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Saturday, December 30, 2006

Saddam Hussein

There is an excellent obituary by David Hirst in the Guardian today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1980293,00.html

It sums up for me all the problems we face not just in the Middle East but in the origin and background of such dictators. Hirst draws the parallel with Stalin and the picture of Saddam seems to echo that.

There is the individual psychology, the social circumstances, the political history of the area - everything you need to create the personality and the political environment leading to despotism and brutality.

We have many such breeding grounds for people like Saddam in the world today and still no effective way of dealing with them.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Responses. murder, the media and Christmas!

Fine Dan. You opt out of the NHS system as is your proper right but don't blame me if in an emergency you don't get the right treatment quickly enough because they have to ask permission to get your record when your unconscious!

DNA. Any state system of collecting information is always a balance between the usefulness of the information to the individual (see above) and to society and those aspects have to be set against any dangers to overall freedom. As I have already said collection of DNA seems to me to be fairly easily justified.

The advantages are :

1. A very useful way of avoiding some of the wrongful convictions we have seen in the past:

2. A strong deterrent for crimes of extreme violence especially rape and murder:

3. A way of increasing the speed at which an offender can be caught - think how many murders and rape cases in the past could have been cleared up quickly before further offences could be committed.

My preference is for it to be voluntary partly because it does stop the current drift into a data base without consent and partly because I think it will prove its usefulness over time.

Ipswich murders. I agree that some of the coverage by the media of the Ipswich murders does risk a fair trial. I was pleased that the Attorney General gave the warning he did a few days ago.

While I'm talking about the media I heard a broadcast today condemning the use of the term "happy holiday" instead of "happy Christmas". But has anyone heard shops using this term? I haven't and I live in a very ethnically diverse area. So is it all the vivid imagination of the tabloids again?

A happy Xmas and New Year to everyone - from a born again Druid anxious to celebrate the winter and summer solstice!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Privacy and the Press

The Information Commissioner who acts to protect people's privacy has just issued another report calling for tougher sentences to be used against those guilty of invading privacy without a public interest defence. The press is one of the main offenders and the Daily Mail came top in breaches of the Data Protection Act with nearly 1000 attempts to eavesdrop on phone calls or collect information in other illicit ways. The Daily Mirror and People were close behind. Link here for the report:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/about_us/news_and_views/current_topics/what_price_privacy_now.aspx

I issued a press release and wrote to three editors and the Press Complaints Commission saying the papers concerned should tell the victims of their eavesdropping that they had been targeted and offering an apology. Read below for the press release and the letter to the PCC. I await answer with baited breath!

Letter to the Press Complaints Commission: (Chairman, Sir Christopher Meyer)

     Information Commissioner’s Report: What Price Privacy Now?

                           

Following the Information Commissioners report “What Price Privacy Now” I am writing to ask if you intend to make a strong public statement calling on the relevant editors to inform the people on whom they have collected information that they have been targeted in this way?

I know there will be a small number of cases where intrusion of privacy can be justified by a strong public interest defence such as the exposure of serious criminal activity. That however, will only be a small minority of cases and cannot conceivably justify the mass intrusion practised by some of these papers.

I intend to raise this issue in the House of Lords at the earliest opportunity so it would be helpful to know whether you intend to tell editors that these practices are totally unacceptable unless justified by a strong public interest defence and to confirm that the individuals targeted in this way should be informed as soon as possible.

I need hardly tell you that this is a serious breach of the code. It has been common knowledge that activities like this have been taking place over many years. Can I suggest that if you want the PCC to be seen as an effective regulator then you do need to ensure your voice is heard by the wider public and to be seen on the side of the victims and not the perpetrators.

I look forward to an early reply.

Yours sincerely,

Lord Soley of Hammersmith.

                               -------------------------------------

Press release:

                                       

14^th December 2006

 

                                       PRESS RELEASE

                    LORD SOLEY OF HAMMERSMITH

                            EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE

     Information Commissioner’s Report: What Price Privacy Now?

                           

Lord Soley is to write to editors saying they have a duty to inform individuals who have been targeted by newspapers to collect information on them by illegal means.

The report compiled by the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, shows that information is collected by certain media groups and titles by illegal means and that this procedure has not been justified by a proper public interest defence.

Lord Soley said: “This report will not come as a surprise to those who have been targeted for personal information by the press. The people who have been victims of these deceptions have a right to know and the publications concerned should immediately inform them and apologise. The only exceptions should be that relatively small number of cases where there really is a strong public interest such as involvement in serious crime.”

