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Sunday 22 November 2009

The Saddest Thing I Have Seen in a Long Time

Friday, 17th July 2009

The moral of the story is: don't mess with the British state. I woke up this morning to a message from my old Observer colleague Antony Barnett, who now works for Channel 4's Dispatches, urging me to look at page 31 of the Daily Mail. There in all her glory was a transvestite called Delores Kane, who bore a distinct resemblance to the former MI5 officer David Shayler.

It's not so long ago that David announced he was the messiah and now he has decided Jesus was a transvestite and that he, Shayler, must take the form of Delores.

I was one of many journalists who worked with David when he left the Security Service in the late 1990s. I first met him when he was living in exile in France and we worked on several stroies together. I ended becoming friends with him and his then girlfriend Annie Machon. I always thought it was remarkable that he hadn't been driven mad by his experience of whistleblowing, his vilification in the press and two spells in prison (one in France and one in Britain). He was always an obsessive person, but always remakably sane considering what he had been through.

I hadn't seem him for a while when I bumped into him in north London in 2006. He was living with a group of people who were part of the 9/11 Truth Movement and took me to visit his new friends who seemed nice enough. He explained that 9/11 could not have happened in the way it was suggested by the US government and the media and also told me that he thought there was something fishy about the bombings of July 7 2005. Even then I didn't think he was mad, just misguided.

It was only when I bumped into him in the street one day with a scrawny dog on a string wearing horribly tight shorts that I thought something was wrong. He had completely shaved his head (including the eyebrows). He's also split up with Annie, who had been his rock.

I was in touch with Annie today and asked her if there was anything I could do to help David, althoggh I knew there wasn't. David had some important stories to tell about the inefficiency and arrogance of the intelligence services long before the failings were made evident by the Iraq war and 7/7. But I have to wonder whether it was really worth it.

Filed under: David Shayler (1 more articles) , Intelligence services (7 more articles) , MI5 (1 more articles)

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Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

July 17th, 2009 6:27pm Report this comment

Looking on the bright side Martin, he has lost quite a bit of lard.

Frank P

July 17th, 2009 7:45pm Report this comment

Your assumptions about the chronology of this man's psychological problems are less than convincing, particularly when your own credibility/credulity could be in question as a result of the latest developments.

And if that's the saddest thing you've ever seen, you need to get out more and exercise your investigative skills a little more pragmatically.

Hawkeye

July 17th, 2009 8:25pm Report this comment

I'm speechless!

porkbelly

July 17th, 2009 8:43pm Report this comment

He bears a striking resemblance to David Johansen - aka Buster Poindexter - of the New York Dolls, who also shares his taste for zebra miniskirts.

Kennybhoy

July 18th, 2009 4:17am Report this comment

Frank P,

Bullseye!

Respect!

Matthew Blott

July 18th, 2009 8:57am Report this comment

I'm with Hawkeye a bit here - I was pretty stunned when I clicked Martin's link.

I think it's a little convenient to blame the security services - his school reports indicated he was a rebel and he should probably never have been employed by MI5 (conversely I suppose you could blame the security services then for employing someone unsuitable).

It's all very sad as Martin says, he's obviously lost the plot. On the plus side, the overwhemling majority of comments on the Mail's site are complementary about Mr Shayler's legs and I have to agree. I would never have recognised him from the tubby floppy haired public schoolboy we remember.

Jim

July 18th, 2009 1:17pm Report this comment

I think I'd be speechless if Gordon Brown became a transvestite. I wonder what name he'd choose?

I thought you lefties were supposed to be happy when somebody transforms, as Hannibal Lector might put it. Won't you be prosecuted by the Police for failing to support him, under the Diversity Act, Section 3, subsection a(1)?

Paul Stott

July 18th, 2009 8:12pm Report this comment

Some of us who have followed David Shayler's post MI5 career (and written upon it) were perhaps less easily taken in than Martin Bright.

This is after all a man who tried to eke out a career as a commentator on security matters, and had a rather unconvincing period as a civil libertarian and anti-war activist before turning again and becoming a 9/11 'truth' activist. His last act was a sort of poor man's David Icke, dressed all in white and waffling on about 'international bankers'.

To be honest, Delores is about as convincing as he was in any of the above roles. And probably less unpleasant.

JHill

July 18th, 2009 8:57pm Report this comment

Jim : as we are talking about the person who 'saved the world' how about

Gloria Mundi

Jim

July 18th, 2009 10:34pm Report this comment

@JHill,
Gloria Mundi sounds very good indeed. I've been rooting through my classics collection trying to come up with something better, alas, defeated, claim your prize.

Katie

July 19th, 2009 11:40am Report this comment

"I thought you lefties were supposed to be happy when somebody transforms, as Hannibal Lector might put it. "Won't you be prosecuted by the Police for failing to support him, under the Diversity Act, Section 3, subsection a(1)?""

No, Jim: 'lefties' don't care about us transfolk anymore than 'righties'. Ambitious political people only speak up for, and represent, those whom they think they can make political capital out of. If you're a *minority* of whom they have no use for then that translates to them as worthless currency.

Hence the reason why the government's Women & Equality Unit took the deliberate decision to exclude transgendered people from legal protection under their new 'Equality' Bill.

Calculating; but true. So, if you ever find yourself upset and feeling in need of a human punchbag then you can harass and discriminate against us as much as you like - because feminist-socialism NuLab style says it's all entirely legal to do so!

D. Black

July 20th, 2009 4:32pm Report this comment

Heard that many covert action blokes in the services underwent amnesia programmes before deployment to civilian life. Maybe it happened to him too? Meanwhile one bloke that avoided the process was an MI6 chap who went to America to have his story published, so as to avoid the OSA shenanigans here. I read the book NOC by Nicholas Anderson that I bought there this month and highly recommend Spectator readers try to obtain a copy. Anderson is the exact opposite of Shayler.

Dolores Kane

July 22nd, 2009 12:01pm Report this comment

Martin, you have failed to do that most basic of tasks required of any being with free will. Check it out for yourself. Why don't you come and talk to me rather than peddling ignorance?

I'm happy but you are sad for me. How condescending. Try looking into your own heart and examine your own truth.

It's sad to see a once-campaigning journalist doing bitchy columns in the right wing media.

The truth is if people had supported me properly ten years ago, then we wouldn't be in this mess.

And if you are bothered by a man in a frock rather than the murder and torture in the world, then you should probably be reading the Sun.

In the meantime, for those who want to check the situation for themselves:

http://www.tytingcommunityproject.org.uk/call-me-dolores/

Love and kisses
D