Brown moves to protect Labour ministers from freedom of information - whilst talking reform to fool the voters

As always with Labour - you need to watch what the left hand is up to when the right hand is trying to distract you.

Today we had the Mandelson/Brown plan to eat up the media's time before the general election. Its the usual tactical nasty stuff designed to create short term advantage for the ego of one Gordon Brown whilst sacrificing the long term stability and democracy of the country.

So that needs watching right ? ( Ans for those who wonder: Of course it does ).

But in the mean time whilst pretending to extend the freedom of information act to private organisations he doesn't have to pay the bills for Brown just adds that certain Royal and Cabinet minutes would be more clearly protected. ( H/T to someone at the BBC for pointing this out ).

This means that Brown will be safe from freedom of information requests that might land him and his cabinet colleges in the clink in the Hague, or trouble for the other things they have done which we haven't caught them out for yet.

And like the true coward that Brown really is he tried to rap it up as also being part of a move to protect the royal family ( which we know from recent events he has no respect for whatever ).

Brown is shameless, useless and gutless. The sooner he is also unemployed the better.

Kevan Jones MP's sudden love of freedom of information

Now that MPs expenses are being racked through ( not a bad thing ) there are going to be a series of embarrassing revelations.

Today the BBC, to its glee, has Caroline Spelman in its sights for paying an employee who was also a Nanny from parliamentary expenses. ( See gloating at BBC here , the BBC certainly didn't make such a fuss of Labour ministers high expenses for gardens, food etc ).

Newsnight is claiming the scope - perhaps it just shows they know how to answer the phone eh ? One Kevan Jones MP is apparently insisting, and being helpfully quoted by the BBC, that this is referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He gets the words "Clearly, old habits die hard in the Tory Party despite what their leader says" in.

Mr Jones doesn't strike me as a man who has an excess of initiative so we can assume he's been put up to it. (Why would anyone ask his opinion anyway ?) Perhaps the real assassin doesn't want his/her hands - and bitten finger nails - muddied with such things.

Here Mr Jones voting record on freedom of information: ( From http://www.publicwhip.org.uk )

Kevan Jones MP, North Durham

voted strongly against the policy

Freedom of Information - Apply to Parliament

by scoring 3.7% compared to the votes below

• Summary
• Full description
• Policy comparisons

House	Date	Subject	Agreement
Commons	20 Apr 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — MPs' expenses	absent
Commons	20 Apr 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Exemption of Parliament	absent
Commons	18 May 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Question Proposed	disagree
Commons	18 May 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — MP's correspondence	disagree
Commons	18 May 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Constituent letters	disagree
Commons	18 May 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Third Reading — Closure	disagree
Commons	18 May 2007	Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill — Third Reading	disagree

He's votes for many other draconian anti freedom policies like ID cards and 42day internment without charge. He hates freedom of information in parliament but is happy to use it when its handed to him. Apparently he thinks there's no need for a public inquiry into the Iraq war - at least its the way he voted, but there is into the child care arrangements of an MP. I'm glad he's not my MP.

I find it hard to believe he's on a one man mission fuelled by his individual initiative.

The real story behind all this is how this 'revelation' was revealed and the motives of the man who did it. Dirty negative campaigning - now who's been up to that sort of thing recently ?

Update: Iain Dale has some timely background information for those who wish to condemn Caroline Spelman.

Conservative home, Centre Rights' Greg Hand, is zeroing in on Kevin Jones and his associations.