Lord Soley said he was going to raise the issue in Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

Lord Soley said: “I am also writing to some of the editors with the worst record in these cases to ask them if they will tell the individuals concerned and I will also be writing to the Press Complaints Commission to ask them to make a strong public statement condemning the practice and to advise the editors that they have a duty to inform the victims.”

Clive Soley.

Lord Soley of Hammersmith.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Regional Government

I had to intervene on this question when a Lord claimed we were one of the most over governed countries. Although I accept and have argued for many years, that we ought to have an elected Parliament of around 450 instead of the present (approximately) 660 I do not accept that we are over governed compared to other countries. When considering over government you have to look at regions and local government as well as central government. Hence the following exchange:

Lord Soley: My Lords, will my noble friend reassure me that she will not be led astray by claims that we are over-governed in this country? In fact, we compare very favourably with most other developed countries. The real problem in Britain is that, because we do not have a regional government structure, we are unable to get through some of the major infrastructure developments, such as those in housing, which are managed much better in continental Europe. I accept that at the moment people are not ready to have elected regional structures—although, in my view, they would be better for the country—but it is very important that we do not go on with a system that does not allow us to develop on a regional basis in the way that has been done in continental Europe. That is why we get left behind on many public sector infrastructure issues.

Baroness Andrews: My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right. Let us take examples of regional disparities that already exist: the north-east has a70 per cent employment rate, whereas in the south-east it is 78 per cent; in terms of skills, in the north-east, 26 per cent of the working-age population have NVQ level 4 qualifications, whereas in London the figure is 40 per cent. We are still looking at the situation and we have to address regional disparities. Because we have a triangular system of government offices, regional development organisations and regional assemblies, in recent years we have been able to see a significant reduction in those disparities, so we are moving in the right direction. That is not over-government; it is ensuring that labour market failures are tackled at the right level.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61214-0001.htm

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Child Support Agency

I put in a plug for absent parents in dispute over support payments being able to pay into child trust bonds (more commonly known as baby bonds). this was during the government statement on the reform of the Child Support Agency.

Lord Soley: My Lords, I welcome the greater emphasis on the voluntary arrangement, which is always better than the state trying to come to a conclusion with parents. Will my noble friend look at the small number of cases where a voluntary agreement cannot be made and the court makes an agreement, but where one—usually the absent—parent will not pay anything because they believe, rightly or wrongly, or with good or bad reason, that the money will not be used for the children? I have argued for some time that, in that small number of cases, there is a case for putting some of the money into child trust funds or baby bonds. It is then much more difficult for the absent parent to claim that the money is not for the benefit of the children. I am not talking about a large number of people, but these are often some of the most difficult cases. That would give the degree of flexibility which we are looking for and which reflects, I think, the general approach on what was previously an inflexible and undesirable system.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My Lords, my noble friend makes an interesting suggestion. He certainly identifies some of the ever-present tensions between the parent with care and the non-resident parent. However, the kind of area that he mentions is probably more relevant to a voluntary agreement. The advice and guidance that must be developed to encourage parents down the private agreement route need to be taken into account. Once it is clear that an agreement has not been reached and the parent with care approaches C-MEC, it will have to apply the formula as set out in legislation. The incentives to encourage private agreements, however, may allow for some recognition of the factors that he has raised.

For full question and answer session follow this link:

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61213-0002.htm#06121374000011

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

DNA data base

The question of DNA came up on Monday 11th December.

The full extent of the murders in Suffolk were just becoming clear. I think it emphasis's my point that a DNA data base would be very useful and could be an effective deterrent as well as helping to clear victims of wrongful convictions.

To see the full question and answer session go to the House of Lords Hansard questions on Monday the 12th December. My linking mechanism has gone on strike since Google changed their lay out!

My question was:

Lord Soley: My Lords, would not a lot of these problems come into perspective if we encouraged everyone to go on to a voluntary DNA database? It is hard to know why it is such a disadvantage. Anyone who wants my DNA is welcome to have it; I do not have a problem with that. More importantly, it works as a very effective deterrent to people who are thinking of committing violent offences, including rape, because they know that they will be caught if they do so. I am never quite clear why people are so opposed to this.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal:My Lords, my noble friend makes a very powerful point. The DNA database has been very successful in clearing people as well as in identifying them, so it can act both as a shield and as a sword. There have been over 292,000 crime-scene profiles from unsolved crimes on the database, and we have been able to match almost 300,000 crime scenes to persons between 1998 and 2005-06; so it is a very powerful tool to identify accurately those who have committed offences.

