June 2005 Archives

Why are NuLabour Cabinet Ministers who had to resign in disgrace, like David Blunkett and Beverly Hughes allowed tax free "redundancy" payments ?

The Independent has a report

Has anyone spotted the pattern yet ? Why won't the NuLabour Home Office state officially exactly what the "issues" are that they are preventing them from signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on action against Human Trafficking ?

The Written Answers to Parliamentary Questions posed by Members of Parliament seem to be just as misleading as usual. None of the activities which the Government claims it is engaged in to tackle the problem of the sex slave / illegal worker slave trade would be contradicted by signing this Convention.

What NuLabour seem to be intent on, is to continue to refuse to treat sex slave or other exploited people as victims first, who need compassionate treatment rather than simply as criminals, These people get trapped in the Kafakaesque bureaucracy that the Home Office inflicts on them, especially with regard to granting them a temporary visa or to providing accomodation and support for them away from where they have been forced to work as slaves.

This bureaucratic callousness and indifference to human suffering here in the United Kingdom, not in far off Africa or elsewhere, seems to be at the heart of these so called "issues", and makes a mockery of the platitudes that they are spinning about making the issue of Human Trafficing a priority at the G8 summit or during the UK's presidency of the European Union.

You cannot "fully support the aims of the Convention" without signing and ratifying it !

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 20 Jun 2005 (pt 28)

The utterly pointless names changes experienced by the Department for Trade and Industry / Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry, following Tony Blair's Cabinet re-shuffle, wasted at least £30,000 of public money, and probably more, as the civil service staff and external consultancy costs are almost certainly not included in the figures given to Parliament in these Written Answers:

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 20 Jun 2005 (pt 17)

"Departmental Name

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the proposal to change the name of his Department cost in terms of (a) signage, (b) stationery and (c) literature. [1085]

Alan Johnson: Preliminary work was undertaken to meet the name change of the Department at an overall cost of £14,500. This was broken down into:

(a) Signage £7,500
(b) Design changes to stationery templates £4,000
(c) Literature including web site changes £3,000

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost was of (a) changing the title of the Department of Trade and Industry to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry and (b) reverting to the original title. [2689]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 9 June 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 304W."

House of Lords Hansard for 20 Jun 2005 (pt 2)

"Department of Trade and Industry: Change of Name Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:

What costs were incurred following the name change to the Department for Trade and Industry; and how these costs are broken down. [HL113]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): In order to put into effect the renaming of the department, the following actions were undertaken: replacement nameplates for the department's London buildings were commissioned; a small number of publications and event literature were amended; websites were changed and departmental guidelines and stationery templates were adjusted and distributed. The total cost of these actions was £14,500.

The total cost involved in the name reverting to the Department of Trade and Industry was £15,400."

"Written answers Tuesday, 14 June 2005

Home Department
Trafficking in Human Beings

Jeffrey M Donaldson (Lagan Valley, DU) Hansard source

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ratify the Warsaw Convention on trafficking in human beings.

Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) Hansard source (holding answer 13 June 2005)

The UK has not yet taken a decision on whether or not to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which opened for signature in Warsaw in May. There are certain provisions in the Convention which present concerns for the UK and which remain under active consideration. We want to resolve these issues before taking a decision on signature. We support fully all of the aims of the Convention and we too want to see widespread action to tackle this abhorrent trade at source, to protect and support the victims and bring those responsible to justice."

Seems remarkably similar to the previous week's lack of progress on this issue:

"Written answers Tuesday, 7 June 2005

When will Paul Goggans and NuLabour be shamed into actually signing and ratifying this Convention ?

Or will this take even more allegations of African children being smuggled and traded and abused in London as "human sacrifices" ?

NuLabour and McKinsey management consultants

The Guardian Reports about the appointment of Yet Another Management Consultant from McKinsey & Company, David Bennett, who started work on 1st June as head of the controversial Downing Street Policy Unit.

"Downing Street yesterday declined to provide any details of Mr Bennett's appointment by not disclosing his six-figure salary, duties, hours or his age. A spokeswoman said: "No press release is being issued, and MPs will have to table questions if they want to ask about his salary or job."

The ongoing scandal of NuLabour's bureaucratic treatment of the victims of the sex slave trade has not been clarified by the following.
Hous of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 7 June 2005 (pt 16)

"Convention on Human Trafficking

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason the UK has not ratified the Convention on Human Trafficking; and what discussions he has had with non-governmental organisations on the decision not to ratify that Convention. [117]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 24 May 2005]: The UK has not yet taken a decision on whether to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking. There are certain provisions in the Convention which present concerns for the UK and which remain under active consideration. We want to

7 Jun 2005 : Column 504W

resolve these issues before taking a decision on signature. We support fully all of the aims of the Convention and we too want to see widespread action to tackle this abhorrent trade at source, to protect and support the victims and bring those responsible to justice. Ministers and officials are in contact with non-governmental organisations about the Convention. The Convention was discussed during a round table meeting on trafficking held in October and further dialogue on the Convention has taken place since."

