Impeach Blair ? Call Conor Gearty...
When Adam Price MP wanted the highest legal opinion on whether Blair could be impeached for the invasion of Iraq, he turned to Professor Gearty BCL (NUI), LLB(Cantab), PhD (Cantab) and Barrister for good reason - he advises governments too numerous to mention on everything from Terrorism to Torture and of course Tony .
In an effort to figure out how we can stop MPs from lying we've tried the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Lawyers and even George Bathurst - the man who reported our Deputy Prime Minister to the Police - none of it looks good. In a last ditch attempt - we went to the motherlode. He agreed to an interview - and we'll be posting it soon. If anybody can find a way this is the man.
http://www.impeachblair.org/index.shtml
ReplyDeletecheck out this link to Price's campaign
If a bunch of MPs can't get Blair I don't fancy your chances
ReplyDeleteHey Pam (and the rest of you reading)
ReplyDeleteUnderestimating Conor Gearty is a good start for him to succeed. He is an amazing speaker and people have been surprised by his scorching arguments. Let's hope the guys we hope to catch lying (and hold accountable) underestimate him to. But I doubt it very much.
I would also like to raise attention to several facts:
a) As for Blair - he is leaving office next year so let's focus on someone else. But on the other hand, he then might be lacking immunity from prosecution. Well, he'll be smart enough to stay as an ordinary MP.
b)We need to realise there is more than a possible verdict with punishment as something to consider a success. Imagine bringing a trial with all the legal background, cameras flashing in front of the high court and a politician hurrying into the building. My point is that moral pressure created by a trial already is a powerful weapon. You will see legal arguments in court. with the case having been admitted for trial already indicates it is a lot more than just voodoo. Combine that with public pressure by media action and quite a few politicians will falter already!!!
True, that might not mean removing him from office. But he might reverse his stance, he will be publicly burned and he will think about lying again. He will be under more scrutiny.
Compare it to companies that have to go on trial for e.g. environmental accidents / disregarded health standards of injured workforce. The damage they take by being associated with this publicly is already enough for big companies to these days try to prevent problems from occuring. It is simply cheaper for them!
c) Good work you guys for starting this blog. I hope you turn this into something powerful. Being from and in Germany I'll follow your success closely and if it works, I sure know one or two local cases too that could need massive slaps on their fingers!
Jan
PS. Jo, "Father Conor" lol.... well, why not :-) ?
Jannie - If anybody can figure out how to hold politicians to account, we know it's Conor - we'll be posting his interview ASAP. In the meantime, spread the word.
ReplyDeletei wish you guys all the best with this... and agree with the above comment that success in the courts is not the be-all and end-all at an early stage - a high-profile case, even if it fails is still a very powerful weapon. good luck. if you can get us talking, then you're well on the way to drawing some action out of our long-suffering selves!
ReplyDelete