Monday, December 11, 2006

God and the family

Margaret Drabble puts a nice point on my entry about Richard Dawkin's book. She thinks that teaching biology helps people understand the beauty of living organisms. I think she is right but I know some people who find it difficult to see beauty in wee beasties climbing up the bedroom wall! Or, for that matter, in any animal that is cut open unless we are talking cooked turkeys at Christmas! See response by: Margarte Hartley Drabble posted on 23.9.06 to my God entry.

And this is the day for another God spot! What justification can the Muslim News have for saying they would publish my article on the debate within Islam and and repeating that statement when they didn't publish it in October and still not publishing it. For those who want to read it go to the post on 29.9.06 headed Muslim News.

I was talking to some Muslim friends last night and they acknowledge the need for a debate about Islam and the role of Church and state and most of my Muslim friend and contacts agree. What is the Muslim News afraid of?

Final God spot. David Cameron has welcomed the report by Iain Duncan Smith MP calling for more support for marriage. I Acknowledge the statistics that show separated families have greater problems then ones where there are stable relationships. I just can't make the leap of faith that requires me to believe that getting married solves the problems of instability.

This type of approach usually ends with unmarried mothers being punished by losing various forms of support and that in my view is counter productive.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Responses

A few very quick responses.

Phil Hunt. There are sound recordings but it can still be hard to hear slight differences. I believe you can get visual/sound recordings from the House but I will try and remember to check. You can also check by calling 0207 219 3000 and asking for public inquiries or the Library.

Dan. I was never a CND man and I do support the continuation of the British nuclear programme.

Dave Collins. I think you are right about the pressure groups and Greenpeace, I stopped supporting the latter over the Brent Spa issue because I thought they were (and still are) too inclined to be anti science.

Dan. Somaliland and Balkanisation. My concern would be that if Africa breaks into ever smaller states it will be Balkanised. Balkinisation in this sense is about splintering into many smaller units.

Middle East and Afghanistan debate

There was a very good debate in the Lords on Tuesday 5th December. I concentrated my remarks on Iraq and the Israel/Palestine dispute. I also raised the need to talk to all groups and I was pleased to see that yesterday's Baker report in the US was also saying that wider diplomacy was needed.

I referred to the Arab-Jewish Forum and the possible influence of the Arab and Jewish diaspora. Unfortunately I didn't pick up a slight mistake in Hansard where they refer to me saying "Arab Jew" rather than "Arabs and Jews" And at another point it should  have been "Arab or a Jew". I shall try and get this corrected in the bound volumes if I am not too late.

Hansard is very good but as I almost always speak without notes and they can't check it against any written material. Tough on the shorthand writers!

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61205-0008.htm

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Select Committee on International Organisations

For my fourth and final contribution to proceedings on the floor of the House this week I spoke briefly on the Third Report of the Liaison Committee. You may need to scroll down to Lord Brabazon's introduction before you see his reference to me and my response.

The Liaison Committee which decides what new committees should be set up had appointed one on the media. This meant I couldn't immediately get the one I wanted on international organisations like the UN, the World Bank and the IMF.

The prospects look good though and I anticipate having a committee like this set up probably in the Summer/Autumn next year. This will allow Parliamentary scrutiny of our role in these organisations.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61129-0002.htm#061129102000013

Parenting and Young Offenders

As the Lords does not have a Speaker who calls Peers in turn we all have to scrabble to be heard. Unintentionally I pushed Baroness Howe out but she got back in later!

The issue was young offenders and I was anxious to draw attention to the parenting link and to the Governments recent announcements on assistance for parents.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61129-0001.htm#061129102000005

Middle East and US policy

Just to confuse matters I got in twice here but it's on the same link. My last entry referred to the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes. While this one refers to British influence on the US and Middle East policy.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61128-0001.htm#06112884000007

UN Peacebuilding Commission

The following question on the United Nations gave an airing to the new Peacebuilding Commission. I used it to raise the problem of the UN General Assembly being full of good intentions but hardly ever willing the means to deal with some of the international crises that we face from time to time.

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/61128-0001.htm#06112884000007