Downing St. Petition

A very big thanks to all of you who've taken the time to e-mail their MPs and forward their responses. When we get a moment we'll post some of the more amusing comebacks.

Downing St. petition went up today. Don't be shy.

You can't have a law against lying?

Many of our interviewees initially reacted the same way to the question, "Why can't I prosecute an MP for lying ?. And this clip from the rough cut was before we'd even shown them the Misrepresentation of the People Act...

Pick of the Day

This just in from the publicity guys ;

"the Ministry of Truth" is either "Pick of the Week" or "Pick of the Day" in over 13 newspapers !!!!

D Day approaches

As October 11th (transmission date) looms, we thought it was high time you got to see a trailer.

Featuring the (ex) Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer's response to the concept of a law (the Misrepresentation of the People Act) that would make it an offence for elected representatives to lie was...

Election Jitters

You may well have noticed the Ministry of Truth's subject matter is not entirely without political controversy.

Regrettably, this may well mean that if GB decides to call an election before our transmission date, there's little chance we'll be able to broadcast until after the result.

Nevertheless, the film is pretty much done and dusted, trailers are being cut and preview screenings are being scheduled as we speak.

We shall of course, keep you posted.

Countering Accountability

Unkind souls have commented that by confronting MPs with "the Misrepresentation of the People Act" those who disagreed with it could only be seen as defending their right to lie.

Hmmmm. Here's a summary of the counter-arguments we... encountered.

1) You can't have a law against lying - you can't define a lie
2) Politicians would be mad to lie - it'd be the end of their career
3) You don't need a law - you can go to the press
4) You don't need a law - that's what the general election's for
5) You don't need a law - Parliament holds the government and other MPs to account
6) You don't need a law - Parliament has plenty of internal committees etc. to deal with the problem.

Naturally, we examine these in the film, but don't let that stop you commenting with your thoughts...

For reference, here are the principles behind the Bill.

Hiatus Apologies

Sincerest apologies are due.

It's been some time since we last posted. We've been locked up in the edit suite, occassionally surfacing to catch lines like, "Prison population at record high" alongside "Straw to review/bolster 'Have-a-go hero' laws"...

We're figuring this is the final stage in privatisation of the prison service as well as the department of Justice etc. - Let the population deal with the criminals at home.

Obvious really.

In Switzerland, all new builds have nuclear bunkers in the basement - we'll just have cells. Catch a burglar, lock him up downstairs, problem solved.

Prisons can be sold off to the highest bidder, those lovely high central atriums will make for perfect casinos.

Forgive the rambling. We need more daylight. Lucidity shall return shortly after transmission.

Once Again - for Thee the Bell Tolls

Spookily, the "Filkin affair" Martin mentions rose it's head once more only this Monday in this article by Peter Oborne.

Recaps 3 - Martin Bell

The trail from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards led to seeking some advice from Martin Bell...
















Martin Bell, the man in the white suit, is someone we trust.

He spent most of his working life in some of the worlds most dangerous war zones so his time as an MP should've been a piece of cake. He served on the Committee for Standards and Privileges (the watchdog for the conduct of MPs) and is one of the few to speak out against the treatment of Sir Philip Mawer's (the Parliamentary Commissioner) predecessor - Elizabeth Filkin.

"The whispering campaign was not imaginary. It was real and intense. It coincided with her investigations into complaints against Peter Mandelson, John Reid and Keith Vaz, who were not only Labour MPs but government ministers at the time."

We asked him about the reality of MPs regulating themselves, Elizabeth Filkin and the idea of the People prosecuting the government when it lies to us.

To say we were surprised by his answers would be an understatement. We'll be posting the interview tomorrow.

Recaps 2 - First brush with Parliament

For those just joining the Ministry, when we asked solicitors the question, "How do we prosecute an MP for lying" the answer was a resounding "You can't" - try "the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards".

We did.

It was our first brush with Parliament...

Inspector Mawers (that's enough.Ed) - the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

If you read up on this whole self-regulation business it looks a bit like smoke and mirrors. Plenty of bodies, committees and commissioners - all independent to a man but all reporting to Parliament or the PM. Nice to be Judge and Jury at your own trial, eh ?

