An Evening With Craig Murray.

Friday 3 July Norwich Puppet Theatre, Barrack St, 7.30pm.
Tuesday 7 July Norman Centre Mile Cross, 7.30pm.
Thursday 9 July, Norwich Playhouse, 7.30pm
Friday 10 July, Hellesdon High School, 7.00pm
Saturday 11 July, Taverham Village Hall, 7.30pm
Tuesday 21 July, Thorpe Frog Hall, 7.30pm

Chloe's official c.v. begins when she moved to secondary school in Swaffham. Most people's cvs begin by stating where they were born. Chloe's doesn't. That is not very strange. But what is strange is that the Tory party are refusing to say where she was born when journalists have asked. I am told they have been getting quite tetchy about it, even with a sympathetic journalist who was writing a puff piece about the glamorous young candidate.

Now that is a mystery. I genuinely don't give a hoot if Chloe was born in Basingstoke or Ulan Bataar, and I can't imagine the electorate care either. (I had a friend at school who was born on an aeroplane en route to a holiday in Malta, which I thought was dead impressive). But why would the Conservative Party not want people to know? Plainly Chloe is English enough even for the nutters of the BNP.

I can't think of any logical reason for the Tory reticence, except that Chloe's latest leaflet quotes her as saying "As a Norfolk girl through and through, I'm determined to be the strong voice the whole area needs." Perhaps if she were born outside the county, they are worried about diluting her local credentials. But if they hadn't made a mystery of it, I don't suppose anyone would have noticed. (I am not saying she was born outside Norfolk, incidentally. I really don't have a clue. I am just puzzled why they won't say).

Anyway, a free copy of The Catholic Orangemen to anyone who knows either where Chloe was born, or why on earth it's a secret!

I will therefore not figure in BBC coverage other than the mandatory two second caption at the end. For Newsnight, Michael Crick will give the statutory mention this evening.

By denying me any media exposure the BBC are, of course, consciously attempting to make their prediction of our failure a self-fulfilling prophecy, and to silence one of the most known voices against the political establishment in the UK.

I do hope the people of Norwich North will prove the arrogant and super-rich executives of the BBC wrong.

(Ladbrokes)

From the doorstep experience, I think that is basically the right running order if the election were held today. Fortunately it isn't, and we have three weeks of intense campaigning ahead of us. I start from lower "brand recognition" than the parties, but am already moving up in public awareness very fast and we have some big campaigning surprises up our sleeves.

Stop posting comments asking what you can do to help, and get yourselves to Norwich to pound the streets and deliver leaflets. There are a few other tasks as well, but 95% of the man-hours we need are foot-slogging. We can provide accommodation - helpful if you can bring sleeping bag or bedding. Whatever you can spare - hours, days or weeks - just get yourselves here.

Our first public meeting is 7pm this Friday at Norwich Puppet Theatre. Ironic venue as I am one of the only candidates who is not a party puppet. Tell anyone you know in Norwich!

Craig

BBC Newsnight last night ran a profile of all the candidates - but excluded me. I am truly shocked about it. We have delivered twelve thousand leaflets so far, taken two full page adverts in the local press, and announced and advertised in the media a series of six public meetings for which the halls are booked. Yesterday we had sent a press release specifically to Newsnight. And Michael Crick, who did the Newsnight report, certainly knows I am standing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight

So do the bookies, where I am ahead of the Lib Dems and the Greens in the odds - but still very worth a flutter.

Martin Bell has commented "It is very wrong that Craig Murray was not featured on Newsnight. He is a serious candidate, and serious independents must be given fair coverage by the media alongside the major political parties."

I truly think that Newsnight's behaviour is outrageous.

Corrigan Brothers have today granted Independent candidate for Norwich exclusive rights to use their MP EXPENSES SONG in his campaign. Craig has agreed to perform the song with the Brothers. Lead singer Ger Corrigan said today, we had originally offered to help pay back the expenses of any MP who agreed to sing a duet of the song with us. We have however received no offers from expense shamed MPs! After reading last Saturday’s Daily Telegraph supplement “The Complete Expense Files” we wholly endorse Craig’s campaign and are delighted that our song will assist in his victory. The last song we did for a politician , Mr Barack Obama (There’s no one as Irish as Barack O'bama) helped greatly in his election and we hope to perform at Craig’s inauguration like we did at President Obama’s”. Go Craig!

