The Old Hack

Today it emerged that an extensive list of BNP members' names, addresses and other details has been published on the internet.  The BNP (British National Party) is a registered official political party in the United Kingdom.  There are many people, the Old Hack included, who wish this were not so.

For anyone unsure of who the BNP are and what they stand for, they are basically a group of extremist fanatics who not only wish to see curbs on immigration (other than white immigration) but also call for the repatriation of non-white British residents.

The publication of any confidential information on a publicly accessible website is unlawful, and I understand that some of the information published referred to the children of members, who by definition must be innocent of their parents' dysfunctionality.  This is most unfortunate.

The list, however, also included the names of police officers, teachers, doctors and others in positions of trust and authority in British society.  These people can no longer claim to be legitimate upholders of British values. Rightly or wrongly, they are unmasked as bigots, racists and undesirables.

Many of them are also parents, and however much we may disagree with their views  I strongly suspect that like the rest of us, they love and care for their children.  Had the list of names and details appearing publicly been a list of convicted paedophiles or child killers, they would no doubt have applauded the publication.

There will, of course, be an investigation into how this list came to be published.  At the same time, there should be a very public enquiry into the membership of the BNP of anyone appearing in that list who is in a position of public trust in the role of police officer, teacher, doctor, nurse etc.  If found to be members or supporters of this vile organisation, they should be instantly dismissed from their jobs.  What is more we should be assured that this is the case.  

The thought of a member of the BNP acting as my children or grandchildren's doctor, nurse or teacher fills me with disgust.  The thought of an overtly racist police officer being charged with patrolling their streets and keeping them "safe"  fills me with horror.

I cannot, in spite of myself, applaud the unauthorised publication of confidential material, but now that this is in the public domain it needs to be acted on, swiftly and decisively.  Justice cannot be fully done until those in public places are able to fulfil their role in a just and fair manner.  Membership of the British National Party precludes this.  There is a choice.  It is black and white.  Serve the British public as a whole, or do not pretend to serve them at all.

I am not a fan of jazz, but Humphrey Lyttleton is a jazz musician who will be very sadly missed by all aficionados of his Radio Four programme « I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue ». Enough has been said by so many more eloquent than I about the man and his unique talents. I would, though, like to recall on these pages what I consider a more ‘personal’ experience of Humph and his humour.

One day a couple of years or so ago, I was driving my mother, who is quite deaf, to see a friend. We were lost, the traffic was heavy and the journey was pretty miserable. I switched on the car radio in time to catch part of Humph’s regular show. After a while, mum asked me to turn up the volume so she could hear it.

Humph said: “I’ve got a pack of organic sausages in my fridge at home.” “Printed on the pack”, he continued, “is a picture of Anthony Worrall-Thompson”. A pregnant pause, then: “Underneath, it says ‘prick with a fork’!”

I had to pull into a lay-by as tears of laughter streamed down my face. Mother very nearly wet herself laughing. Our day was transformed from that moment. Thank you, Humph, and goodbye.

Some months ago I wrote somewhat sceptically about the trial runs for Heathrow's much vaunted Terminal Five.  Little was I to know that my scepticism woud turn out to be so justified!  Hard to believe that having gone through all the trouble of inviting members of the public to queue for imaginary flights, collect virtual luggage and presumably sample a couple of virtual overpriced souvenirs, the 'live' opening yesterday should have been quite so disastrous.

An ITV reporter locked in a lift - the spectacle of staff running from journalists to avoid being interviewed under what must have been insufferable stress - another hack reporting on evening television how his bags had failed to arrive in Paris and his return flight delayed (due to baggage handling problems at Terminal 5) - the list goes on and on.

No doubt there will be a full enquiry.  How did the lifts fail?  The luggage handling system break down?  The gangways fail to connect with the aircraft doors?  The airport is operated by BAA, whose website this-morning gives no indication of the current chaos, merely inviting the visitor to explore the wonderful new facilities on offer.

British Airways site, by contrast publishes a profuse apology for the disruption to its flights, together with detailed information on how to obtain compensation for missed and cancelled flights.

Whereas BA has not employed its "Fly the Flag" strapline in advertising for many years, the airline is still in some minds synonymous with cool, British efficiency and carries the respect of travellers worldwide.  How will this current fiasco affect BA?  And how much of the can must be carried by the confusingly named BAA?

