00.000+00:00

Why, I do not know but I am tempted to write a blog page today after such a long break from production. Maybe it is auto-suggestion that end of year needs some mark of passage or the hosts of year end items in the media. In keeping with the end of year theme, I am just going to review 2011 as it concerned me and mine. It could be that I will stray outside the calendar year; flow of consciousness and all that.
The major item must be that I seem to have halted the losses of memory that led me to worry about dementia. These losses were quite frequent about the beginning of the year. I would be in a conversation and speaking freely when I would stop suddenly because I could not remember a name or a place or even an item. Apart from annoying me, it tended to embarrass the person to whom I was speaking - rather as if I were afflicted with a stammer. The absentee word would come to me unbidden some five or so minutes after I needed it.
I did some delving about on the Internet and the early onset of dementia seemed to be the most likely culprit. I reasoned that I needed to raise the use of my brain - kick it into fitness as it were. Crosswords and puzzles bore me so that route was out but I happened to see a young mum reading to her child from a Janet and John-style book. The child was learning from repeatedly seeing and hearing a word until it formed a groove in it's brain; rather like a tennis player practising a forehand drive again and again until little thought was required once that shot had been chosen. If I formed a collection of words or images I could keep the names in my mind
Thus began a furious winnowing of drawers, cupboards, albums and computer files until I had a large box of memory-inspiring objects. I am lucky to have a clever daughter whose forte is organising and she made these into a scrapbook some seven or eight inches thick. I have a DVD with music and another with images. I spent time dipping into this scrapbook.
Where possible, I expanded upon an item. Yes, that is us at the beach in Benghazi. What is that big building behind us? It is a hotel - the Berenice. Did we ever go there? Yes often. There was a casino on the ground floor and a cellar night club. I and my team had free entry to both on the understanding that we would deal with any trouble makers. One night one of the high rollers took me under his wing at the casino and I won a considerable sum of money with his guidance. This brain-fodder may seem very Mickey Mouse but the embarrassing hiatus do not now occur.
What else? We have the benefit of a first class GP group and a equally good hospital. With my doctor's support I underwent a sort of medical MOT and had orifices checked, bulk prodded and just about everything I would have had to pay many pounds for with a private medical organisation. Behind it all was my realisation that age and physical condition would most likely determine what treatments I would receive. I was mindful of the total rejection of a general anaesthetic when I had my dental clear out and such treatment as I was receiving was aimed at dealing with the symptoms rather than the underlying medical condition. We changed some medications and it seems there are a few miles left on the old jalopy The financial upheavals seem to have passed us by. We have not made any drastic changes to our life style but manage to end each month with more 'in' than 'out'. I was scornful of pension schemes until I had some sort of epiphany when I left the Army in 1974 and thank the ER guy who showed me the error of my ways.
I have to admit that I have not matured too well; I am still Mr Grumpy. The highlight in this connection was a long-running and heated objection to the instruction of the recycling guru that we would have to have and use a wheelie bin. The front door of our flat opens directly onto the street and we have no outside ground at all. The so-called adviser wanted to place our bin directly in front of our door on the pavement of a narrow road. I thoroughly enjoyed objecting on one issue at a time until I had some seven or eight points where the faults of his suggestion were clearly stated. Eventually, after some five months, I had a terse one-line email saying that the bin proposal had been withdrawn.
I used to follow politics; no actual involvement other than voting but the twists and turns and confidence tricks emanating from Westminster. This coalition effort is such that I have really lost interest in politics. The whole nation gets aroused to indignation at the slightest excuse and on the most flimsy of evidence. I would like the power in some two or three years to conduct a poll asking what people then remember of all the 'major' interests of today. I suspect Jordan will be better remembered than Fox and his 'assistant' Now seems appropriate to withdraw from patriarch duties. My children and their children are all, touch wood, settled into their careers or the foundations of such. The light touch seems to have worked. That must be quite enough of a year end piece. Only remains to wish anyone who has got this far a Good 2012 and many years ahead. May you all get what you wish for.

Timendi causa est nescire.

2011-09-29T13:32:00.005+00:00

I watched the rugby this morning. The 5:30 am start was needed to erase the memory of our 'team' yesterday. I say 'team' but that is the least applicable description for them. I saw two matches this morning and the team work there was so clearly visible. The teams from South Africa, Australia and from New Zealand contained a range of skin pigmentation and my mind went back to Capetown in 1956. Our troopship sailed in on Christmas Eve; we were the first troopship to go round the Cape since the war time convoys. The dockside was awash with the good burgers who hoovered up the soldiers and whisked them away. I was ship's policeman so it was duty for me. I commented on the hospitality to a local police officer who informed me it was not all it seemed. Apartheid was still in force and the greeting crowd would only have taken those who matched their ethnicity. Integration seemed to have worked well for the three teams and I thought about the problems we have with mixing immigrants with home-born. It seems that there is racism in Australia as well as New Zealand and South Africa.When I looked further I found that all three countries had formal rules regarding who was allowed into the country
I wonder if our chaotic immigration 'controls' would benefit from such formal procedures.
OK - light relief now. I said I would seek out some blogs that might be included in mine. I suspect that poetry does not get casually Googled by those seeking to pass idle time. I have an interest in words and hunt about in poetry. So, http://newpoetries.blogspot.com/" try this. Last bit to tidy up. The title of the blog? Translates as "The cause of fear is ignorance"