And here is their great song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlT0xsDCI5o

There is still no definite date set for the by-election yet. I have been trying to hire empty shops to use as campaign centres, but the Conservative Party has in some cases got there first and been hiring them for two months - so they obviously expect an early election. But ii is the government which calls the date in this case. I still think July 23rd is most likely - New Labour are going to lose and it would be best to get the bad news out of the way before the summer. But Brown's instinct is generally to procrastinate.

By law a minimum of only seventeen days notice has to be given for a by-election, so it could be sprung upon us any moment.

There is a genuine disgust at the political parties among the electors of Norwich North. There seems to be a public understanding that the expenses scandal is only a symptom of a party political system that is not functioning and not helping people.

I think we have a genuine opportunity to give the political establishment a real shock here. But I very much need help. We already have plenty of tasks for volunteers to campaign, we can accommodate people and it's time now to come to Norwich and launch a radical assault on our rotten political system!

If you can come and help, call me on 07979 691085

Meantime I am dashing up to York with Emily today. This means dealing again with National Express - undoubtedly the worst train service in the world.

Last night around 21.30 I went online on the National Express website to purchase the train tickets. All went well on the website, until I reached payment. Then I received the following message.

"Delivery method not available. Collection on departure not available due to essential maintenance. Please purchase ticket at station."

Today, entirely predictably, the same tickets are £172 more expensive. I telephoned the "Ticket purchase web support" number, and was told they could find me tickets only £80 more expensive, on a luselessly later train. Being a persevering fellow I asked to speak to a manager, who insultingly told me he had never heard of the message I had received on the website. He did not call me a liar outright, but plainly implied it. He suggested that I buy the full price tickets and then write to a PO Box number in Newcastle for a "Full investigation."

I really don't know why we put up with the ludicrous prices charged for on the day train tickets - generally much higher than the air fare. But if companies are going to insist that people book in advance to get cheaper fares - which are still extremely high by international standards - the least they can do is make sure their advance purchase systems work. A particularly annoying aspect of this is that I am registered on the National Express website, and was logged in when I tried to make the purchase, so they ought to be able to have a record of what happened, even if they don't record when their own site is under maintenance.

I recall a speech Peter Hain gave about ten years ago to the effect that the adoption of new technologies could lead Africa to catch up with the rest of the world economy, bypassing the smokestack age. In fact of course the advent of new technology leaves Africa further and further behind. "Broadband" here is 512 kb/ps and costs US $300 a month. In fact it is giving me 7 kb/ps.

But not only my virtual existence is tenuous. I have been surprised to discover that it seems that I was mistaken about my physical existence too. Today The Guardian leads with the story that Tony Blair knew of a secret UK policy of receiving intelligence from torture. The Guardian goes big, with five follow up articles.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/18/tony-blair-secret-torture-policy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/18/torture-mi5-policy-terrorism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/18/torture-intelligence-abuse
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2009/jun/18/torture-uk-interactive
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/audio/2009/jun/18/terror-interrogation-torture-tony-blair

The strange thing is, I could have sworn that I had been a British Ambassador and had been smeared in a campaign orchestrated by No 10, and then sacked, for opposing this torture policy. I thought I had blown the whistle on this policy five years ago and published a number of government documents which proved the existence of this policy. I even thought I had written a book about it which became a bestseller.

I appear to have been suffering from this delusion over a lengthy period, because I also thought that I gave detailed evidence on all of this just six weeks ago to a parliamentary committee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9spgagSHI

But all that cannot be true. For one thing, David Miliband gave evidence on UK complicity in torture two days ago to another parliamentary committee, and not one MP mentioned the eye witness testimony I had just given, which contradicted much of what David Miliband had said. For another, the Guardian's survey of key points of evidence for the existence of a secret pro-torture policy, does not mention anywhere that it was denounced by a British Ambassador who was sacked for it and published documentary proof.

I cannot quite explain to you how unpleasant it feels to be written out of history before you are dead. Stalin of course airbrushed people out of the official photos all the time. At least he had the decency to kill them first.

Had Miliband testified at the JCHR, he would have been confronted with my evidence and that of others and expected to respond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF9spgagSHI
Instead, Miliband appeared before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, with its absolute New Labour majority.

I am in Accra and have not had any internet connection for two days. Today I have, but very very slow and I can't watch Miliband's appearance. If I buffer for three minutes I can get a twelve section tape. So I have been sampling his evidence. As far as I can tell nobody confronted him with my evidence. But from around 48 minutes he tells a direct lie, that we do use intelligence from torture but only where it concerns a direct threat to life.
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=4317

As I testified to the JCHR, the torture material which I was seeing from Uzbekistan plainly did not fall into this category, yet I was told it was "Useful" to the intelligence services and we ahould continue to receive it. The meeting at which Iwas told this was minuted by the FCO.

