Dunedin Napier News (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
By Meghan Brown The 80th anniversary of penicillin being discovered, is being celebrated today in Alexander Fleming’s birth place of Darvel, East Ayrshire. Des Browne, MP for Kilmarnock and Loudon, has organised the event to commemorate Fleming’s medical work and his discovery, which has led to millions of lives being saved. Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881- 11 March 1955) was [...]
Jess The Dog (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Plenty of smoke around at the moment, following the initial complaint of Mrs Janes, the subsequent telephone call from Brown, the publishing of the transcript of Brown’s conversation and the press conference yesterday. The letter is below the standard expected, because of mis-spelling and an apparent over-written error, but Brown was doing the right thing in sending it. Some have speculated that...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Pressure is growing within Nato for the removal of the remaining US nuclear weapons on European soil, and for a new doctrine for the alliance that would depend less on nuclear deterrence. The initiative is being driven by the new German government coalition, which has called for the removal of American nuclear weapons on its territory as part of a Nato strategic rethink. The German foreign minister,...
Times Online (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009
What is the point of the Bar? As several hundred barristers meet in London this Saturday for their annual conference, it is a question they — as well as the public — might well ask. In the present recession their profession looks like becoming an enclave for the rich, both for those joining it and those using its services.
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
Senior politicans and former defence chiefs form Top Level group to promote cause of nuclear disarmament A cross-party group of senior politicans joined former defence chiefs today to promote the cause of nuclear disarmament, an issue they described as critical but too often ignored. They launched the Top Level group of parliamentarians, including former foreign and defence secretaries from both main...
Labourlist (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 On Septmeber 2, 2006, 14 servicemen died in Afghanistan on an RAF Nimrod. The results of the inquiry into that tragedy, released yesterday, reveal that the MoD is largely culpable. The report describes a: "PowerPoint culture in government that glosses over hard questions and detailed evidence, and sacrifices safety to incompotence, sloppiness, complacency and cynism."...
Military Police Association - Isle of Man Sub Group (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
Following yesterday's publication of a review into the loss of Nimrod aircraft XV230, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has apologised for mistakes and stated what work has been done to ensure confidence in the safety of the Nimrod today. Nimrod aircraft XV230 crashed in Afghanistan on 2 September 2006, resulting in the tragic loss of the lives of 14 members of the Armed Forces. On 4 December 2007, the...
EU Referendum (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009
Predictably, the media are giving heavy coverage to the "Nimrod Review" into the wider issues surrounding the loss of Nimrod XV230 in Afghanistan on 2 September 2006, commissioned by former defence secretary Des Browne on 13 December 2007, and delivered yesterday by Charles Haddon-Cave QC. The piece by Michael Evans, in The Times is, for instance, headed: "Nimrod report is most devastating...
The Observer (Free subscription) | 28/10/2009
• MoD sacrificed safety to cut costs, inquiry says • BAE and QinetiQ 'failed to carry out work properly' On 2 September 2006, RAF Nimrod XV230, with 14 crew members on board, was on a routine reconnaissance mission over Helmand province in Afghanistan, looking out for insurgents. It crashed shortly after a catastrophic fire broke out on board when it had been refuelled in mid-air. Faced...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 28/10/2009
Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth says government 'failed' 14 casualties of spy plane explosion in Afghanistan in 2006 The defence secretary told the Commons today a review into an RAF Nimrod spy plane crash that killed 14 British service personnel in Afghanistan three years ago has found that the incident was "preventable". Bob Ainsworth admitted that the government had "failed"...
Radio 4 - Today (Free subscription) | 28/10/2009
On 2 September 2006 an RAF Nimrod aircraft exploded in the air over Afghanistan due to a fuel leak. All 14 servicemen on board were killed. A coroner's inquest called for the entire fleet to be grounded. The then defence secretary, Des Browne, apologised for failings on the part of the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force and set up an independent review to be headed by Charles Haddon-Cave QC,...
Enemies of the People (Free subscription) | 24/10/2009
The ‘Big Brother’ culture is on the march across Britain, allowing the state to snoop on phone calls, emails and even walking the dog, the country’s top barrister, Desmond Browne QC, has warned. All of these day-to-to-day activities were “at the mercy… of the gradual construction by successive UK governments of one of the most extensive [...]
Stephen's Linlithgow Journal (Free subscription) | 22/10/2009
One of the most cited reasons from the Labour benches in yesterday's Climate Change (Political Response) debate was how well the Government had done since 1990. Indeed the Minister Joan Ruddock said : "Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have reduced by 18 per cent., or 21 per cent. if we add in the reductions made through the European Union emissions trading scheme, but we are in...
John Rentoul (Free subscription) | 15/10/2009
It is hard work defending Tony Blair and thankless. But there are some things that just have to be done. First, we should note Matthew Parris in The Times , who tells of how he bumped into the finest peace-time thing on his way out of Westminster Cathedral yesterday, where he, Parris, had been to mock the pilgrims venerating a casket of alleged bones. Is Blair a Catholic? Does Blair go to church? Whether...
Whitehall 1212 (Free subscription) | 14/10/2009
Over the course of yesterday we were able to contact about 30 out of the 59 Scottish MPs to find out what Sir Thomas Legg had asked of them and to gauge their response. The list is reproduced below but bear in mind this is only about half of the Scottish cohort and that one or two were not willing to discuss details until they had responded to Sir Thomas. Danny Alexander, LD, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch...
Videos