"Not me Gov!" Brown tells reporter

Gordon Brown is taking two prizes at once. Not that the prize giving is very worthy. His latest wheeze is to tell all reporters and commentators that "everyone knows that this crisis started in America and..." and he goes on to explain how well he and his Chancellor have done in clearing up the mess. That is porky number one. He tries to come across as a genial janitor who has to contend with sorting out the rubbish left after others have been enjoying themselves recklessly.

I mentioned Brown's body language in a previous post. His new habit of engratiating himself with a two-second grin in the middle of a serious discussion fools nobody, I think. We all know he was Chancellor for ten years. Unless he stuffed cotton wool in his ears, he must have heard noises about the level of indebtedness, the peculiar mortgage models being peddled by the likes of Northern Rock, and the obscenely large bonuses paid to rough and ready gamblers. If he didn't, then we must assume he was utterly derelict in his duty to enquire and to lead with honour.

The second prize is for political amnesia. What possessed him to bring back the odious Mandelson beggars belief. Mandelson is a creep with a very dubious disposition. He appears to be a man who can charm and cajole at the same time. Brown was probably convincing himself that Mandelson would save him from doom. As it happens, Mandelson is up to his neck in controversy (nothing new there!) and Brown is ploughing his own furrow through the financial field. So it all begs the question, "Why bring him back anyway?".

Gordon Brown should have have come clean from the start. His FSA, Bank of England and Treasury tripartite arrangement failed to keep abreast of things. By suggesting that he has solved problems as they happened is fanciful. We have a recession on our hands. All he has got now is a loose cannon and a very bad scriptwriter. He must get rid of the loose cannon and replace his "everyone knows" routine with his own words based on...............

HONESTY AND TRUTH!!