A propos of Justice Minister Jack Straw’s shameful decision to veto the release of minutes that were taken in the Blair Cabinet meetings that led up to the invasion of Iraq, and HM Opposition's support for his decision, Mick Hall writes:
One would have expected today’s British newspapers to be full of this attempt by the Government and Tory opposition to deny the right of the British people to know what their politicians got up to in this vital period. Yet not one of the three main UK broadsheets carries this story on their front page.
The Times leads with a government powder-puff about forcing the train franchisees to cut fares. The Guardian led with a ‘may happen' tale about the “Fight against Terror spells end of privacy,” alongside a large photo of a statue of Betty’s mum, which this bastion of liberal democracy felt the need to repeat on page 5. The Daily Telegraph leads with Betty’s mum’s statue, plus what amounts to fillers about strokes linked to the number of cups of tea we drink; a piece of nonsense about savers withdrawing their cash as interest rates slide, and council tax being raised this April.
Not only should the papers have led with this story it was in the public interest that they did so.
It is becoming increasingly clear that there was a conspiracy between the leaders of the Labour government and the Conservative party to support Bush’s criminal adventure in Iraq. That this coalition is still in place became clear from the Conservative front bench’s behavior in the Commons yesterday.
Mick is absolutely right. Any real opposition would have made great political capital out of Jack Straw's shameful decision, as I pointed out yesterday. But in one-party Britain the one thing we do not have is a real opposition.
Iraq was a criminal conspiracy on a monster scale- one which has led to the deaths of up to 1m people. And the conspirators must not only be swept from the corridors of power, they must be held to answer for their crimes before a court of law.
Don't think it will ever be done? Don't be disheartened.
Remember, we are the many and they are the few.
It's about time we made our superior numbers count.
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