I’m certainly not the first to say it and I certainly won’t be the last, but it’s time for Tony Blair to go. Time too for Sir Ian Blair to shuffle off as well.
There is no question that politicians ought to listen to what the professionals have to say, but that doesn’t mean that you should switch off all critical faculties. Rarely when a political class calls for something do politicians respond by meeting their demands 100% – T. Blair is a remarkable exception in this case.
And we have good reason to question the police’s claims. I won’t go into much detail here, but just four reminders:
- Look what happened the last time TB claimed we had to respond to an immediate threat. Do you really trust him?
- The Birmingham Six (and the Guildford Four);
- The Macpherson Report (and the Secret Policeman);
- Jean Charles de Menezes?
This was a case of a person with a massive credibility problem asking us to believe a professional class with a massive credibility problem. Is it any surprise that a critical mass of Labour MPs couldn’t stomach it?
T. Blair bet his shirt this week and lost. He needs to go. I. Blair’s intervention this week was unprecedented. He had made it plain that he would not be able to tolerate anything less, so he too should go.
Who wants the pearl handled revolver first?