McShane launches into the media

Given that it was a hacks FOI that discovered that he had browbeaten a secretary (and then sent flowers) it is no surprise that he doesnt like the media much. But his suggestion launched today takes the buscuit.

"I would like to see the FOI Act extended to all those organisations and companies which have any formal status within the public realm.

"We refer to the Fourth Estate, it is time for the FOI laws to extend fully to all of our media organisations who have far more power than many of the public agencies, the local councils and the rest who are covered by FOI legislation.

"What our media organisations, the oligarchs who own them, often from overseas, decide to do has a huge impact on our public life."

Oh yes, really. Now of course it could be fun I am sure but what does he mean by,

"formal status within the public realm".

The fourth estate is not a formal title, merely a shorthand honorific. Do golf clubs, do freemasons, do corner shops have formal status? Is the Church counted?

We could go on. People say that Ken Dodd is an institution, FOI him would you Denis?

To be fair his next statement I have far more sympathy with, when he called for the FOI legislation to cover any company (and I hope he includes the NGO sector in this) which is intreciept of taxpayers money.

Nark Nation

I am not sure what part of this story worries me more, though I know which bit doesn't worry me much.

It appears that William Hague's 79 year old father has ben cautiond by the police for "a racist jibe".

"Mr Hague gave his opinion when he was speaking to a builder he had employed to
do work at his home.
"The builder said that he came from the Black Country area of the West Midlands and Mr Hague is said to have responded about black people going back to their own country."

OK so what he said was lacking nuance, but for goodness sake he is 79. What on earth was the builder doing getting so upset about the opinions of one so old? Was he inciting volence? Not in any way. Was he trying to offend? I very much doubt it, just making a poorly judged joke. So whatever neighbour it was that ran squealing to the Police must be castigated for disgraceful behaviour. Just grow up.

And what the hell are the police doing following this up. Do they not have the wit to tell a busyboding, curtain twitching informant that they have more important things to do. After all Rotherham has apaling crime figures, only robbery is below the national average (2006/7),

Figures per 1000
Violence against the person 20.8 National Average 16.7
Robbery offences 0.6 National Average 1.2
Theft of a motor vehicle offences 5.0 National Average 2.9
Sexual offences 0.9 National Average 0.9
Burglary dwelling offences 5.8 National Average 4.3
Theft from a vehicle offences 10.7 National Average 7.6

Given that the local MP, the excrable Denis MacShane wrote in the Guardian,

The number one issue for my constituents in Rotherham is the loutish, often violent, sometimes feral behaviour of different groups in working class communities. Freedom from fear is a freedom I wish my constituents to enjoy.

this sort of harrasment, almost occaisioned to cause the old man's son embarrasment, is an affront to decency. I do not believe that the builder, or for that point his Asian girlfriend in any way felt fearful of Hague senior.

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