21 January
Mea culpa. In today's earlier blog I was 2 decades out with two dates. Ken Clarke rejected Iris Bentley's plea in 1993 and the judicial review was in 1995

Ken Clarke In memoriam Derek Bentley

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?

My very first animadversion

Well, today is Barack Obama's inauguration - he is due to be sworn in in about 2 hours time as I write - and this is the inauguration of my blog. It is not only America's black citizens who never expected to see this day and have. I share their surprise and their feeling of pride and glorious anticipation, as do so many millions around the world. His achievement, against all the odds, is truly staggering. It is not only a question of race/colour but of a fundamentally different political culture/ethos,outlook, Weltanschauung, call it what you will. Rarely do we see anything like this phenomenon in our tawdry politics anywhere in the world. The nearest equivalent is the fall of Apartheid in South Africa and the emergence of Nelson Mandela. And, of course, there are similarities quite apart from race. The big one is Obama's credo which encompasses redemption, reconciliation, the oneness of humankind. And the surprise and delight are so much greater because of what Obama is replacing - 8 godforsaken years of the most appalling, pathetic and destructive regime the US has known. Oh, yes, we (people like me) said this would happen when the American people elected Dubya; cold comfort for the hundreds of thousands who have died on Bush's watch and because of his and his GOP's policies. And, whilst we are about celebrating the end of Bush, let us bracket with him his totally discredited pal, Yo Blair, who (and his New Labour cohorts) deserve to share the ignomony and contempt.