21 January
Yesterday was largely consumed ogling at the telly and, yes, taking photos of what unfurled on the screen. The incredible inauguration in Washington DC. The massive crowds in near freezing temperatures, all in apparently completely amiable, happy mood. The VIPs including the reviled Dubya and Cheney - good riddance. Then the beatific Barack emerging with beaming Michelle and the two girls. And then that speech - nothing compares in recent times - combining frank realism, a savage indictment of many past policies and a visionary glance at the future. We could have done without those pastors but, there again, that was Obama all over. A man prepared to compromise, absorb his opponents and silence his critics in the interests of effective governance. I think it augurs well so long as he does not sacrifice his principles on the way.
So 'Big Beast' Ken Clarke is back on the Tory front bench. Amongst the plaudits let us not forget that, when Home Secretary in 1973, he (a barrister and QC no less) turned down Iris Bentley's plea for a pardon for her brother Derek. It took a judicial review to secure that pardon in 1975 and an appeal (backed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission) to the Court of Appeal in 1998 to secure Derek's complete acquittal, to prove that he was innocent of the crime and had been unjustly hanged. So Derek ultimately got an official acknowledgement of the injustice done to him. But no thanks to Ken whose decision was so abysmal, caving in to the Home Office mentality of the time (its machinations to try to prevent the opening of its can of worms needs to be told); what does this sorry saga say about Ken's judgment?
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