A disaster rehearsed

2011-09-28T15:29:00.004+00:00

I have been reading about the fall of Singapore. When I lived in Malaya I had heard much from old Colonial types about the Japanese occupation and I was interested in getting some of the truth out of the urban myths. The early chapters deal with the decisions that were taken with regards to the defence of the main harbour. Immediately, I was struck with the impression that I was reading a far more modern history.
The powers that be had convinced themselves that any attack would come from a sea-borne enemy. The hinterland of the Malayan jungle was deemed to be too difficult for Asian troops. These were assessed by our military experts as of low grade - even described as afraid of the dark. This showed total disregard for the performance of the Japanese army in recent confrontations. The Japanese had shown themselves capable of coordinating land, sea and air attacks. All this was ignored. Military HQ in Singapore decided to install very large artillery pieces to cover the sea approaches. Second thoughts were for a naval fleet to extend the reach of the defence. There was deemed to be no spare capability of RN vessels but Their Lordships were reassuring that they could deploy a few ships from the Indian fleet 'if any threat developed'. The nascent RAF took on board the idea of reach and made a case for air power where torpedo carrying aircraft would be a good defence.
Thus began inter-service rivalry. There were no facilities for a naval presence and no suitable airfields. Bibs and bobs of budgets were dug up and a start was made on docks and landing grounds. Then it was decided that there was a need for a chain of airfields from India to Singapore. More debate and chewing of military mustaches. The whole fiasco was set against a decision that there would be no attacks within a 10 year timescale. The whole exercise was a rehearsal for the recently undertaken Strategic Defence Review such as was undergone recently.

The book is a well researched publication as one would expect from Professor Richard Holmes; a writer sadly missed. I recommend it.

I also recommend today's lost child of a blog - as warned in my last blog.

http://thesurlywriter.blogspot.com/2007/12/going-down-memory-lane_18.html

’m not a typical holiday person. I believe that the feelings of peace on earth and goodwill toward men (and women) have become overshadowed by the fuss of hosting dinner parties and shopping.

Play it again Sam

2011-09-27T12:37:00.003+00:00

I have been wandering out in the outer space of the Internet looking for interesting stuff that has been overlooked. No No - not that. I used to keep statistics on this effort and was surprised at just how many hits were recorded. Sometimes, very respectable. Whilst many came, few were moved enough to comment or do anything to spread the word. Had I not looked at my meter, I would have thought that it was just time and energy wasting. However, as I only do it for my own amusement I am not concerned. There must be many two-finger pokers who agonise over their blog; content, style or illustration.
Way way back, I used to have a sort of supplement to my work - I called it The Guest Blog. Each of my efforts would have one blog chosen by me and reproduced in its entirety. That drew comments where the main oeuvre did not. I propose to reintroduce this idea but with just a link and to draw attention to two or three each time I do something. Criteria for selection is very open - it has to impress me for some reason is what it might boil down to.
I will wander off into the 'net milky way and tee a few up. So - watch this space.

Rights. And wrongs

2011-09-20T07:54:00.008+00:00

I have been following the Dykes Farm story. Sad life I know but some 12 years ago we had a smaller version just the other side of my fence when I lived in Kent. A jolly band of travellers had bought a cherry orchard. Agricultural land. After a while they moved in a couple of caravans on the pretext that these were for casual labourers working in the orchard. They then developed a barn and moved in more 'labourers'. Members of their extended family of course. Then came electricity. No mains sewerage of course.
The whole thing grew and grew. It seemed the local council were powerless to act; what was being done apparently followed a path used by genuine agriculturists. I was not too bothered - what was going on was mainly out of sight and I had made it plain to the capo di travellers that petrol was cheap and matches also. I left before the saga came to any proper denouement. I am not going to detail the Farm dispute but it does seem to follow the pattern of Grandma's Steps I saw in Kent. It does seem that the wanderers were stiffed by the local council who sold them the land, allowed some development and then barred it in half the site. Put that down to a failure of the lucky white heather.
Another facet of my sad life is an addiction to Twitter. It does seem to attract publicity of all sorts of special interest groups. I am told that Facebook has much more of the same. Sufferers of xxx illness seek special recognition and easement of something or other. They have agendas. At the same time, those suffering from yyy afflictions are rowing the same boat. The whole range of the alphabet has someone or other pressing their case. I have not attempted to compile a spreadsheet of the assorted demands but it must follow that what is done for the xxx'rs will conflict with the expectations of the bbb'rs. Whilst I have a number of areas where I would like to claim an exception from the ordinary Joe. Alas, I cannot find an umbrella group. I stand at risk that those who do gain recognition and special treatment could well impinge on what I do now or would wish to do. Drowned in a sea of special cases. The demands are not always understandable to the man in the street anyway. The homosexual rights campaigners gained civil marriage rights. Now they say the procedures are too hole in the corner (no pun intended) and demand the full panoply of a straight wedding, I cannot understand why. Their lifestyle is not ours. What extra do they get - we all know of Elton John's relationship to his wheel-barrow pushing friend.
To me, this is all part of the mongrelisation of our country. I was around and knew the Dunkirk Spirit. We had a common purpose, worked together, we suffered together (mostly) and we triumphed together. Our economic state now could do with some of that Spirit. However, there is no Kabul Spirit, Karachi Spirit. What we do have is groups demanding sharia law, the killing of animals by sawing holes in their necks and for female mutilation and forced marriage of minors. The Cricket Test of spiritual nationality does not cover these. I was brought up to offer my seat on public transport to the disabled and to those pregnant. I saw no sign that this was observed the last time I was on a train. Doubtless, there are groups pressing for legislation on this - it should not be needed and is not likely to lead to any real change if introduced.
Were I to start a Twitter campaign, it would be Give Me Back My Country. Possibly need to add Dude at the end of that. There will be those who mention rickets, TB, inadequate housing but I would seek to go back to 1930s UK. With hindsight, all those problems would be solved - it would be in the Manifesto so was bound to happen (pause for ironic laughter). A hankering to get back to those values may be the secret of popularity of Downton or Upstairs Downstairs.
I don't see it happen. But allow old men to dream whilst they dribble.

