Snoop Group

In the wake of the murder at Woolwich, and Daveybloke's subsequent refusal of knee-jerk reactions, a couple of New Labour jerks have reacted on his behalf. Lord Reid of G4S and Lord West of QinetiQ both overcame their commercial interests so far as to offer an objective view of the matter, and both advised in favour of reviving the snoopers' charter. The Deputy Conservative control-order fan Lord Carlile joined the chorus for democracy, proclaiming that "We mustn't rush to judgement" before giving the Government the benefit of his opinion that the police and security services must have "the tools they need that will enable them to prevent this kind of attack taking place". I'm sure nobody had thought of that. Jack Straw, never one to use a blade where a bludgeon will do, called the murder an act of "stone-age savagery", but does not appear to have been invited to make an ethical comparison with his own government's hobbies of kidnap, torture and international aggression. Despite Daveybloke's present reservations, it is perfectly possible that he will lend all these médiocrités grises a sympathetic ear; he is, after all, the bloke who promised no chaotic top-down reorganisations of the NHS, and he does have Nick Clegg for a partner.