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Diary: So the Met dug dirt on the Stephen Lawrence campaigners. But it wasn't alone Diary: So the Met dug dirt on the Stephen Lawrence campaigners. But it wasn't alone
(3 months later)
• So now we know that, in the days following the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Met left no stone unturned in its quest to dish the dirt on his relatives and those who supported them. Unacceptable, says the current commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe. Outrageous, say the prime minister, Jack Straw and Doreen Lawrence. And it was. But you had to be there. It followed the pattern. Whenever there was a racist murder and relatives accused the police of being none too bothered, stories would quickly appear portraying the victim or the relatives as a bad lot. The alternative line of protective attack said the poor family was OK but had been brainwashed by extremists into making their criticisms. And the latter was the line of attack initially pursued by the Daily Mail, if memory serves. Activists close to the Lawrence family campaign found their identities a source of interest, and their backgrounds and politics a matter of hostile scrutiny. Of course, the Mail later turned its attention to the actual murderers – and to commendable effect. But a generation of anti-racist activists will say that its history of smearing social campaigners is little better than the Met's.• So now we know that, in the days following the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Met left no stone unturned in its quest to dish the dirt on his relatives and those who supported them. Unacceptable, says the current commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe. Outrageous, say the prime minister, Jack Straw and Doreen Lawrence. And it was. But you had to be there. It followed the pattern. Whenever there was a racist murder and relatives accused the police of being none too bothered, stories would quickly appear portraying the victim or the relatives as a bad lot. The alternative line of protective attack said the poor family was OK but had been brainwashed by extremists into making their criticisms. And the latter was the line of attack initially pursued by the Daily Mail, if memory serves. Activists close to the Lawrence family campaign found their identities a source of interest, and their backgrounds and politics a matter of hostile scrutiny. Of course, the Mail later turned its attention to the actual murderers – and to commendable effect. But a generation of anti-racist activists will say that its history of smearing social campaigners is little better than the Met's.
• A good day for chancellor George Osborne, as he strikes spending cut agreements with the hold-out ministers. Don't worry, folks, he says. Things are brightening just a bit. We are moving from "rescue to recovery". But whoever came up with that little gem didn't research it much. If they had done, they would have discovered that the phrase is used by the emergency services when the disaster has moved on from its initial phase and they expect to find no more survivors, just corpses. Maybe that is what he is trying to say. He travels in dark cars and wears dark suits.• A good day for chancellor George Osborne, as he strikes spending cut agreements with the hold-out ministers. Don't worry, folks, he says. Things are brightening just a bit. We are moving from "rescue to recovery". But whoever came up with that little gem didn't research it much. If they had done, they would have discovered that the phrase is used by the emergency services when the disaster has moved on from its initial phase and they expect to find no more survivors, just corpses. Maybe that is what he is trying to say. He travels in dark cars and wears dark suits.
• Tough times for Tories in Europe, for the uppity grassroots have effectively delivered a vote of no confidence in one of their MEPs in the East of England, the Ukip defector David Campbell Bannerman. Their regional board voted to put him in the general ballot, along with all the other candidates, instead of giving him the sitting MEP's privilege of appearing at the top of the ballot like fellow MEPs Vicky Ford and Geoffrey Van Orden. Luckily for him, the fourth Tory in the region, Robert Sturdy, is standing down. This doesn't necessarily mean Campbell Bannerman will lose his seat. But the runes aren't good. The neighbouring South East region effectively deselected Ukip defector Marta Andreasen and their delegation leader, Richard Ashworth, by putting them into the general ballot, for the Tories are unlikely to hold on to three MEPs' seats in the same region as the man of the moment, Nigel Farage. All have gone into battle. Some won't make it back. If you have a moment, think of them.• Tough times for Tories in Europe, for the uppity grassroots have effectively delivered a vote of no confidence in one of their MEPs in the East of England, the Ukip defector David Campbell Bannerman. Their regional board voted to put him in the general ballot, along with all the other candidates, instead of giving him the sitting MEP's privilege of appearing at the top of the ballot like fellow MEPs Vicky Ford and Geoffrey Van Orden. Luckily for him, the fourth Tory in the region, Robert Sturdy, is standing down. This doesn't necessarily mean Campbell Bannerman will lose his seat. But the runes aren't good. The neighbouring South East region effectively deselected Ukip defector Marta Andreasen and their delegation leader, Richard Ashworth, by putting them into the general ballot, for the Tories are unlikely to hold on to three MEPs' seats in the same region as the man of the moment, Nigel Farage. All have gone into battle. Some won't make it back. If you have a moment, think of them.
• The employment portfolio of ex-archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams grows longer. The master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, he will also become chancellor of the University of South Wales; It's a logical progression for a man of words, but he might have been a man of action. In his youth, he tells author Dominic Shelmerdine, he yearned to be a soldier. It didn't last long, says Williams. And by now he'd probably have been made redundant. Luckily, aged 10, he took God's shilling instead.• The employment portfolio of ex-archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams grows longer. The master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, he will also become chancellor of the University of South Wales; It's a logical progression for a man of words, but he might have been a man of action. In his youth, he tells author Dominic Shelmerdine, he yearned to be a soldier. It didn't last long, says Williams. And by now he'd probably have been made redundant. Luckily, aged 10, he took God's shilling instead.
• Finally, time to check in again on the anti-EU group being formed by Professor Alan Sked, in despair at the rightward lurch of the monster he created, Ukip. Those who may follow him – and there are many of them – know the professor to be a serious fellow. But not too serious. We hear accounts of an extraordinary undergrad revue at the London School of Economics in the 80s. The student body then included types we know well, such as the employment minister, Mark Hoban, the culture secretary, Maria Miller and Labour MP Steve Pound, who was on that occasion cracking jokes in the guise of Solidarity leader Lech Walesa in a boiler suit. But things were made difficult by Prof Sked, who would jump on stage unannounced, luminously clad in a cherry red velvet suit in the manner of Cupid, to unleash an arrow into the auditorium. Can his new followers expect such diversions? Does the suit still fit? That is for him to know and for them to find out. Twitter: @hugh_muir• Finally, time to check in again on the anti-EU group being formed by Professor Alan Sked, in despair at the rightward lurch of the monster he created, Ukip. Those who may follow him – and there are many of them – know the professor to be a serious fellow. But not too serious. We hear accounts of an extraordinary undergrad revue at the London School of Economics in the 80s. The student body then included types we know well, such as the employment minister, Mark Hoban, the culture secretary, Maria Miller and Labour MP Steve Pound, who was on that occasion cracking jokes in the guise of Solidarity leader Lech Walesa in a boiler suit. But things were made difficult by Prof Sked, who would jump on stage unannounced, luminously clad in a cherry red velvet suit in the manner of Cupid, to unleash an arrow into the auditorium. Can his new followers expect such diversions? Does the suit still fit? That is for him to know and for them to find out. Twitter: @hugh_muir
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