Now it can be told

2011-09-08T13:19:00.003+00:00

Last week's Sunday Telegraph made much of a story that our troops were being encouraged to report improper conduct by our soldiers whilst engaged in the action against Iraq. Adverts had been placed in magazines likely to be read by troops and these added that the information could be given anonymously if the informant so wished. Information gained would go to a specialist team.

The Secretary of State has set up the Iraq Historic Allegations Team ("IHAT") to investigate the allegations with a view to the identification and punishment of anyone responsible for wrongdoing. He has also set up a separate Iraq Historic Allegations Panel ("IHAP") to ensure proper and effective handling of information concerning cases subject to investigation by IHAT and to consider the results of IHAT's investigations, any criminal or disciplinary proceedings brought, and any other judicial decisions concerning the cases, with a view to identifying any wider issues which should be brought to the attention of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State has not ruled out the possibility that a public inquiry into systemic issues may be required, in the light of IHAT's investigations and the outcome of the existing public inquiries, nor that there may be prosecutions in the light of those outcomes, but he says that it is premature to set up such a public inquiry now while these other inquiries and investigations are going on.

These IHAT inquiries had a checkered history almost as soon as the team was instituted. The PIL has a history of going back in history and then lodging demands for an investigation.
The main investigation into the sort of incident alleged has now reported it's findings. Pretty grim reading. Mention is made of a conspiracy of silence; this was first commented upon following the court martial of a number of soldiers charged with the assault upon an Iraqi civilian.

By the end of the trial, all charges against the remaining defendants were dropped due to a lack of evidence, including a charge of manslaughter against Cpl Payne.
Mr Justice Stuart McKinnon criticised the soldiers for failing to properly answer questions and accused them of putting up a "wall of silence".

So, rather a long preamble to what is my reason for this edition. In 1970 I was sent to Northern Ireland as a Warrant Officer of the Army Investigation Branch. There was a very small detachment of investigators but I was on the strength of the Provost Marshall NI as an assistant. One of the first things I was asked to look at was the way the Army dealt with internal security incidents where troops had opened fire and killed or wounded a civilian. There were also a number of serious allegations regarding the way that our forces had acted during house searches or arrests. Prior to my arrival, these had not been investigated by the resident team. If the incident or the claims were considered to be serious or widespread, a group of investigators would come from the mainland and deal with them. This was often many weeks after the incident and the claims had already made their way into local history as fact. They were then trooped out every time allegations were made as to Army conduct.
I very soon realised that any contemporaneous routine investigation would not suffice. The normal line of questioning of witnesses building up to the interview of a possible offender was tortuous. Scene of crime techniques were not possible whilst areas were still disturbed and forensic facilities in the province were limited. This meant that the findings were so delayed that Urban Myth prevailed.
When our forces respond to an incident they are required to make a immediate radio report to their HQ. This was known as a Contact Report and was very short and rudimentary. I felt there was scope here for the service investigators to assist. We would attend as soon as a contact report was made. If possible, we would go to the scene of the incident and record written statements from the military personnel, These would not follow what were then known as Judges Rules where evidence was taken with a view to presentation at any trial. I presented the idea to senior RUC personnel, The Coroner and HQ NI and a protocol was established. Copies of the statements taken would be passed to the relevant RUC commander for their consideration. If they considered that legal action should be instituted against military personnel that individual would be re-interviewed in full accord with the Rules, A neat device but quite legal. I left Ulster in mid-1972 and the protocol was working as designed. It also survived without criticism in the Lord Saville inquiry into events on Bloody Sunday.
I have no direct knowledge of the procedures used in Iraq. There is a strong suggestion that the Ulster protocol was not followed. It is only my assumption that this may well have led up to the situation which created IHAT. There is a similar unit in NI but that looks at all deaths and not just those involving HM Forces.
There may be other IHAT work that results in a public inquiry. Mr Shiner has other arrows in his quiver. The latest report says it finds no evidence of institutional brutality, Well, it was only looking at one incident so a pattern would be hard to find, The numbers of soldiers who piled into Baha and his fellow detainees was pretty impressive though. There is some history that the Baha inquiry may have missed.
Whilst it may be unsettling to seek to further the IHAT work by way of anonymous reports it is little different to the procedures of Crime Line and another forces police organisation Getting the true details is an essential duty. Think of the concept of one bad apple. I prefer the idea of a bad barrel that turns good apples bad. The voices of human rights groups are very loud and we risk losing the approval of our actions if these are furthered by dubious means.

Lord now lettest thou thy servant.....

2011-08-15T09:56:00.003+00:00

Possibly wrong that I, who have no belief in that sort of thing, should steal from The Book for a title. However, I have always hedged my bets and one never knows who might be listening.

