Madeleine McCann "suspect" sues the press big time!

Ever since a gabby journalist from the Sunday Mirror spoke out of turn during the early days of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, life has been intolerable for Robert Murat. He just happened to live in the same small town, but was fingered by the loose lips of a female reporter. She thought he was acting suspiciously, but just went on her feelings alone. Her words were taken up by all and sundry in the media. His house was turned upside down, his personal life dissected like a dead mouse on a clinician's table. Now he is suing Sky News, the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the World, Sun and the Scotsman. The biggest libel action for many moons.

Murat has been the subject of relentless speculation, much of it just questionable prurience. The only recourse in these instances is to sue for defamation damages. His Portuguese lawyer thinks, "After what was reported, it is very easy to understand this decision." Too true. One wonders what these media outlets are going to come up with in their defence.

Media lawyer and litigation expert Dan Tench, a partner at Olswang solicitors, described allegations made in the Portuguese press and repeated in British outlets as "a media feeding frenzy that at times paid little regard to the legal niceties". Legal niceties are way down on the list of the Murdoch Media and the likes of the porno-backed Daily Express!

Let's see how it all pans out!

TV host Mark Speight 'found dead'

The BBC reports that the body of a man, believed to be missing TV presenter Mark Speight, has been found in a remote area of London's Paddington station. A formal identification is yet to take place but will be confirmed on Monday. This is a tragedy indeed. He has been a familiar feature in our house with his programmes about painting, drawing and design. My children thought he was very clever.

Humanity has a terrible propensity for self-damage. In this case, Mark has been racked with guilt about the circumstances leading up to the death of his girlfiend. Because of these circumstances, he had been arrested arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying Class A drugs, subsequently being released without charge. Enough in themselves to cause a person to feel that they had no further place in society. He was not to blame, except that he blamed himself for introducing her to drugs.

That he needed drugs or felt unable to face his family and friends says something, I think, about how we are as a society. John Donne famously wrote the lines "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." What was true 400 years ago, is true today.

Father and son battle it out for voter sympathy

There have been many combinations of family electoral success in the UK. In the House of Commons we have husband and wife (Nicholas and Ann Winterton), brothers (David and Ed Miliband), sisters (Angela and Maria Eagle), and many more examples. In local council chambers, many husband and wife teams exist. However, what none of them have ever done is stand against each other in the same seat!

Wigan is going to be different this year. Tory councillor Richard Clayton is being challenged by his son, Richard Clayton Jnr, over his matrimonial behaviour. In this election Junior is standing as an Independent. He admits he is "partially" battling his dad as a protest against his father's conduct and says he is concerned about Coun Clayton's refusal to heed earlier pleas to stand down because of it. Well, adultery has never been a reason for being chucked out of office, even clerical office. Lying about it, ah, that's another matter.

The electors of Orrell Ward, Wigan, must be somewhat bemused. Similar name, same address, different parties. Definitely the odds are on a split vote.

Poole gets into a murky puddle!

Following on from the snooping by Poole Borough Council, the couple at the centre of the Starsi-like surveillance have broken cover, so to speak. They are, quite rightly, outraged by this. It would appear that most of the country is too.

However, the shameless John Nash (pictured), who is the council's Director of Children's Services says, "We believe we act responsibly, in the best interests of people who live in Poole, using these powers. We do not believe we are MI5 or Rebus or James Bond or anyone else. We try to do it responsibly and we believe we have taken appropriate action, given the information that was passed to us." If he thinks for one minute that TWO WEEKS of stalking, spying, and generally acting like minions in a police state is "acting responsibly", then he must be a very silly man indeed. Or possibly warped? How would he like a newspaper to get a journalist to follow his every move for two weeks? I'm not suggesting that would be a good idea either, but it is something that people dislike and he may dislike it too.

Mr. Nash could have asked this couple straight away what was happening. He chose not to. That put's him in the creepy closet of New Labour apparatchiks. Blair insisted that this new law would not be abused, but then he has always been a man for whom the truth was something akin to believing in fairies. It is a calamity that the Tory and Liberal Democrat leaderships seem totally silent on this. Poole Council is Tory controlled. What a shower, calling themselves Conservatives!

My question is this. Is Mr. Nash a suitable person to be in charge of children's services? Maybe a visit to China could persuade him to change his ways!

Delta and North West to merge

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are to merge, but they will keep their respective brand names. The HQ for Delta will remain in Atlanta and their pilots will be given a raise in pay and they would get an equity stake in the combined airline. Together the two airlines would become the largest in the world. Whether the Northwest brand will be around in ten years, I do not know. However, I would think it highly likely that Delta will probably go for a more international American style logo, and eventually drop the Northwest bit. After all, it isn't like Air France and KLM, where national identity is important to each carrier in that merged venture.

An analyst said, "It always made strategic, long-term sense for these companies. With oil at $110 per barrel and the weakening economy, Delta probably got to the point where they felt like they needed to move ahead.'' And such a move would not stifle competition on the Transatlantic routes, so the fare paying passengers will not suffer from the deal.

George Orwell's 1984 alive in Poole, Dorset!

Under the New Labour fright regime, spying on innocent people is a functioning aspect of our lives. The council in Poole, Dorset have taken advantage of the anti-terror laws brought in by the Blair part of this disgraceful government. Poole Borough Council has disclosed that it had legitimately used the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to spy on a family. This family had be "shopped" to the council by an unknown person. For two weeks the middle-class family was followed by council officials who wanted to establish whether they had given a false address within the catchment area of an oversubscribed school to secure a place for their three-year-old.

The investigators were too dim to find this out in less than TWO WEEKS! I think it monstrous that anybody in Poole BC thinks that applying such terror tactics is something to be tolerated in Britain today. Mike White is the Cabinet member for education. He boldly promotes this on the council website. "I feel 35 years business background gives me something to offer. I enjoy getting things done and giving something back to the community." Surely he doesn't mean signing up to the horrors of the New Labour fright regime? This man is a Conservative. I cannot believe he was not told of such action by his officials. It is almost unprecedented to use the terror laws to spy on people in this way. He could have found out by merely asking the people involved. A few quick checks would have either rumbled them or found them to be innocent, which in fact they were! Shame on you, Mr. White (or should you now be Mr. Off White?).

According to the Daily Telegraph, the "spies" made copious notes on the movements of the mother and her three children, who they referred to as "targets" as they were trailed on school runs. The snoopers even watched the family home at night to establish where they were sleeping. I am totally opposed to spin and deceit from politicians and totally opposed to draconian laws in a free democracy. This was OTT big time!

The mother at the centre of this spying said,"I'm incensed that legislation designed to combat terrorism can be turned on a three-year-old. It was very creepy when we found out that people had been watching us and making notes. Councils should be protecting children, not spying on them." Exactly!

Poole Borough Council - get your act together, for goodness sake! You are Conservative controlled, but that does NOT mean you control people. This is a very un-Conservative piece of 1984-style control freakery!

Gordon Brown "does God" on American Idol!

Gordon Brown has gone to some tele-evangelist's grooming school! I've just seen him all made up like some Hollywood wannabee, appearing on the American Idol talent show. He promised to buy 20 million mosquito nets for malaria-hit countries. Sounds good, but the presentation, well.......

See the Gordon Brown "God Bless You All" Video here!