Needless to say, when Sir Philip Mawer returned our call, it was a bit of a shocker. We never thought in a million years they'd let us near the Palace of Westminster - let alone interview its gatekeeper of ethics and morals.

Turns out Sir Philip's office is round the back of Westminster Abbey. Bathed in divine light, you enter through a hobbit-like gate set into a suitably intimidating wall with Westminster casting suitably ominous shadows.

Passing through that gate would be crossing the line from pissing about on the Internet to sticking our head above the establishment parapet. Were we really gonna tough it out with the guy who politics between Teflon Tony and hauling MPs over the coals ?

Who are we kidding ?

I'd had a curry before-hand and that didn't bode well.

We were in a lot of trouble.

Once Again - for Thee the Bell Tolls

Spookily, the "Filkin affair" Martin mentions rose it's head once more only this Monday in this article by Peter Oborne.

Recaps 3 - Martin Bell

The trail from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards led to seeking some advice from Martin Bell...
















Martin Bell, the man in the white suit, is someone we trust.

He spent most of his working life in some of the worlds most dangerous war zones so his time as an MP should've been a piece of cake. He served on the Committee for Standards and Privileges (the watchdog for the conduct of MPs) and is one of the few to speak out against the treatment of Sir Philip Mawer's (the Parliamentary Commissioner) predecessor - Elizabeth Filkin.

"The whispering campaign was not imaginary. It was real and intense. It coincided with her investigations into complaints against Peter Mandelson, John Reid and Keith Vaz, who were not only Labour MPs but government ministers at the time."

We asked him about the reality of MPs regulating themselves, Elizabeth Filkin and the idea of the People prosecuting the government when it lies to us.

To say we were surprised by his answers would be an understatement. We'll be posting the interview tomorrow.

Recaps 2 - First brush with Parliament

For those just joining the Ministry, when we asked solicitors the question, "How do we prosecute an MP for lying" the answer was a resounding "You can't" - try "the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards".

We did.

It was our first brush with Parliament...

Inspector Mawers (that's enough.Ed) - the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

If you read up on this whole self-regulation business it looks a bit like smoke and mirrors. Plenty of bodies, committees and commissioners - all independent to a man but all reporting to Parliament or the PM. Nice to be Judge and Jury at your own trial, eh ?

Needless to say, when Sir Philip Mawer returned our call, it was a bit of a shocker. We never thought in a million years they'd let us near the Palace of Westminster - let alone interview its gatekeeper of ethics and morals.

Turns out Sir Philip's office is round the back of Westminster Abbey. Bathed in divine light, you enter through a hobbit-like gate set into a suitably intimidating wall with Westminster casting suitably ominous shadows.

Passing through that gate would be crossing the line from pissing about on the Internet to sticking our head above the establishment parapet. Were we really gonna tough it out with the guy who politics between Teflon Tony and hauling MPs over the coals ?

Who are we kidding ?

I'd had a curry before-hand and that didn't bode well.

We were in a lot of trouble.

The List gets longer

The MPs we've interviewed to support the Misrepresentation of the People Act are being put through the editing grinder. The list grows longer on a daily basis - Jack Straw, Harriet Harman, David Davis, George Osborne - we'll be posting them shortly.

Needless to say - none of the above were terribly for the Act. All accepted the principles behind it ;

We, the people, are sovereign.

We grant this sovereignty to our elected representatives in Parliament.

Whilst representing our sovereignty, our elected representatives have fundamental obligations to be honest, transparent and accountable to us.

For a breach of these fundamental obligations we are entitled to formal, legal, independent redress.

Most have even accepted the fact that at the moment, we have no formal, legal, independent means of redress. We just can't get one of 'em to step up to the bat.

Their main counter arguments run along the lines of...

1) There are other ways of holding MPs and Ministers to account - the press, Parliamentary questions, the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards (we'll be posting what he had to say next week).

2) Judges aren't elected (more examination of this to follow)

Your well-informed comments on these are very much desired.