Today is my birthday. Thank you for congratulations, best wishes, Mazel tov, whatever. I had never imagined that would sustain for 78 years on this planet - or any other. I had never been terrible solicitous about my health and welfare right from climbing the tree when my father came and told me I had better get down as war had been declared. I was not evacuated - my parents held that if they were dead, I might as well be also.
The Army claimed me and I was able to get to most parts of the world where the Union flag few. Objectors to this threw stones and fired bullets and I walked among this unharmed. My trade involved investigating - not all my finds came quietly when told to get their strides on because they were nicked. I occasionally drove very rorty rally cars with only minor shunts.
At the the beginning of my 40s I moved away from Action Man's world and resorted to using my brain. I was asked for my opinions and people paid me for my advice. I got involved in preparing budgets for millions of pounds, fighting to explain why I wanted all this money and then controlling the expenditure thereof. I drove many miles on busy roads. The stress was something I grasped like a true adrenaline junky.
And then, in due course of time, I retired. The challenges were put beyond my reach; like a steel fire shutter deployed. I took to hill walking - always without human company but often with my dog. All the adrenaline went out of my life. There were no challenges any more. I felt like Teddy thrown in the corner and abandoned.
Then the physical side started to let me down. Glasses, no real teeth. I was at the mercy of minor illnesses and recovery became longer. Breath was in short supply and I had a season ticket to the local GP. All very frustrating; the remedies seemed to be dealing with the symptoms and not the root illness.
Some months back I realised that my memory was failing me. I would be talking about something and a word I wanted would not come out of the files. Then, for no apparent reason, the word would come into my mind unbidden. I walk from one room to another for some purpose only to find myself wondering why I am in that particular room. I sometimes need two attempts to pick something up - I drop it the first time. I knock things over.
I realise that in the scale of some peoples suffering, all of this is a walk in the park. Well, I sympathise with them but this does little for me in my cocoon of advancing mush. I look back at the few occasions when I might have gone out in a blaze of glory and white light and wonder if what I actually did at those times was worth it in the light of my present state.
So, I want no more congratulations. good wishes or Mazel tov. Just a farewell please. "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace"

In the public interest

2011-08-08T13:24:00.002+00:00

In general, I have always been a law abiding sort of cove. Knowing just enough of the law to let me go up to the edge of offending, However, today I throw caution to the winds,

What follows comes from today's (8th August) edition of The Times and is hidden behind a pay wall. Well, like a kid scrumping apples, I've scaled the wall and return after filling my pockets. Why? I regard the paper as a document of record and repository of sense. As I understand it, the pay wall idea came from News International. The same NI under command and control of the now discredited Rupert Murdoch. The media use the excuse that when they choose to go crook they do it because a matter is of great public interest. As I see it, their second editorial today deals with a matter of great public interest and thus falls within my purlieu. So, sit back, relax and enjoy.

The real victims of Saturday night’s violence are the innocent local residents

For those residents forced to watch powerless on Saturday night as their high street was set aflame, their shops and businesses looted and their homes devastated, the riots in Tottenham are a great personal tragedy. For the nation as a whole, and London in particular, they raise a number of questions about our police service and the communities in which they operate.

Why are we again seeing violent attacks by young people in our capital city? Why is Tottenham again the setting for such ugly scenes?

What is unquestionable is that the failure of the police to deal effectively with the violence unleashed on Saturday night has meant that the people of Tottenham are paying a high price for disorder on their streets. The community is already one of the capital’s poorest. Many of those who have suffered the most are those who deserve to do so the least: the law-abiding majority in the community. Already the stories are striking: a young Asian father whose apartment was set alight and subsequently gutted as he watched, helpless; an elderly pub landlady, petrified by thugs and forced to barricade herself in.

The pretext for the street violence which caused such havoc was anger sparked by the death of a local man, Mark Duggan, shot last week by the police in controversial circumstances. An investigation has been launched into the killing. Initially it seemed that there had been an exchange of fire when the police were in pursuit of Mr Duggan, but details emerged last night to suggest that Mr Duggan was carrying only a replica weapon and that the only shots fired were by the police. For a force already under pressure for failures in other areas, the reports hardly bolster confidence. They underline the need for new, and effective, leadership at the top of the Metropolitan Police. For all the disconcerting elements in the Duggan case, it is nevertheless important to maintain a sense of perspective. There is a clear distinction between legitimate, peaceful protest and the shocking images of destruction and looting. It is right that the grieving relatives of Mr Duggan should be provided with clear answers; but that desire for justice does not confer a free pass on the thugs, some apparently from outside the area, who caused the subsequent chaos. As David Lammy, the local MP, writes in The Times today (see page 20), this “was an attack on the whole of the Tottenham community”.

Mr Lammy says that relations between the police and local people on the Broadwater Farm estate have improved immeasurably since the infamous riots of 1985. So why was communication from both sides seemingly absent in this case? Why too did the police struggle yet again to handle a potentially incendiary situation? All this makes the imminent appointment of Sir Paul Stephenson’s successor as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police a most pressing matter for the Home Secretary. Applications for this vitally important role close on Friday; a successor is expected to be in place by September.

Names in the frame include Bernard HoganHowe, former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police (currently acting Deputy Commissioner), and Sara Thornton, an impressive Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police. Whoever gets the job will quickly need to show leadership, common sense and a real appetite for justice.

