Saltiest interrogators

Petard hoist

It was inevitable really. Within hours of my posting yesterday's blog, the Daily Mail struck back with a petard hoist.

I wrote,"The Home Secretary was praised this morning for her drugs' policy by the Daily Mail. If that does not convince her that she is wrong, what will?” Today the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts lavishly praised my friend Gordon Prentice and me.

To avoid your buying a copy of the paper, I immodestly print some of his column. It is a more accurate and livelier version than mine, but I as a committee member try a little impartiality.

Where crooks, conmen and blue-sky pseuds are shown no mercy

'Paul Flynn and Gordon Prentice have become this Parliament's saltiest select committee interrogators.

Yesterday morning these two Labour MPs beat up a couple of recent Government ministers who have accepted big-loot lobbying jobs with unseemly haste.
By the time Messrs Flynn and Prentice had finished yesterday the Lord Warner-Richard Caborn combo must have wished they'd gone into holy orders after leaving ministerial office.

It was pretty brutal. Every Parliament brings its own Select Committee stars. In this Parliament, Messrs Flynn (Newport W) and Prentice (Pendle) have been consistent value for money, pulling apart a succession of crooks, conmen and blue-skythinking pseuds.

Mr Caborn (Lab, Sheffield C) was no less immodest, boasting about how he had once been "apprentice of the year", how he had been an MEP, a shop steward, a chairman of various parliamentary outfits – in short, what a fine upstanding Herbert he was.

While it might be wrong to call his manner spivvy he certainly did not help his case by allowing a knowing smile to keep darting across his teeth.

Mr Flynn, coldly: "I'm glad you are amused." Mr Flynn voiced the fear that Mr Caborn, in taking £70,000 per annum from the nuclear industry in addition to his MP's salary, might "prostitute our office".

Given that Sheffield jobs were on the line, should he not be involving himself in the nuclear industry as part of his parliamentary duty, rather than for raw cash?

Mr Flynn used the word "bung". "Why do you take a salary for this work?" he enquired, voice soft but deadly. MR Caborn, still with that larky smile: "Cos they want to pay me."

Mr Flynn observed that there were all too many companies keen to pay MPs. He left it at that. Mr Prentice, cross-examining, found a wonderfully arch tone of disbelief.

Both Lord Warner and Mr Caborn lost their tempers. All in all, richly satisfying sport.”

The Select Committee was also given huge coverage on Today and Yesterday in Parliament programmes that have a big audience of MPs and Peers. Perhaps the message will get across. Why not wait until retirement before starting the nest feathering?

Riot
Glorious weather tomorrow for the glorious Tredegar Park Folk Festival. It’s always at its best in fine weather. Enjoy a great riot of dance, song, quality drink food and fellowship. Starting at One o’clock with a great line-up.

International Dance teams:

PELOPONNESIAN FOLKLORE FOUNDATION (from Greece)

TAARNBY KVADRILLEN (from Denmark)

Dance teams from Wales and the four corners of Britain: 

GWERINWYR GWENT (Welsh social)

ISCA MORRISMEN

CWMNI GWERIN PONT-Y-PWL (Welsh social)
BOOJUM (Rapper)
CHEQUERED FLAG (Appalachian)
COBBLERS AWL (Clog)

THE BRANDYWINE CLOGGERS (Appalachian)
PLAYFORD ASSEMBLY
ALIVE AND KICKING (Appalachian)
FLAMENCO
CLOCS CANTON (Morris)

O'DONNELL IRISH DANCERS
NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL DANCERS

INDIA DANCE WALES
JAWAHIR (Middle Eastern)

JAWAHIR JUNIORS (Middle Eastern)
NEWPORT SALSA
TY SIGN SCHOOL (Welsh)
ST MELLONS SCHOOL (Welsh)
TIGER FEET (Appalachian)

Comments

[Tony]

'Both Lord Warner and Mr Caborn lost their tempers' - but I bet they still take the jobs and accept the thinly disguised 'bungs' ..

[paulflynn]

Yes Tony. there was no shame, repentance or even embarrassment. They genuinely do not understand what the fuss is about.