Our parliament is pathetic in allowing Miliband to testify before a different body to that which heard the contrary evidence. But even so, even from the snatches I have been able to view, Miliband comes over as shifty and the government's determination to continue receiving intelligence from torture glare through the carefully contrived answers.

Comment from those more able than I to see a fuller part of his evidence would be very welcome.

Set A

Iranian Islamic fundamentalism allied to fierce anti-Americanism was born from CIA intervention to topple democracy and keep in power a ruthless murdering despot for decades, in the interests of US oil and gas companies

Iranian anti-Americanism was fuelled further by US support for US friend and ally Saddam Hussein who was armed to wage a murderous war against Iran, again in the hope of US access to Iran's oil and gas

The US committed a terrible atrocity against civilians by shooting down an Iranian passenger jet

Iran is surrounded by US military forces and has been repeatedly threatened to the extent that the desire to develop a nuclear weapon is a reflex

There is monumental hypocrisy in condemning Iran's nuclear programme while overlooking Israel's nuclear weapons

Set B

Iran is governed by an appalling set of vicious theocratic nutters

Iran is not any kind of democracy. It fails the first hurdle of candidates being allowed to put forward meaningful alternatives

Hanging of gays, stoning of adulterers, floggings, censorship and pervasive control are not fine because of cultural relativism. Iran's whole legislative basis is inimical to universal ideals of human rights.

Iran really is trying to develop a nuclear weapons programme, though with some years still to go.

There are two very good articles on the current situation in Iran. One from the ever excellent Juan Cole. I would accept his judgement on the elections being rigged.
http://www.juancole.com/2009/06/class-v-culture-wars-in-iranian.html#comments

The other from Yasamine Mather, which puts it in another perspective.
http://www.hopoi.org/articles/elections%20June%202009.html

I am not optimistic about the outcome of the popular protest.

Brilliant first poster design here from Brynmor. It needs a little tweaking - I wouldn't call myself a politician, as I have spent a very large amount on civil liberties campaigning and not made a penny out of it. But it is going to be very strong.

We are going to need volunteers. The election will be in July or September , with July looking more likely. Either way we need to start now. Stevie has volunteered to coordinate.

We need office workers, canvassers, leafletters, drivers, media handlers, IT campaign organisers, graphic artists, printers, fundraisers, volunteer coordinators, diary keepers, candidate cheerer uppers, accommodation providers. There is something everybody can do, of whatever age, however mobile, wherever they are.

If you would like to help, please start by sending an initial email to

putanhonestman@hotmail.co.uk

giving full contact details, stating what time or resource you might make available, if you live in Norwich or if you can come when you might come, any relevant experience (not that this is required) and anything else that might help. We will work out shortly how to make donations - the offers are greatly appreciated. Accommodation will be available in Norwich for volunteers.

The government has specifically decided that it is acceptable to gain information from torture in the context of the "War on Terror". When I recently gave evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, to the effect that torture is now government policy, I was disappointed to find that rather than take the view that torture is illegal, the MPs were concerned to establish just how much torture material might be accepted before it becomes illegal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG4ey3GtbP8

The prohibition of torture must be absolute. Once you say it is OK in some circumstances, once you admit torture into government policy, it will spread like a cancer. You cannot then claim to be shocked that agents of the state thought that, if it was justified in x case, it might be justified in y case too.

This is well understood in international law. That is why Article 2 of the UN Convention Against Torture states:

No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

We are a signatory to that convention and bound by it in law. But as anybody will plainly learn who watches the youtube link posted above, we are plainly breaking it. It is the grossest hypocrisy. New Labour have sent public policy back to medieval times. Is it any wonder the police follow?

It also points up perfectly the hypocrisy of Gordon Brown's reform plan. He says he wishes to
strengthen the powers of parliamentary select committees. But Foreign Secretary David Miliband has point blank refused to appear before the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to answer questions on government policy on using torture material. New Labour's real attitude to parliament and people is one of total arrogance.

Rentoul is plugging Beckett as the new Speaker to reform the House of Commons.
http://johnrentoul.independentminds.livejournal.com/89412.html

That's Margaret Beckett, who for years lived in a government "Grace and Favour" mansion as a minister, while at the same time the taxpayer paid the mortgage on her "Second home", while she rented out her "Main home" and pocketed tens of thousands of pounds more cash?

These people really do make me sick. Absolutely shameless.