Education down the drain

2011-08-06T06:56:00.002+00:00

I was doing a Cameron in the sun outside our local (posh) coffee shop when an old lady I've "good morning-ed" on a number of occasions asked if she might share my table. I think she was more needing a gossip than needing a coffee and a bake; as soon as she sat down and planted her bag she started to chat. The shop fronts onto the town square so there are many passing pedestrians. My new found companion seemed to know quite a number of these people; some stopped to talk briefly to her before moving on, Dolce Vita in Duns.
Two or three times she launched into chapter and verse regarding those who had stopped or passed by with a nod. Whilst discreet in her choice of words, it was clear that she was of a moralising bent. I was left in two minds; a little embarrassed at what I was hearing but still enough of a detective to appreciate that I was gaining information.
Her final communique concerned a young couple. The girl, aged I suppose around 18, very neat and tidy and just beginning to show the rising diaphragm of pregnancy. Her obviously boyfriend escort was just about everything she was not. Scruffy, stained and torn jeans and unkempt appearance. More of a slouch than a walk. Mrs Local Paper nodded her head to draw my attention to the couple.
The girl had gained high grades at her university qualifying examinations. Her parents were able to support their only child in whatever training path she chose. Her future was brighter than a summer sunrise. That is, until she met up with the lad. She was totally besotted and took him home to meet her mum and dad. Rightly or wrongly they formed the opinion that the friendship could only end in disaster where her further education was concerned. They tried reasoning which moved on to coercion and thence to banning. Their brainy high flyer daughter crashed like Icarus, moved in to some awful digs with her lover and terminated all contact with her parents.
My informant suggested that the young woman had become pregnant almost immediately. She had abandoned plans for university and was working in the local super-market to supplement the lad's dole money. A bright future lay in ashes. My table companion had to hurry to get all this information transferred before depositing her payment and scuttling off. I thought back to see what tit bit she might have gained from me but was comforted by the fact that she had been the one doing all and more of the talking.
After she had gone I mused on this latter-day version of the Rakes Progress. I wondered what it was that seemed to have perverted her ambitions. Given the ferocity of those who demonstrate regarding any threat to education, how can the desire to do well be, seemingly, destroyed so easily?
When one reads the statistics of single motherhood, one fears for the life style she appears to have chosen. Would her lover stay when surrounded by nappies and young baby in their marginal accommodation?
After some old man's cogitation I settled for a scenario where she had her child, the scruff dropped the pair of them and she regained her broken path whilst Granddad and Grandma took up parenting for the second time. If someone had come around with a collecting box for single mothers, I would have dropped a few bob in.

Downhill all the way

2011-07-11T09:44:00.005+00:00

Ruminating on the state of our printed media and my mind went into the wider arena of the way in which the old accepted standards of British life have changed. We appear to be in a general decline; something akin to 'the lights are going out all over Europe' Things have stopped working. Graphs all go the wrong way. Daily intercourse has coarsened; foul language is heard everywhere. We are subjected to violent images on the television with scenes of war and starvation, casual murder on our streets, yobbo behaviour.

Education we once relied upon to set our children on the path of good citizenship has failed. It has failed in even the basic instruction of the three Rs. Young adults are finishing their education lacking any quality that will make them attractive to any employer. The idea that competition is something distasteful resulted in the concept that everyone must gain something so education was dumbed down, marking was made charitable. At higher levels of schooling, pretensions of scholarship were satisfied by the introduction of degree courses that demanded little of the student.

Our arts have also suffered. A canvas daubed with technicolour paintwork attracts favourable attention. Sculpture often looks like the rejects from a showing of Scrapyard Challenge. The alleged music is akin to grunts heard in a game park by night. Popular dance involves people spinning on their heads whilst classical ballet has given way to interpretations where the performers are likely to be dressed as dossers or the Black Swan is represented as a bestial bugger.

The internet has opened up avenues of swift and easy communication but has also a dark side. Grammar is ignored or perverted. Pride in composition has gone; the almost universal use of 'init' or 'you know what I mean?' has seen to that. Invited responses most often have a LOL reply.

So, who is to blame for this degredation of our culture? The answer must be 'us' We have lost the ability to say NO. Modern youth is nothing if not confrontational and disrespectful. Physical correction has (rightly?) been outlawed and all that is left is reasoning. With youngsters who lack the vocabulary to understand or the comprehension to follow the line of a debate. Any adverse comment is dismissed with scorn. Fifteen year olds know all they need to know to swim in their feral society.

There is another factor. The rise of immigration has brought to our shores large numbers of people who never had a chance to experience our culture anyway. Integration has failed. The tide of political correctness has swamped those who say "If you wish to live here, you must do things our way". Misguided attempts to make things easier for them have allowed them,in the main, to enjoy lower expectations. Their enjoyment of welfare benefits militates against any compulsion to suit themselves for employment in any but the most menial level.

I see no solution. I suspect that the numbers of those who lack the idea of culture have reached a critical level. Any attempt of correction would be as much use as sweeping flood water with a garden rake.

Worries

2011-07-06T13:59:00.005+00:00

Readers of an advanced age will recall the lady who was always worried about Jim. I find myself afflicted by a similar concern except that I am worried about Dave.

I have already written of my suspicions that they returned to power with inchoate plans; mere bullet points on their scheme for the first 100 days. Now it is beginning to look as if they are quite flat-footed and unable to oppose the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that fly at them on a daily basis.
In the headlines right now is the question of a newspaper that solicited news leads from a private detective who hacked into individuals' mobile phone messages. A police inquiry had led to charges and convictions involving a newspaper employee and a hacker back in 2007. All went quiet until revelations that it was still happening. The story grew slowly like a mushroom in prime compost. A number 10 employee resigned apparently because he had been an executive at the paper. We know from the news today that there is a body of evidence being investigated which may have very serious consequences.

Theresa May had obviously been given homework to complete after her daily electioneering duties. She announced radical changes to the police service quite soon after getting her kitten heels under the government front bench. Even to me as one who has been close to police but not of them, these appeared to be a total dogs dinner. Not just a dinner but one that was only partly digested before being vomited up. I cite this as an example of where the bullet-point was all they had.
But there is more. She - or those responsible for briefing her - should have seen the hacking investigation as a thunder cloud. She should have been all over it like STD on a Club 18-30 holiday. The resignation of Dave's press czar ought to have rung out like a fire alarm bell. Who knows how much better the government's reaction might look with the benefit of 10 minutes in a dark room with him before he surrendered his door pass.

