Earlier this year the Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced an enquiry into an alleged paedophile ring within Westminster along with allegations that a dossier compiled by a Tory MP (now dead) had been covered up. The original chair was Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, an eminent QC. That would have been fine apart from one little problem. Her brother, Michael Havers, was Attorney General for some of the period covered by the enquiry meaning that his conduct would have been part of the investigation. She eventually stepped down but left a lot of unanswered questions. Why did she even accept the role in the first place? Did she forget that her brother held one of the most senior legal posts in the country? When did Theresa May first know about the connection? Why did she think Butler-Sloss was a suitable person?
Anyway, after a long wait, May announced her replacement, Fiona Woolf. It then became apparent that she had connections with Leon Brittan (Home Secretary at the time) and his wife. Therefore, she would be investigating someone within her social circle. Again May didn't think that was a problem. Woolf finally stepped aside today.
So, May has now appointed two people to lead the enquiry and they have both stood down before they were able to start the job. Why are Labour not calling for her to resign?
In local government it never hurts to have inside info on others, it becomes an all-for-one one-for-all unified approach and you get rid of anyone who might open a can of worms. Maybe the can's a bit bigger than everyone thinks it is.....
If I was somebody of a conspiratorial disposition, I would be starting to think that there is a vast conspiracy within the Establishment and the government to delay the enquiry into the allegations for as long as possible in order to protect many powerful individuals who may still wield enormous amounts of power on all sides of the political divide and might not be too best pleased at some of this knowledge entering the public domain, especially if any of this information was to come out prior to the General Election.
But as I said, I am not somebody of a conspiratorial disposition.
Ah well, she is finally about to lose her job as Home Secretary. To start an even bigger job. It's amazing what Tory ministers can get away with.
In the broader scheme of things when it comes to ministerial incompetence, appointing two people who were then found to have conflict of interest and then replaced is pretty small beer. The one where she tried to blame an error on the head in the Borders Agency a few years before was probably more damning.
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