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Friday, February 23, 2007

Iraq

A very important and well informed debate took place yesterday on Iraq. It was initiated by Lord Hurd who was Foreign Secretary at the time of Bosnia.

I was one of the MP's calling for intervention to stop the slaughter in Bosnia - Douglas Hurd was opposed to intervention. Our failure to intervene led to the creation of some of the extremist groups that trouble us now. Many of them felt that if Europe wouldn't intervene to stop the slaughter then what hope did Muslims have if they didn't organise and fight for themselves. I don't agree with it but you can see why they liken their position to that of the Jews in Europe in the 1930's.

That is why I think the question of intervention will be with us for some time. Iraq will not be the last difficult case.

Most of yesterdays contributions are worth reading if you have the time and interest.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70222-0009.htm

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Council of Europe. State immunity

The Council of Europe had suggested setting up a committee to look at state immunity, air transport (in this context it's about extraordinary rendition) and accountability of the security services.

Although some issues are not covered in other treaties or in domestic law the idea of a committee of 46 people agreeing for all the members of the Council seems an unlikely way of achieving consensus.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70220-0001.htm#07022051000008

Mental Health Bill

The Mental Health Bill returned to the floor of the House on Monday. There were a number of amendments that I spoke on. They can be followed on the links below.

There was an attempt to put some key principles on the face of the Bill. For example, that no sexual discrimination should take place when admitting a patient. At one level there is no harm in this and I believe it is done in some countries but as we already have anti discrimination legislation it would be unlawful in any event. I take the view that it is better to remind staff by codes of practice rather than principles written into the Bill because very few professional will actually read Acts of Parliament whereas they do read guidance.

There was also the question of whether the likely commission of criminal offences should ever be used as a reason to detain a person in hospital. Again it would be illegal to do that if there was no mental health reason but the complexity of these cases can be shown by the example I gave where a Jewish woman who had survived the Nazi death camps then started shop lifting on an almost daily basis much later in her life. It was (in my view) a response to the guilt of surviving. Because she wasn't admitted to hospital she ended up in prison. So compulsive behaviour that is also criminal can be a reason for detention in hospital but it isn't an easy issue.

The other issue was this problem of personality disorders not being treated because they are seen as being too difficult or "untreatable". So the doctors lobby was trying to keep in a requirement of therapeutic benefit which in practice acts as a way of excluding patients. They disagree. Read the debate and decide for yourself.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70219-0003.htm

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70219-0006.htm

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70219-0008.htm

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Children in Britain

The UN report on children sounds interesting. Yesterday I witnessed what I think is part of the problem and it involves adults going "AWOL" as one commentator said on Newsnight last night.

I was running for the tube at Barons Court and a group of about 10 young teenagers (roughly age 15) were crowding the doors of the first carriage, shouting and blocking the entrance. There were dozens of adults on the tube and outside but no body intervened.

I think adults in other European countries would have intervened. When I have intervened in the past I have noticed other people either burying their heads in newspapers or looking on approvingly but not offering any support. Sometimes I have felt slightly embarrassed about intervening although in retrospect I think I was right to do so.

It seems to me that failure by adults to intervene and check behaviour comes from a fear of being assaulted or fear of being accused of assaulting the youngster, combined with simple embarrassment.

So a combination of poor parenting and social anxiety by other adults to get involved in disciplining other peoples children means we have youngsters unsure about the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. I do think this is a major part of our problem in Britain and it is not an easy one to tackle.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Road pricing and the Today programme

I am normally a fan of James Naughtie of the Today programme but I found his comment about the road pricing petition on the Downing Street web site both offensive and silly - very unusual for Jim Naughtie.

The web site should be encouraged but which party official or civil servant or Minister is going to put their head above the parapet if the media reaction is of the "Yah Boo" type? That is particularly true if they hear themselves referred to as a "Pratt" on the Today programme. That is not want I want to hear from a presenter and crosses the boundary between news and opinion.

What the media should do is give the leaders of that petition an opportunity to state their case and put others up to offer an alternative view. I suspect that there are as many people who would sign a petition calling for greater environmental control of vehicle movements as there are who sign the current anti road charging one.

I would like to hear that debate.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Bird flu and Bernard Mathews

Am I alone in thinking that the media is going over the top on this story? No one has died. No one is ill. The situation seems to be under control so why the panic?

I know bird flu has to be taken seriously but it is not a new disease and I really don't think earlier generations would have gone into panic mode as seems to be happening now. Of course questions must be asked and lessons learned but perhaps it is the sign of a very comfortable west European life style that has us running round like (wait for it!) headless chickens when a turkey dies!

My best take on this was the cartoon showing a turkey facing a slaughter man and the bird saying: "but there's another 11 months to Christmas"! Thank heaven someone kept a sense of humour and proportion.

David Cameron and drugs

Do I detect an element of sanity creeping in about drug use and public figures? I really don't care if David Cameron used drugs at school and I certainly wouldn't make my political judgments on it. Can the media now recognise that these stories don't do anything to advance political debate? The rest of us seem to recognise it.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Ernest Young Liberal candidate 1918 General Election

Stephen Frost has asked me if I have any knowledge of the Liberal candidate for Hammersmith in the 1918 General Election. I don't. Hammersmith Library might but if anyone reading this blog has any knowledge,please post it here and Stephen Frost can follow it up.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Gay adoption

The debate on gay adoption rumbles on. Lord Renton raised the issue and I felt it important to put on record the importance of the quality of relationships and the principle of putting the child's needs first.

I also raised the question of existing practice by the Catholic Church. I refer in my question (follow link below) to the fact that same sex couples have been approved for adoption over many years. Usually this happened when the child had an existing good relationship with a gay couple or where a heterosexual couple broke up and one partner formed a relationship with another of the same sex. There are other examples too.

So what was the Catholic Church doing in such cases? Were they refusing to act? Or deciding on conscious instead of the child's best interests? I would like an answer to these questions.

Finally I have no problem with allowing the Church or other agencies time to bring themselves within the law. 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70131-0002.htm#07013187000007