There are other instances of proposals that may well have read well in the manifesto but which went astray when exposed to the public gaze. Despite the severe cuts in public expenditure, Cameron is handing out unbudgeted aid to regimes renowned for its corruption. The cynics will see this as a quid pro for the withdrawal of our troops. That is promised by 'the end of next year'. It is open for Karzai to plead for more or for the new military commander to advise that the place is not ready to stand on its own two feet. We appear to lose about 38 soldiers a year and many more condemned to a living death so an early withdrawal have benefits beyond mere money. The suspicion that Tom, Dick and Harry are being robbed to pay Tomaso, Ricardo and 'arry would seem to be well justified.

The rioting that followed the uni fees proposals could have been foreseen. The police action was accepted by the Commissioner of the Met as weak and was to be reviewed. Such action must surely have been expected when the posh Tories started to grind down the faces of the poor downtrodden workers. Mother Theresa again.

We had the 'You fight, I'll talk' episode. Liam Fox is having to defend the Strategic Review as being at the recommendation of the Service Chiefs, He now claims that their advice may have been tainted by their desire to defend their own arm of service. Why did he not know or recognise that at the time? The very first challenge to our reduced forces showed we have trouble effectively pursuing even a limited scope air war.

So, that explains my concern about Dear Dave. I have not even touched upon the NHS - that merits (but will not get from me) a blog of its own. No - enough here about the style.

Yet in the first year of the coalition Mr Cameron's leadership flaws have become all too apparent. He is convinced of the need to cut both the demand for and the supply of the state, but his lack of attention to detail is largely to blame for the government's botched reforms to the NHS and higher education. As Tim Montgomerie, editor of ConservativeHome, notes on page 32: "Cameron's ministers describe his dismissive wave of the hand whenever a conversation becomes focused on the detail of an initiative."

A case to review

2011-06-25T14:00:00.002+00:00

Once again the winkle-pin has knocked aside the horny cap and dragged the animal into daylight. The case of Milly Dowler has shone a fierce light into the ways that we try serious cases. Mea culpa has been cried by the DPP and by the officer in charge of the investigation. These come at a time when other shortcomings of the judicial system are still raw. On top of all this, we have the media stretching the rubber band of what they can and cannot report.
There were calls from the Dowler family for a return to capital punishment. I have read calls for a total Royal Commission into our entire legal system. I am reminded of my sociological-studying days of media hysteria. My first observation would be that none of the discussion has really been in relation to the system; rather that it was not faithfully followed. The police did not empathise with the family in advising them first that the case was going to trial, the DPP said that the performance of his department could have been better. The judge declined a request to have some evidence heard in camera. The Press may have overstepped the mark in demonising the murderer so that his trial for kidnapping had to be abandoned. One assumes that the Press have legal advice; seems none picked up on the claimed prejudicial reporting. If these faults had not occurred, we would merely be left to debate what a bad bastard the murderer was and be glad he is where the sun does not shine.
A review of our Justice System would need,I suppose, to start with PACE and run through to parole. Everywhere along the way we would run into matters that could themselves alone provide fodder for a Commission. I can imagine that the gathering of evidence and publication of the finished report would take up 10 years or so. First we would have to decide what was wrong with the existing arrangement. Then would come soliciting amendments and evaluation of these. Then the nitty gritty of drafting a replacement and the delay in getting through the procedures to formulate any new policy. And all this time we would be trying to administer justice in accordance with laws that we have today. The adage of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' comes to mind. What is required is a new procedure to ensure that all concerned know the requirements and make certain they are complied with. Industry has developed Zero Fault procedures in quality control; these could be the basis for such supervision.

NHS. Bottomless pit

2011-06-13T17:49:00.007+00:00

The question of NHS organisation is likely to rumble on for some while. Quite a few commentators remark that there is a lack of understanding among the populace as to why any change is required. The first coconut shy at reform was so widely condemned and so little supported in today's report that it is clear the government itself is out of tune. I feel that there has been a lack of clarity in stating why reform was mooted. As I see it, the elephant in the room was cost. The changes that were made over the past x years and those more recently advanced can all be traced to funding. The non-nursing side was inflated as more and more controllers and administrators were taken on board. Budgets cannot be considered viable where a local problem will require action that could not be foreseen. The overruns cause headaches for any Chancellor.

A more useful examination would be to try and establish ground rules as to what the NHS will do and what it will not do. These will involve a tremendous soul searching. It is totally understandable for people to expect that the NHS will, as was promised, care for them from the cradle to the grave and that the very best care will always be afforded to them. This is the pathway to the bottomless pit. For example, we currently sustain children born after, I think, just 24 weeks in the womb. Those whose child died at 20 weeks will press for research and improvements to bring the 24 down to 20. Then there will be pressure for the safe delivery of the 18 week fetus. IVF is an expensive procedure. Some of the demand for it is from women who delayed conception in favour of a career and the need comes from their age or their having exhausted their stock of eggs. We seem to be able to get them pregnant to the age of 60. Scotland has (as usual) led the way with an upward limit of 38 years. There would seem space there to control costs. Some of the extreme end of life conditions have very significant costs despite the efforts of NICE; could we not set a definite point or a medical state where all that will be offered is palliative care? Those whose medical or mental problems have arisen from self abuse with drugs or alcohol should not qualify for anything other than first aid or, again, palliative care. We may remember the footballing legend given a liver who then continued his alcohol abuse until he destroyed the replacement.

As I have said, there would be tremendous public outcry at the mere suggestion of such controls, But think - had these been in place at the time the NHS was introduced. we would have accepted them as being far better than the 3 old pence a week private insurances. There can be little point in having universal 5 star health provision if,for example,we have 2 star education, 1 star defence or 0 star full employment because all the money is going to state of the art medical facilities.