What exactly are thes "certain issues", and why is there no public or Parliamentary debate on them ?

Are these "issues" to do with treating sex slave trade victims as illgal immigrants and criminals first, and victims second, as previously briefed anonymously to the media ?

Why were they not resolved months and years ago ?

What have the NuLabour politicians and Home Office got to hide ?

The so called Violent Crime Reduction Bill has been published, without, as one has now come to expect from NuLabour, an accompanying Regulatory Impact Assessment.

This seems to be another NuLabour "we must spin the media into reporting that we seem to be doing something" type portmanteau Bill.

Please explain how any of these provisions will actually reduce violent crime in practice, and exactly by how much:

NuLabour and Cash for Honours ?

Later this week sees the annual publication of the Queen's Official Birthday Honours List, which together with the New Year's Honours List, is intended to reward and recognise those people who have contributed to the good of society.

Controversially, politicians since Lloyd George have been accused of selling Honours such as Knighthoods and Peerages to major financial donors to their political parties, who would otherwise never have so been honoured. Allegedly, this practice was stopped, and a scrutiny committee was formed to vet any such reccomendations for Honours by Ministers or the Prime Minister.

The Sunday Times has an article which digs out the obscure announcement that this scrutiny committee has now been secretively dropped.

The Sunday Times article also claims that the vast majority of large donors to the Labour Party have been rewarded with Knighthoods or Peerages, a number far in excess of similar Honours awarded to Opposition Party donors.

Who will be the new Lord Drayson of this Honours List ? Has everyone forgotten the Hindujah brothers, Lakshmi Mittal and Bernie Ecclestone scandals ?

"Blair axes watchdog set up to stop honours for donors
Robert Winnett and David Leppard
TONY BLAIR has scrapped a vetting committee designed to stop political parties rewarding their donors with knighthoods and other honours.

The political honours scrutiny committee has been quietly axed despite Labour’s pledge to bring greater transparency into the honours system."

Alistair Darling's spin machine seems to have flooded most of the Sunday broadsheets and the TV news with his dubious satellite tracking road toll / mass surveillance plan, which surfaced last year.

Spy Blog has more about some of the obvious security, privacy and technology issues which have not been mentioned by the media, who are concentrating on blithely assuming that the technology even exists to cover the whole of the UK road network, and covering the story soley from the aspect of transport costs and environmental impact, ignoring the inevitable intrusive mass surveillance potential of the scheme.

"Yet again a NuLabour Minister is grasping at unproven technology as a magic fix for social problems."

"Where are the privacy safeguards with this plan ? Where is the consultation with the people ? Where are the alternative plans and solutions to traffic congestion ?"

Since this project is likely to span several Parliaments, we will certainly be keeping a watch out to see if Alistair Darling or any other Ministers or civil servants or NuLabour political commissars and advisors, end up lobbying the Ministry of Transport for a slice of the multi-billion pound contracts that this plan would involve.

Written answers, Monday, 23 May 2005, Home Department, People Trafficking


"Sandra Gidley (Romsey, LDem)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Government action to counter people trafficking.

Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office)

The Government have a comprehensive strategy for tackling trafficking in human beings which includes prevention, legislation, law enforcement, international co-operation and the support of victims. Human trafficking will be a priority during our EU presidency and is on the agenda for the G8 summit. The Government provide £20 million per year to Reflex, the multi-agency task force which co-ordinates the enforcement response to organised immigration crime, including people"

How can NuLabour pretend to be leading the EU and the G8 on "human trafficing" (the sex and slave labour trade), when the UK Government has not signed or ratified the Council of Europe Convention on action against trafficking in human beings ?

About this blog

This weblog comments on NuLabour's anti-democratic and authoritarian policies and political manipulation. We will try to deconstruct some of the NuLabour propaganda, disinformation, media spin and leaks.

Nothing has changed with the unelected Gordon Brown, who took over as Labour Party leader from Tony Blair, and became Prime Minister, without being elected, not even by the Labour Party, let alone with a political mandate from a General Election.

Now that there is a Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition government, this blog will continue to watch out for any NuLabour creepiness and control freakery, attempting to ooze back into political power and influence, under the unpopular Ed Miliband, who personally shares the blame for all of NuLabour / Labour's policies. .

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