Total of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan = 342
BBC News were dozing this morning. They presented John (now Lord) Reid as an independent commentator on the need for more security.
Former Defence Secretary John Reid was appointed as consultant to the world's largest security firm while he was still an MP. The firm won a huge contract from the Ministry of Defence weeks after taking him on as a consultant.
Reid was hired by G4S in 2008 for £50,000 a year to offer 'strategic advice'. While many former ministers have taken private-sector jobs, it is unusual for such a senior Government figure and sitting MP to work for a company so closely linked to their former department.
G4S - the result of a merger between Group 4 and Securicor - holds lucrative contracts with several Government departments, including the MoD. It hires out former Gurkhas as civilian trainers for British troops preparing for operations overseas, as well as providing private security guards for Government officials at home and abroad, running private prisons and immigration detention centres and operating tagging systems for criminals.
Securicor also had extensive contracts with the Home Office during Mr Reid's spell as Home Secretary, from 2006 to 2007. The register of Lords' interests records that John Reid is 'Director, G4S Regional Management (UK & Ireland) Limited (security solutions; risk management) and Director, John Reid Advisory Ltd Security
This morning Reid pontificated on the need even more security to be piled on the excessive security that burdens all our lives. This week we learned that 100,000 'stop and searches' of suspected terrorists failed to turn up one terrorist. The hundreds of millions of separated searches of laptops failed to discover one that was a bomb. These bombs were intended for cargo planes and were detected by intelligence not security devices.
But Reid knows it is easy to arouse fears, however exaggerated. It also good for business - big business. Time to look again at former ministers taking jobs in companies that were awarded contracts by them while they were in office. Time, too for the Beeb to identify the motive of their 'experts'
Invade the Yemen?
New Tory MP Sajid Javid said on Friday that leaving Afghanistan would be 'madness'. British troops must stay there or the country would be again occupied by El Quaeda. They could then plot terrorist attacks on Britain. It's a familar repeated untruth.
Now the Taliban occupy at least 50% of Afghanistan. If they wish to invite the El Quaeda back there is nothing NATO could do to stop them. But there is no need. Osama Bin Laden already has the vast prairies of Pakistan, Somalia and the Yemen to do his plotting.
The two cartridges from the Yemen dominate the world news. If 341 UK lives have been lost to deny El Quaeda room to plot, there is a case for invading half a dozen other countries.
Will anyone suggest this in the Commons on Monday?
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