2011-05-14T16:29:00.005+00:00

There seems to be a sudden flurry to get the question of the Military Covenant sorted out. I put this down to the government looking for something that might bolster their sagging reputation. The purpose of a covenant has been bandied out for a few years but I wonder just how many know exactly what it was before the drafters got their hands on it. It was included in a MOD document. Never had any legal status. The full detail was

Soldiers will be called upon to make personal sacrifices – including the ultimate sacrifice – in the service of the Nation. In putting the needs of the Nation and the Army before their own, they forego some of the rights enjoyed by those outside the Armed Forces. In return, British soldiers must always be able to expect fair treatment, to be valued and respected as individuals, and that they (and their families) will be sustained and rewarded by commensurate terms and conditions of service. In the same way the unique nature of military land operations means that the Army differs from all other institutions, and must be sustained and provided for accordingly by the Nation. This mutual obligation forms the Military Covenant between the Nation, the Army and each individual soldier; an unbreakable common bond of identity, loyalty and responsibility which has sustained the Army throughout its history. It has perhaps its greatest manifestation in the annual commemoration of Armistice Day, when the Nation keeps covenant with those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in action.

Note that it was not specific as to what would be covered - it is akin to a parent's duty to their child. This original concept of the Covenant really needs to be understood. Now let us have a look at the scope of the proposed legislation. First though, see just how keen the government has been to adopt the spirit of the Covenant. In February 2011 the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government decided that there was no need to make the Covenant law, proposing instead to cover it in an annual report to parliament - a Labour attempt in an opposition day debate to reverse this was defeated by 86 votes.
From what has been revealed very recently, the legislation is not expected to detail specific commitments about individual public services but will instead concentrate on broader principles - such as that no-one should be disadvantaged because of their military service and, beyond that, that special treatment could sometimes be justified. Ample opportunity there for the mealy mouthed lawyers of the MOD to evade responsibility. Forces personnel experience considerable disruption when the leave active service; mainly in finding a home. Compare this to what is done for immigrants. Priority medical treatment does not seem to be a concept known to GPs. The vast numbers of former service personnel suffering from PTSD would surely wamp the psychiatric services of the NHS and would conflict with the concept of the government's idea of a NHS remodelling. Yet another instance of big brave words at a sound and photo opportunity ending as bullshit.
This came up just after I posted this blog

'allo 'allo - what's going on here then?

2011-05-10T09:15:00.002+00:00

We know the phrase 'putting one's head above the parapet' derives from WW1 sniper prowess in the trench warfare. I am going to go one better and expose the whole body.
In amongst the Tory party thoughts on their island of dreams called opposition was re-organisation of our police force. This was made more relevant when the true economics state was revealed and serious demands were made for cost savings. Theresa May spelled it out when she spoke to the Federation "The cuts will be big, they will be tough to achieve, and cuts will fall on the police as they will on other important public services". She went on in that vein; sacrifices, pay restraint, institutionalised overtime. This of course all went down like a lead balloon with a hole in it. Tom Winsor undertook a review into pay and allowances which was a bit of a curates egg. These opinions divided the forces; police officers who knew what was at risk and politicians and 'experts' who might not be able to distinguish between a police helmet and a Page 3 nipple. It has now reached the stage where the police side are demanding a Royal Commission.
A noble Lord has stated "Royal commissions have somewhat gone out of fashion, in part because they are seen as time-consuming, cumbersome bodies" Time is spent deciding on terms of reference and who will sit. Who will give evidence and how the public may contribute. There is then the hearing of evidence before a report is compiled. I was involved in the Saville inquiry where 30 minutes of madness on a Sunday afternoon took twelve years to resolve. The Secretary to the last Commission on police was not impressed with it. I cannot imagine that there would be many get off the No 68 bus in Clapham to contribute. We would soon have the entrenched officers asking rhetorically "WTF do you know about policing?" and the civilians responding "You don't want to change". Here is where I raise myself to full height and bare my chest to the snipers.

The outsourcing business has introduced much that is new. They amplify convoluted contracts with agreements; let us call them heads of service. These set out exactly what each side may expect from the other. Right down to 'failed lamps will be replaced within 24 hours of being reported'. I see an opportunity to develop, quickly and at not too much cost, something similar. Way way back, Sir Robert identified what he saw as Nine Principles for his new police force. Sir Robert Peel's Nine Principles:

Principle #1: The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.

Principle #2: The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon the public approval of police actions.

Principle #3: Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observation of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.

Principle #4: The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

Principle #5: Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

Principle #6: Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, and warning is found to be insufficient.

Principle #7: Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence."

Principle #8: Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions, and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

Principle #9: The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it

These have been slightly modified by passage of time but if one thinks of recent confrontation with violent demonstrators there is much that could be reintroduced to current discussion and methods. The problem of alienation is the very core. It is pointless to start saying what public and police desire when vast numbers just refuse to speak to or, more importantly, assist the police. The regime of a New Law Every Day of the last government must have caused untold harm. It is far too simplistic to say there are 10 Commandments so why do we need so much Statute and Common law that is on the books but a re-examination needs to be made to reduce the vast number of things for which a civilian may find themselves deprived of liberty or money. There is a need to involve the IT wonks. They would start by examining exactly what needs to be recorded and processed and then find the most efficient way of doing this. Proposals must be proven empirically - no acceptance of 'we have always done that this way'. Police whistles are redundant along with small change in accoutrements to use public call boxes. By tackling the problem in small bites of heads of service proposals and adoption there would be no need to delay as with a Commission. As experience developed, the process would become even quicker; ten years since I wrote any but I can still recall the basics.