At a time when the British economy needs a real boost internationally, along comes a disaster of the kind that will be remembered by cynics with more influence than The Old Hack for some time to come.

It's not often that my sympathies lie with large conglomerates such as British Airways - but on this occasion I can't help thinking they are the unwitting scapegoats for BAA.  British Airports Authority, in spite of its name now part of the Spanish Ferovial corporation, was recently reported to be in debt to the tune of nine billion pounds.  Airport International has been reporting BAA could be forced to sell off airports including Heathrow in order to return to liquidity.  Looks like that could happen sooner rather than later.  Could Heathrow and other airports return to British ownership and control?  Could we once more "Fly the Flag" with some regained pride?  Or will BA be the one to suffer and end up the way of KLM, taken over by another country's flagship airline.  Air France/KLM/BA just sounds too unwieldy!

What was I recently saying about the revered lady Thatcher?  Vulgar?  You couldn't possibly say the same thing about any french Président de la République, could you?  The very office grants a stature and dignity previously unknown.  Look at the transformation in Pompidou, Giscard, Mitterand and even the hapless Chirac on gaining office.  Each gained instant gravitas, a change not only of language but of tone and presentation.  As if the importance and sheer weight of office necessitated physical effort to carefully measure and consider each word before it left the speaker's lips.

There hasn't always been an easy relationship between French Presidents and British Prime Ministers.  Thatcher could hardly disguise her disdain for the Socialist Mitterand and the stony silences between Churchill and de Gaulle were the stuff of legend.  So President Sarkozy's apparent idolising of the Rt. Hon Tony Blair seems exceptional.  Tony (the people's PM) is Sarkozy's first choice for President of Europe and somehow this kind of endorsement from a suave, sophisticated, erudite wordsmith of a European seemed to carry with it a unique worthiness.

This suave, sophisticated, erudite President found himself the other day at the Ministry of Agriculture, surrounded by a host of hand-shaking adoring sycophants.  Well, all except one.  An elderly gentleman, on seeing Sarkozi's outstretched hand exclaimed "Don't you touch me!"  And the sophisticated response from the erudite, suave President?

"Piss off then, you old git" (I translate freely but not unrealistically, I promise you)  A video of this exchange was posted on YouTube, but mysteriously disappeared shortly afterwards.  Yes, even the vulgar retain power and influence. 

“And the Morgan Stanley lifetime achievement award goes to… Margaret Thatcher!”

Please excuse the Old Hack’s failure to applaud. I was around when this pathetic excuse for a politician was elected to lead my country. And lead it she did - into a state of arrogant disdain for the poor and disadvantaged. Into a selfish, introverted uncaring and uncharitable society where respect belonged only to the wealthy. Into a duped society believing that salvation was at hand as soon as it had pawned it’s family silver to buy its council house, and which was rudely awakened when the bailiffs came knocking at the door just a few short years later. A society whose disabled and sick were labelled ‘spongers’ without recourse to evidence of any kind. A society where working man was set against working man in the orchestrated destruction of the Trade Unions. A ‘loadsamoney’ society which began to truly believe that money could buy anything, and knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. A society which has forever since retained festering, septic, remnants of this distasteful, vulgar period of politics under a distasteful and vulgar leader.

“Today”, said David Cameron in the Daily Torygraph, “We know exactly what Thatcherism meant for our country; victory in the Cold War, victory against unbridled trade union power, the sale of council houses, the liberation of the British economy…”

To the best of my knowledge (and I have no wish to be sued here, so I am careful to make that qualification) David Cameron has never belonged to a trade union. Nor has he owned or even lived in a council house. I doubt he is old enough to remember much detail of the so-called Cold War and as for the liberation of the British economy I do not believe that Cameron’s wealth or background suggest he has ever enjoyed anything other than a wealthy and privileged life.

I do not think we need concern ourselves that Cameron may replace Thatcher. Tony Blair did a good enough job of that, failing to reverse or even compensate for much of the damage the former inflicted on Britain. Rather we should remember the lifetime achievement of one of his predecessors. The achievement of a British Prime Minister who succeeded where the Third Reich had failed in destroying the spirit of a nation and reducing it to an infighting, self-important, uncaring shadow of its former self.

A lifetime achievement indeed, and one which I fear cannot be reversed within mine.

Picture courtesy of www.recessmonkey.com