The Green Ribbon

Irish coalition Government in danger of collapse

Politics.ie is reporting that the Irish Government is set to fall over the details of Bertie Ahern's financial affairs leaked from the Mahon Tribunal. Slugger has also picked up the story.

Gardai: British colluded with Glennane gang

Today's Irish Independent has another story on the latest Dublin hearings on the Barron report:

SENIOR gardai investigating the Dundalk bombing feared collusion existed between British security forces and loyalist terrorists suspected of a spate of cross-border bombings in the '70s.

But their concerns never went beyond garda headquarters, an Oireachtas committee was told yesterday. (Irish Independent - Free Reg required)

For more on the Glennane Gang see this page at the Pat Finucane Centre website.

Update: The first day's hearings are now on the Oireachtas website.

Dublin hearings: British officer led Miami Showband bombers

The Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) began a round of hearings yesterday on a series of loyalist bombings from the mid-1970s. The Irish Times has a useful report:

Survivor had no doubt checkpoint officer British

John Downes

A member of the Miami Showband who was injured in an attack which killed three of his bandmates in 1975 yesterday said it is his belief that checkpoint at which his band's minibus was stopped was commanded by a British army officer.

Stephen Travers was speaking at a subcommittee of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which is holding public hearings into loyalist bombings during the 1970s. Among the other murders about which the subcommittee heard evidence yesterday were bombings in Dundalk, Dublin Airport and the O'Dowd and Reavey shootings.

MOD denies De Menezes Freedom of Information request

I mentioned last month that I had sent a Freedom of Information Request to the MOD about the Army's role in the Jean Charles De Menezes case.

The MOD has now replied refusing to answer any of the questions I asked. One of the exemptions relied on by the MOD, 44(2) looks as if it might be related to contempt of court, presumably a reference to the current proceedings against the Metropolitan Police. One would hope that case will produce some of the answers I was looking for.

I expected the court case would affect the reply (especially questions 4,5 and 6 below), but from looking at the other exemptions mentioned it seems pretty clear that the Freedom of Information Act excludes the kind of questions I wanted to ask pretty comprehensively.

I have nevertheless set out the substantive part of the reply below, as an indication of the kind of questions to which we are not allowed an answer. The lack of an answer to questions 1,2 and 3 especially, is perhaps an indication of the lack of accountability of some elements of the state for their role in events which led to the death of an innocent man.

Note: I'm indebted to SpyBlog for the inspiration for questions 7,8 and 9.
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ST: Brown wants a written constitution

It looks like the Brown camp has been briefing the Sunday Times on their man's support for a written constitution, something which first emerged back in January.

As I said then, it's a very welcome idea, but one which raises a number of questions:

Firstly, will it simply codify the existing supremacy of the Crown in Parliament, or will it vest sovereignty in the people?

Secondly, will a written document make it more difficult to finesse the anomaly of Scottish MPs voting on English laws, with all that implies for Brown's own position? (A Brown Manifesto)

Naval build-up in the Gulf

The Nation has a useful round-up of the debate about a possible attack on Iran, along with some disquieting news about US naval movements. Essential reading.

recent ship movements and other signs of military preparedness could be simply a bluff designed to show toughness in the bargaining with Iran over its nuclear program. But with the Iranian coast reportedly armed to the teeth with Chinese Silkworm antiship missiles, and possibly even more sophisticated Russian antiship weapons, against which the Navy has little reliable defenses, it seems unlikely the Navy would risk high-value assets like aircraft carriers or cruisers with such a tactic. Nor has bluffing been a Bush MO to date. (The Nation)

Essentially, the debate boils down to this: could they really be that stupid? Unfortunately, they've got form.

Gordon Brown and the peace process

Few commentators on the peace process are watched more closely than Irish Times writer and former Ulster Unionist General Secretary Frank Millar.

His latest piece, picked up by Slugger and Nuzhound, deals with a question exercising many minds in Ireland at the moment: Gordon Brown's approach to the issue.

Nigel Wylde questions airline bomb plot

I was one of the many people who had their flights cancelled as a result of last month's airline bomb plot, in my case missing a friend's wedding in Sweden along with many of the other guests.

Of course, that would be a minor inconvenience if there were any substance to the plot. I was sceptical at the time, but decided to wait and see what emerged rather than speculating.

It's now clear that there are significant doubts over the feasibility of the plot as originally reported:

US and British counterterrorism officials claimed the men, the majority British Muslims of Pakistani descent, were going to disguise liquid explosive as bottles of soft drink and carry them in their hand luggage on to US-bound planes leaving British airports.

When the jets were in midair over American cities, they planned to combine the explosives and detonate them using an electric charge from an iPod, the security services believe. BA flights were among the targets. US officials said the bombers had been seeking to hit New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles. Other airlines targeted were thought to be United, American and Continental. (Guardian, 11 August)

Green Ribbon makes Iain Dale blog guide

There's been a bit of a hiatus here at the Green Ribbon as I have been in Dublin for the last few days.

It looks like I will have to be get back up to speed though, as I have been included in Iain Dale's Guide to Political Blogging in the UK which is being distributed at the party conferences. I made it in at number 52 on the list of non-aligned blogs.

Although the guide is quite an extensive and balanced list, there are some notable omissions, which have excited plenty of debate around the blogosphere.

GB's moment of truth - four scenarios

With the Labour leadership in transition, and a Scottish election due in May, this is a moment of profound uncertainty in British politics. Much may depend on whether the leadership is resolved before or after the election, but it seems to me that there are four major ways in which the situation could work itself out:

1 The Scottish Raj
Gordon Brown is Prime Minister. Jack McConnell is First Minister.

Until recently, this looked like the most likely scenario, and it is still the one that most of the Labour Party will be banking on. A Brown premiership will mean more prominence for the West Lothian Question, especially from David Cameron's Conservatives. Brown may try to neutralise the issue by altering the Barnett spending formula, but it could still feature at the next Westminster election.