Putting all the eggs in one Royal Commission basket will extend the time before we can have a new understanding of what police should be doing. The dissent and introduction will take longer. The economic situation cannot accept the delay to cost reductions.

Laura Norder

2011-04-17T18:21:00.003+00:00

I have been interested by the way in which our coalition government has set about implementing some of the points contained in their respective manifesto. Or not as the case may be. A number of very contentious policies have been introduced causing the government to withdraw Bills for review or to abandon their suggestions. This mainly due to a lack of detail once the 'new arrangements' hit the media. It seems as if they spent those long years in opposition merely dreaming up bullet point-ideas with no detailed consideration as to implementation. Reaction to these ideas was swift and, in some cases, violent. One or two will become running sores as the opposers vow to continue their demonstrations which could have a splitting effect on the two parties of the coalition. The root of the problems is the sad state of the nation's economy - if that goes wrong there is no way of making the proposed changes.

Something that has not attracted so much public attention is the question of crime and punishment. Maybe many of us skip over this - it won't happen to me syndrome. The main plank of opposition seems to be the question of finding money to build prisons. This led to be possibility of private prisons run by the private sector. This will not be a cheaper solution - the outsourcing company will run the prison and expect to make a profit.It is akin to the dreaded PFI situation where the build cost is treated like some tally-man purchase on the never never.

Over this last week-end I read a Jenny McCartney article in the Sunday Telegraph.This bemoaned the way in which parenting has become a lost cause for many of those with young children. This encompasses not just the dark arts such as getting a child to sleep a regular pattern but basic human ability where a child was suffering infected toes from wrong-sized shoes or had not been fed for three days. The link between poverty and crime is detailed in an American publication but we are now in the same state as they were at the time it was written. We can no longer rely upon the fact that all children will be taught good behaviour at their mother's knee. Racial it may be but there is also the consideration that not all parents are aware of how our country used to run. We therefore need to review our crime and punishment procedures so as to leave no one in any doubt as to what will decide their future. There is little point in debating who has a crack at which university if their c.v. details just how they have behaved; which finishing-school prison did they attend?

I see no real problem in achieving a much better system for detailing what is right and what is wrong. In the early 1950s, at the age of 19, I was called into the Army under the National Service Act. Our mentors were responsible for indoctrinating us into the Army way of doing things. There was the civilians way, the wrong way and the army way. Every fortnight the intake would dredge up an amorphous body of individuals ranging from highly individual, well-educated youths from rich and privileged backgrounds to illiterate Teddy Boys lacking respect for almost everything. Within a fortnight they were all turned into universal soldiers ready to move into a regiment or corps for further technical training.
They marched together. Moved together. Some had had to be shown how to keep themselves clean. Those who could not read were started off learning by others.

Old crusties will be snuffling about brutality and possibly mentioning Deepcut Barracks. No - in all my service I never saw a soldier struck by anyone in authority. By his colleagues - maybe. When it was necessary to emphasise that his lack of effort was causing us all to suffer when we repeated exercises he had failed. Yes - he would be shouted at and made to move about sharply but this only to let him know that he could not beat the system. Everything he was told to do had been explained and shown to him in detail. 1 - do this, 2 - do that, 3 - then do this.

At the moment, our legal and prison policies lack teeth. I the first place, they are mainly dealing with people who really do not give a damn. One has only to watch Jamie's School to see the total lack of respect of which our juveniles are capable. The recent images of rioting on the streets of London reveal just how little respect is given to the police. Doubtless, someone will comment that the police have brought this upon themselves by their reaction but, even if this is so in every case, it does not excuse the sort of conduct exhibited by the quasi-students. There are established channels for laying complaints and the images would go towards deciding who was right or wrong.

We must have tried everything so far. Community service. They do not attend or just continue their disaffected conduct. Imprisonment. Badge of honour and let out half-way. Conditions inside little worse than their chaotic home life. Short sharp shock. Was deemed a failure. Then we tried Zero Tolerance but that did not realise it's full potential' but that may have been due to the fact that it was not applied across all of the criminal legislation.

Firstly, we should review the laws that are now in effect. Trite but why is it that we have 10 Commandments but millions of offences? Even a review of stuff introduced by that nice Tony. Maybe even simplify them. I seem to recall debate about a Scots law detailing 'being found by night with face blackened' seemed much easier to prove than burglary.

Having simplified the crimes, we come to enforcement. The Zero Tolerance was founded upon the idea that a neglected-looking neighbourhood drew in minor crime and then major offences. The monitoring could be something done by the Community Crime force with, possibly, Neighbourhood Watch. Something for the Big Society volunteers maybe?

The police procedures would need to be evaluated to ensure that arrest is the most likely outcome of bad behaviour or crooked conduct. The prosecution service should concentrate on presenting cases in such a manner that leaves no doubt as to criminal responsibility. Judges object strongly to fixed sentences as being too authoritarian but we need to be sure that there is no weakness in the prosecution of criminals.

The regime in prison should be such that no one in their right mind would be comfortable inside. Television, games. gymnasia, conjugal visits - no such thing. Education directed towards what might improve the inmate's understanding of proper conduct. The days of mail bag production to be re-introduced. Harsh treatment but fair.

This is not a proposal for a 1984 Orwellian land. What I ask is that criminals be isolated from me and mine. My requirement and choice is to live in accord with the laws of the land. Those who elect to do otherwise must be shown the consequences of their choice. There will doubtless be many who reject my vision - I suggest that there is a place for them to assist people to stay out of my world. They can volunteer to show the criminally inclined how they should live - to the benefit of all.