Posted 12:18 PM by Paul
Judge Finds Barrister Not Guilty

The last two days have been dominated by the Hutton Inquiry into the death of Dr. Kelly and the accusation that the Government exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein WOMDs. It's difficult to add to what has already been said. Far more eloquent voices than mine have summed up the huge issues faced by the BBC and the Government.

The main shock was that Blair and co. were so completely exonerated with hardly a hint of criticism. The tone of the report seems to suggest that it was an outrageous slur to suggest that a politician had deliberately set out to deceive the electorate. We all had a good laugh at that one.

But the Learned Judge could hardly find him guilty of making up the case for war short of discovering a secretly taped conversation with Tony cackling

" I know I will claim that Saddam can bomb Chipping Sodbury with nerve gas inside 45 minutes and the suckers will believe me!!!"

The burden of proof was on the prosecution, which is how it should be. It was up to the BBC to prove the case and they couldn't. So the headline today was Judge Finds Barrister Not Guilty. Hardly suprising, bit like Versace Was Gay.

The report was so favorable to the Government that Blair's dad could have penned it…and this causes the Government a huge problem. People just don't think it is credible. It's like those North Korean elections where Kim Sun used to win with 99% of votes cast. The news cycle is also now so short that we have moved from BlairTriumph! to Whitewash!, all inside 12 hours. So the Government got its pound of flesh and BBC Director General Greg Dyke resigned a day after the Chairman Gavyn Davies. A grovelling apology followed from the new caretaker manager but it was clear that Davies and Dyke were in full "Je Regrette Rien" mode. Already hundreds of BBC staff are demonstrating their support for their deposed leader. Now that would a turn up for the books. Blair finally unseated by rioting weathermen and newsreaders.

This all reminded me how disaster so often follows hard on the heels of a major victory. The Weirmacht in front of Stalingrad and Leceister City thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 6-0. They lost every game after that and were relegated before Easter.