He writes:
It is the other issue, a separate issue, upon which Blair is terribly culpable; more terribly culpable than any PM before or since. We know for sure now and had indications at the time that Blair’s reasons for taking our country to war were not those which he deemed to share with the country or with parliament. They were not shared because he was well aware that neither public nor parliamentary opinion would go along with him. And in attempting to convince the public of Saddam’s ownership of WMD he misled parliament, misled the public and pressurised, perverted or twisted every institution which might have acted as a check upon his messianic determination to wage war. This included the select committees, the civil service, the security services, the government scientists and even in the end the BBC. Cabinet was ignored. As John Denham put it at the time, Blair demanded evidence of WMD regardless or not of whether WMD existed. This is incontestable; it is the subtext of all those Blair year diaries produced by the either supine, or in Alastair Campbell’s case, conniving, former members of the administration. I do not think it is stretching it to suggest that this was the closest Britain has come to totalitarianism. Regardless or not of whether we were right to have invaded Iraq, we were lied to, repeatedly and the processes corrupted.My reply to him:
Your terms of reference are blinkered. Not that I disagree with you at all. Everything you say is true.
But you are blinkered. Your implied position is that Tony Blair operated independently of his colleagues, the media and Parliament.
The clue is in the word "totalitarian". In order for a totalitarian regime to function it must embark upon a long and thorough indoctrination process which will emanate from control of the media.
You were part of that media Rob. You took part in creating a culture of being soft on the Labour Party.
Had you and your colleagues at the BBC not showered each other in Champagne in May 1997 and been a little more objective in your general coverage thereafter, St Tony might have ended up with a few less supporters when the crucial votes were taken.
To some extent, the BBC created Blair and loved Blair almost as much as it hated Thatcher. And any subsequent attempt to demolish the myth was, I am sorry to say, too little, too late.
But you are blinkered. Your implied position is that Tony Blair operated independently of his colleagues, the media and Parliament.
The clue is in the word "totalitarian". In order for a totalitarian regime to function it must embark upon a long and thorough indoctrination process which will emanate from control of the media.
You were part of that media Rob. You took part in creating a culture of being soft on the Labour Party.
Had you and your colleagues at the BBC not showered each other in Champagne in May 1997 and been a little more objective in your general coverage thereafter, St Tony might have ended up with a few less supporters when the crucial votes were taken.
To some extent, the BBC created Blair and loved Blair almost as much as it hated Thatcher. And any subsequent attempt to demolish the myth was, I am sorry to say, too little, too late.
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