Oh dear, Gordon’s done it again
David Blackburn 1:13pm
The knicker-bomber must love this. Twice Gordon Brown has jumped on the bandwagon and bounced straight off on both occasions. Sky News reports that the UK did not pass vital information to the US, despite the claims of a Downing Street spokesman. Here’s the key section:
'During a briefing to journalists today, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "There is no suggestion the UK passed intelligence to the US that they did not act on."But Sky's political correspondent Joey Jones said it had been an "awful" briefing.
"He tried to clear things up but only succeeded in muddying the waters still further," Jones said.
"After he read Downing Street's statement, the spokesman said there would be no further comment on intelligence issues. However, he continued to answer questions from journalists on the subject even saying: 'Whatever information was passed to the US, they did what they needed to do with it.'
"When I pointed out the contradiction, the spokesman said: 'It's not for me to comment on what the US should do with intelligence.'
Jones went on: "It's not normal practice for government officials to discuss the way their share intelligence with other countries. It is plain that the Gordon Brown's official spokesman should not have allowed himself to be drawn into such sensitive territory."'
First Brown had to admit that he hadn’t spoken to Obama “directly” about possible intelligence and now his government has to make this humiliating u-turn. Take your pick: embarrassing or hilarious? Either way, the whole episode doesn’t inspire confidence in our opportunistic leader, international intelligence services and intelligence sharing; thank God that Mutallab proved even more incompetent.
PS: Chris Grayling has just released this statement and he's 100 percent right:
“This is the second time in a week that Downing Street has given false information about the nature of its discussions with the United States over terrorist issues. For a UK Prime Minister to behave in this way is nothing short of a complete disgrace. These are highly sensitive issues of national importance and should be dealt in a manner that is free from political opportunism and spin.”
Previous
smog
January 5th, 2010 1:28pm Report this commentAwful briefing, geddit?
It's all pnats.
AndyinBrum
January 5th, 2010 1:39pm Report this commentAll the Tories need to do is sit back and try not to laugh to hard, whilst talking to the Obama Camp and assuring them that they, the Tories, arent complete fukwits like the chaps currently stinking up Number 10
Austin Barry
January 5th, 2010 1:47pm Report this comment"Take your pick: embarrassing or hilarious?"
Both.
And Brown's metaphorical shuffling along on his knees to fellate a fugitive POTUS for some perceived electoral benefit is absurd and undignified.
The man is preposterous.
Vulture
January 5th, 2010 1:54pm Report this commentWhat Mary McCarthy said abt Communist playwright Lilian Helman in 1979 is applicable to GB:
'Every word (s)he writes is a lie, including "and" and "the"'.
London Calling
January 5th, 2010 2:03pm Report this commentIt wasn’t Knickers, it was a Nappy and a rather large one at that. If Gordon has ‘Done it again’ maybe he should wear one to…it must be pre-election jitters…
R King
January 5th, 2010 2:28pm Report this commentI wonder if they will do a cartoon series on Ballsup Brown similar to Mr Bean?
General Zod
January 5th, 2010 2:33pm Report this comment"Gee, what a lightweight!"
I'd love to see a Macintyre overheard verdict on Gordon the Terrible.
Holly ......
January 5th, 2010 3:55pm Report this commentMore bollocks then????
NEXT!!!
Frank P
January 5th, 2010 4:21pm Report this commentDisappointed that you didn't use the DTel's picture of Brown on the Andrew Marr set, seated on what appears to be an antique commode, with all the appearance of a mental patient who has not dropped his kecks but has nonetheless deliberately shat in them and awaits, with inane grin on his idiot features, for his attendant to return to clean him up.
One of the BBC cameramen must have made a few bob for that classic. Wonderful metaphor for the crap he is leaving for Cameron to clear up.
Unfortunately there is no link to the photo on-line (unless somebody knows otherwise). It's on Page 4 of yesterday's dead-tree version.
Prodicus
January 5th, 2010 4:22pm Report this commentAwaiting the next issue of the Eye with a big grin here... .
Dorothy Wilson
January 5th, 2010 5:15pm Report this commentFrank P: I've always thought that Brown would end up with something approaching a psychological break-down. Recent pictures of him seem to suggest that my inclination could be right. Just look at the picture of him at the top here. This is a man who has led the country to virtual bankrupcy and he is grinning like a maniac.
Chris lancashire
January 5th, 2010 5:29pm Report this commentDorothy Wilson: I particularly like it when he is talking about something deadly serious (such as the failed knickerbomber) and produces his rictus grin. Presumably his spintrainers have told him to smile every 30 secs.
Moraymint
January 5th, 2010 7:47pm Report this commentDoes anyone think Gordon Brown gives a toss?
Dorothy Wilson
January 5th, 2010 8:46pm Report this commentChris: Towards the tail end of 2008 I had a bit of a ding dong on the BBC blog with someone calling himself Charles E Hardwige, who seemed to be a close associate of Draper. He kept posting about sharing a personality profile with Brown. The reading associated with that profile contains the following:
"He will follow his ideas …… inwards and not outwards. Intensity is his aim, not extensity.
In the pursuit of his ideas he is generally stubborn, headstrong, and quite unamenable to influence.
However clear to him the inner structure of his thoughts, he is not the least clear how they link up to the world of reality.
In his personal relations he is taciturn or else throws himself on people who cannot understand him, and for him this is one more proof of the abysmal stupidity of man.
The counterbalancing functions of feeling, intuition and sensation are comparatively unconscious and inferior."
And of course without those counterbalancing elements a person with these leanings can tip to the point where he has real psychological problems. Brown seems to be close to that point.
Call me Infidel
January 5th, 2010 9:32pm Report this commentDorothy Hardwidger used to infect Guidos blog till he fixed the idiot filters and shut the muppet out. I suspect he is a spam bot programmed with gibberish by Ed Balls.
As for a cabinet split or a resignation. Highly unlikely at this late juncture. They had their chance back in the summer but they, for whatever reason, are too collectively spineless to stand up to the Prime Mentalist. Still not long to wait now for Labour's humiliation at the polls. It is going to be an interesting run from now till election night. I think McBruin may very well blow a gasket. I have my doubts that he is in full command of his sanity.
Major Plonquer
January 6th, 2010 9:32am Report this commentThis is obviously a new definition of the word 'intelligence'.
Dorothy Wilson
January 6th, 2010 9:58am Report this commentCall me Infidel: I suspect that Hardwige was none other than Dolly Draper. There were several clues pointing towards that:
He used puesdo psychological mumbo-jumbo. DD trained as a psychotherapist in America.
Other people who posted on the BBC blog commented on his Americanisms.
When I had the ding dong with him he had kept posting that he had the same psychological profile as Brown - INTJ. To me that indicates Myers Briggs. However, when I posted something along the lines of the above, which purposely picks out the most negative aspects of that profile[!] - he tried to argue that the reading he was quoting wasn't Myers Briggs but from another instrument.
He then threw a mardy - as we say around here - and went off in a sulk claiming he had better things to do than post on the BBC blog. That was just before Christmas 2008. In January 2009 the LabourList appeared.
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