The Establishment Closes Ranks

As one renowned fascist bastard might say, ‘you couldn’t make it up’. Indeed. Only two days ago, I blogged about the sleight of hand that was the police raids in Birmingham. At the time, I felt that it was a little suspicious that the media were dominated by this story when Blair had already been questioned a second time. However, always cautious to avoid accusations of being a conspiracy nut, I held back from going overboard about this ‘coincidence’. I should have known that my reluctance was unnecessary.

The Guardian today reports what many people already suspected, that the Home Office is leaking incorrect information to the media. This briefing is not only evidence of the levels of political interference the police face, it is also highly damaging to any criminal investigation. How are the police to conduct a thorough investigation when lies are continually printed in the mainstream media? Particularly, when information was leaked before all the ‘suspects’ had been rounded up.


The Sun in particular (who have clearly not learnt anything from their own recent front pages) have been at the forefront of this media frenzy. As usual, they have printed stories that are liberal with the facts and run contrary to what the investigators have publicly stated. Of course, given their recent reporting of the Windsor disturbances, this is hardly surprising. When reports first started emerging of a soldier’s house being attacked and threatening phone calls being made, The Sun jumped on the Muslim bandwagon. As they have now acknowledged (rather feebly), that story was complete bullshit. Despite the fact that this bullshit was exposed in a local newspaper back in October, The Sun only issued their ‘apology’ last month (and apologists like Melanie Phillips still argue that Muslims were behind the attacks).

One story in The Sun that has been refuted by counter-terrorism officials is the one regarding Muslim soldiers being used as ‘live bait’ to entrap the alleged terrorists. Here is the story on their website:



Love that phrase: 'bloodthirsty Islamic fanatics'. Doesn't that send shivers down your spine? They are everywhere, waiting to get an opportunity to blow you up. All it needs now, are a few choice quotes from a Tory MP (perhaps Philip Davies, he likes that sort of thing), and we get the sense of déjà vu. Upon reading The Guardian, however, a slightly different story emerges:

Some of the more sensational claims about the plot - such as reports yesterday that two young British Muslim soldiers had agreed to act as "live bait" in an attempt to trap the suspects - were dismissed by counter-terrorism officials as being completely untrue. Claims that police uncovered a list of 25 intended victims were also dismissed.

So, counter-terrorism officials have no knowledge of such a plan. Furthermore, the same article also claims that:

At least one tabloid newspaper had even been tipped off the night before the dawn raids, and its reporters put on standby to race to Birmingham.

Mmmm, I wonder which newspaper that would be? It couldn’t possibly be a Murdoch rag, could it? And who was it doing the tipping off? An official in Whitehall? The Home Office? And why on earth would officials be leaking this kind of information at this time? Paul Snape, vice chair of West Midlands Police Federation seems to have an idea:

“The police force is asking the question, where did it all come from? There may be political reasons for it, such as what was going on at the Home Office and at Downing Street."

Surely this can’t be true? I mean, where is the evidence that they have ever tried to ‘bury’ bad news? I don’t buy it.

Once again, The Establishment closes ranks. The news of Blair being questioned for a second time is particularly shocking (if not unsurprising when Teflon Tony is involved). No other Prime Minister in our history has ever been questioned by the police, let alone on two separate occasions. And yet, the media seem concerned that a British Prime Minister could end up going to jail and damage our precious reputation. Some sections of the media have started to crank up the pressure on the Assistant Commissioner John Yates. Why? Because they wish to hinder a thorough investigation into the dealings of one of the most corrupt regimes we have ever lived under. There is no other justification for such attacks. Any investigation into the highest levels of our political system requires time and patience. But that would then mean a water-tight case, and that cannot be allowed to happen. Yes, the Blair apologists are in full swing in order to protect his dubious legacy.

Meanwhile, the media focus their guns on an entire community with lies and distortions in order to keep the public fearful and diverted. I wonder how long it will be before The Sun once more prints a pathetic ‘correction’ to their reactionary filth. By playing up the ‘threat’ posed by militants, the media are doing their best to protect the people in power. After all, that’s what they do best.

Other blogs: Obsolete: The politics of leaking - a more thorough debunking of the whole story, coincidentally posted at almost exactly the same time.