BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 08 Aug 07 - 05:00 PM

The CPS operates under strict guidelines, one of which is that there has to be a certain likelihood of a prosecution succeeding on the balance of probabilities. It used to be around 80 per cent, but on a case like this my guess is that it would be nearer 90 per cent. Just because no prosecution has been brought is not to say that those involved are 'innocent'.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Aug 07 - 05:25 PM

The interesting thing will be if any of those involved ("cleared") have the nerve to take out a libel action against any of those, such as Private Eye, that cry stinking fish... I guarantee they won't - and if they do, they'll regret it.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Tootler
Date: 07 Aug 07 - 04:51 PM

I understand the cynicism, but I suspect in this case that anything less than an absolutely cast iron case would have failed. All you needed was some very expensive barrister crying "foul" and the whole thing would have fallen on some technicality or other.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: robomatic
Date: 07 Aug 07 - 03:48 PM

My lord!

What would Gilbert & Sullivan think?

Bring back the Fairies!

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: sapper82
Date: 07 Aug 07 - 02:27 PM

I saw that in son's copy. VERY fitting.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 Aug 07 - 05:23 PM

I think Private Eye made the most fitting comment on this with a story headlined

"No evidence pope Catholic - Crown Prosecution Shock Conclusion".

After a 2000-year £8 billion investigation, the crown Prosecution Service has decided that there is insufficient evidence to prove that the Supreme Pontiff is a practising Catholic...

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: GUEST,PMB
Date: 06 Aug 07 - 04:37 AM

Will Sir Ken McDonald get a peerage?

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Mr Happy
Date: 06 Aug 07 - 04:19 AM

Cash for Immunity

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: sapper82
Date: 05 Aug 07 - 02:35 PM

CPS = Criminal Protection Society.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Peace
Date: 05 Aug 07 - 01:08 AM

There were 'cash for peerages' places on 42 St in NYC.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: GUEST,Kelly
Date: 04 Aug 07 - 10:47 PM

check out courtneycoventry.com    says it all !

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: GUEST,ALBERT
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 11:27 AM

I know the political establishment usually does a fairly good job of smothering its scandals but thought this time at least some of the bit players would end up in court...although I never thought Blair would end up in the dock to answer charges.
albert

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Rog Peek
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 08:55 AM

I'm amazed that you find it amazing Albert. You didn't really think there'd be any prosecutions did you?

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: GUEST,albert
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 08:01 AM

I think it is amazing that there are to be no prosecutions in this latest example of government sleaze yet Galloway the Respect MP can be suspended from parliament by a committee of pro war MPs for nothing!!
albert

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Rog Peek
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 04:27 AM

'A great rod for their backs'

The trouble is, who's going to beat them with it? The CPS? I think not. Public opinion? They've certainly shown that they have nothing but contempt for that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 03:36 AM

No, the problem is not Labour-specific, but it certainly was made worse during their tenure. And against the background of Labour's "anti-sleaze" campaign too, it makes a great rod for their backs.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Peace
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 03:35 AM

Well, there you give out peerages and knighthoods. In Canada we give out seats in the Senate. In the USA it's unbid contracts for companiwes that gave big bucks for the elections. I see little difference. And as Gurney said, every party has been and still is involved. What's new?

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Gurney
Date: 21 Jul 07 - 03:05 AM

Is this a Labour-Party problem? For much of my youth, the Tories held sway, and it was their cronies that received 'recognition.'

It stinks, agreed, but I suspect that it always has been like this, and probably always will. A few genuine heros, and a lot of greaseballs.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Peace
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 02:21 PM

"club together and buy him a brand new Whitewash brush, he must have worn out the last one on this job."

New kneepads would be of more use, imo.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: The Walrus
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 02:16 PM

Well, as I understand it, amongst the Police, the 'Criminal Prosecution Service' (CPS) was, at one point, known as "Can't Prosecute, Sorry!".
As for the Director of of Public Prosecutions, well, I think he deserves a reward - So I think we should club together and buy him a brand new Whitewash brush, he must have worn out the last one on this job.

Cynical? Me?
(Anyone would think I distrusted politicians or something).

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Rog Peek
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 10:17 AM

Now come on, when Tony came to power, he said he would take the sleeze out of politics. So, how can there have been any substance to the alledged cash for honors claims.

What's that you say, you didn't believe him then, and you don't believe him now. Well that's most untrusting of you I must say.

Never mind, all is not lost, Gordon is going to restore your trust in politicians so you've nothing to worry about in the future.

I've heard they're are even going to change the rules on Peers issueing security passes to lobbying firms in return for payment. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2776202.ece

Dirty rotten thing to do I'd say, how on earth are these poor impoverished peers going to turn an honest bob.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 10:03 AM

Where there's smoke, there may well be more than tobacco (to be topical).

The Office of Public Prosecutions studied the evidence for three (3!) months before deciding not to prosecute. That tells me that the evidence was important enough to merit all this study. Indeed, there must have been some incriminating evidence, otherwise the file would not have been sublitted to the OPP in the first place.

For me, the only unanswered question is: Was the evidence truly insufficient to merit prosecution, or did the coverup extend to the OPP? I like to believe the former, in my naivete.

What next in Blair's legacy - Cash for Peace in the Middle East?

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Big Phil
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 09:17 AM

If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat and behaves like a rat, then you can be certain it is a bloody rat.

The general public do in the majority feel that there has been a Cover Up I think - but prooving it is another matter, Bliar and his cohorts are as slippery as an eel.

Subject: RE: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: Folkiedave
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 08:50 AM

The correlation between making large donations to the Labour Party and receiving an honour is extraordinary. Statistical analysis shows that 58.54% of all donors giving more than £50,000 to the Labour Party receive an honour. This compares to just 0.035% of non-donors. Large Labour Party donors are 1,657 times more likely to receive an honour than a non-donor and 6,969 times more likely to receive a peerage. It is almost impossible to avoid the conclusion that the Labour Party has been selling honours, including places in the House of Lords. An analysis of all donations over £50,000 since 2001 reveals that Honour certainly has its price. We publish below the average amount donated by the recipients of various honours – an "Honours Price List". Those receiving a Peerage have given £1.07 million on average, and a Knighthood £747,000...

Source : The Price of Dishonour

Funding Facts:

       * 80% of Labour's election funding came from the covert Loans for Lordship program.
       * Every donor who has given the party more than £1 million has been given a knighthood or a peerage.
       * Three quarters of those individuals who have given more than £50,000 to the Labour Party since 2001 have received an honour.

Stinks almost as bad as the Tevez Affair.

Subject: BS: Cash for Peerages. Cover up or witchhunt
From: GUEST,Bob
Date: 20 Jul 07 - 08:17 AM

According to the BBC news today the investigation into the "Cash for Honours" is complete and no one will face charges.

The connection between political donations and the award of life peerages seems to be a dirty cover up. A quirk of electoral law in the United Kingdom means that although anyone donating even small sums of money to a political party has to declare this as a matter of public record, those loaning money, even for an indefinite period, did not have to make a public declaration.

I smell a rat.