The Green Ribbon

Collusion with loyalists was 'widespread' - Oireachtas committee

From RTE:

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said it is 'absolutely essential' that the British Government examine the findings of reports into collusion, and that it fully co-operates with all investigations into the serious issues that have arisen.

In a statement issued after the publication of an Oireachtas Committee report, he said its findings regarding collusion were 'deeply troubling and a matter of most serious concern', and painted 'a very disturbing picture'.

From the Pat Finucane Centre:

PFC researcher Alan Brecknell, whose father died in one of the gun/bomb attacks carried out by members of a UVF/RUC/UDR gang based at Glenanne in South Armagh, welcomed the report and called on the Northern Secretary of State to "release the documents which to date have been withheld from the Irish Government, NGOs and families. It's time to come clean on the links between the northern security forces and loyalist paramilitaries."    

The full text of the report is available here as a PDF file.

Call to ban Aegis from Foreign Office contracts

The Foreign Office today awarded a £30 million contract for security in Afghanistan to Armorgroup International.

The decision not to award the contract to Tim Spicer's Aegis was welcomed by the family of Peter McBride, who was shot dead by soldiers under Spicer's command in Belfast in 1992.

However, in a letter to the Foreign Office on behalf of Peter's mother, Jean McBride, the Pat Finucane Centre has protested at the decision to allow Aegis to tender for the contract, and said that it will seek a judicial review if the company remains on the list of approved bidders.

The Centre issued the following statement this afternoon: 

Blair promises consultation on Freedom of Information restrictions

The Campaign for Freedom of Information issued a formal response to the Government's proposed new restrictions on the FOI act on Monday.

In a letter to ministers published today, Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said: "We are particularly alarmed at the speed with which the proposals appear to be moving towards implementation ... there is no reason why the issue should be dealt with in such haste." (Guardian)

It looks like there has since been some movement over the original plan to go ahead without any formal consultation:

Speaking at the Newspaper Conference Annual Lunch, for regional press political editors and their guests, Tony Blair said: "We will certainly consult you and others very widely on it." (HoldThe FrontPage.co.uk)

Momentum still building for Scottish independence

I have long believed that the union is a break on democracy in each of its component nations, so I was delighted by the poll in the Sunday Telegraph the other day:

A clear majority of people in both England and Scotland are in favour of full independence for Scotland, an ICM opinion poll for The Sunday Telegraph has found. Independence is backed by 52 per cent of Scots while an astonishing 59 per cent of English voters want Scotland to go it alone. (Sunday Telegraph)

There was more good news from the SNP in an ICM poll for today's Scotsman:

If the results were carried through to next May, Mr Salmond would be able to form an SNP-Liberal Democrat administration at Holyrood without needing any help from the Greens.

And with Labour and the Liberal Democrats failing to get enough seats between them to form a third Lab-Lib Dem government, Mr Salmond would be the favourite to become First Minister. (Scotsman)

Downing Street petition: Freedom of Information

Following the Witanagemot Club's example yesterday, I have submitted an online petition to the Downing Street website:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Reject the restrictions on the Freedom of Information Act proposed by the Department of Constitutional Affairs.

The proposed changes will restrict the number of requests individuals and organisations can make, and allow Government Departments to include 'reading time' in fees calculations, greatly increasing the scope for obstruction of legitimate requests. As the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee concluded, there is no need to change the existing fees regime. Indeed, the cost of the Freedom of Information Act is less than was originally projected by the Government, and the transparency provided by the Act can only benefit efficient government. (Sign the petition here)

Downing Street petition for an English Parliament online

The Downing Street website has introduced a useful new feature allowing members of the public to create and sign petitions.

Members of the Witanagemot Club have submitted petitions calling for an English parliament and an English national anthem. (The club also has an English Parliament petition on its own website.)

Other bloggers have also contributed some interesting suggestions for the Prime Minister.

The petition system was created by mySociety.org, whose previous projects include TheyWorkForYou.com.

Unified corporation tax 'not optimal for regions of UK'

I've just got hold of a copy of the new report on corporation tax by the Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland. One key passage perhaps explains why the study has excited so much interest, not just in Northern Ireland, but also in Scotland.

in the UK context the relatively prosperous South East with major concentrations of companies seeks to capture tax from those moving into the region to gain access to its markets. The loss of revenue from a cut in Corporation tax would be significant. On the other hand more peripheral regions with a smaller tax base can use a strategy of lower Corporation tax to promote themselves as attractive profit centres for FDI without suffering large losses of tax from existing enterprises. This form of analysis suggests that a unified Corporation tax rate may not be optimal for different regions within the UK.

The study, Assessing the Case for a Differential Rate of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland, is available from ERINI on request.

Nigel Wylde on collusion

Potentially very significant story from Colm Heatley at the weekend:

A former senior British Army intelligence officer has claimed that his military career in the North was ended after he raised objections about the murder of a Catholic man in Co Armagh, which he believes was carried out in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries.

Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Wylde, who served in the North during the early to mid-1970s, told The Sunday Business Post the murder was carried out after information was passed from the British Army to a loyalist gang who then shot dead an innocent Catholic with no political connections. (Sunday Business Post)

McConnell joins corporation tax debate

Slugger brings us news that Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell  has stepped into the debate about Northern Ireland's demand for a corporation tax cut:

The comments were made during First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, during which he told MSPs: "I believe in consistency in tax policy across the United Kingdom. And of course, measures introduced in Northern Ireland would be very welcome here in Scotland. We would want to have the same incentives as elsewhere in the United Kingdom". (The Herald)

I think the interesting question in response is this: If Scotland would need to match a lower Northern Ireland rate to compete effectively, why does it not need a lower rate to compete with the Republic?

Why is Private Eye spinning the EG coup plot?

The latest edition of Private Eye (issue 1171) has an intriguing story about the 2004 coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.

Under the headline, 'Coup - what a non event' the Eye notes that that the Obiang regime lost its court case against those it accused of plotting the coup last month.

From the acres of newsprint, documentaries, a film and even a book, the verdict had been clear for months - these men were guilty, and the tiny oil-rich Central African country had been the victim of a wicked conspiracy by public school-educated spivs as greedy as they were thick.