The abuse of Iraqi prisoners and others by Coalition troops: UK ministers’ failure to recognise that abuses by the Americans are a British concern, too; growing tendency of ministers to excuse their failures by claiming not to have been told about them, not an acceptable let-out. The beheading of an American in Baghdad. Spreading anti-Americanism in Europe: its causes, but a lamentable phenomenon.
In January 2004 I resigned from The Special Immigration Appeals Commission. This explains why.
The government’s supine refusal to ban hitting (“smacking”) children as part of the new legislation on child abuse, despite our obligation to do so under an international Convention which we have ratified.
A night at the Royal Festival Hall with Alistair Campbell: a colossal ego trip before an adoring audience, but a good night out.
Tony Blair’s Sedgefield speech: some of the issues of trust that arise from the Iraq war, not just issues of judgement; his erroneous claim that there is no provision in international law permitting pre-emptive use of force to deal with new kinds of indirect threats such as terrorism and WMD, and that changes in the UN and the Charter are needed for this purpose; some of the arguments for using force against Saddam were inherently sound but the US and UK failed to convince the Security Council of the need for immediate military action.
The mysterious case of the Attorney-General’s advice on the legality or otherwise of the Iraq war: did he change his mind and supply advice that appeared to legitimise what the government had already decided to do?