Iain Dale thinks Peter Hain’s in deep trouble, with the most recent revelations about donations to his deputy leadership campaign. Iain’s thinking primarily of political trouble of course, but he may also mean legal http://www.gooakley.com/ trouble: and […]

I couldn’t agree more with this New York Times editorial piece – I’m glad the Times is arguing strongly for a democratic approach in Pakistan, rather than just Realpolitik; and that it’s calling for the […]

Well, since I last posted, Benazir Bhutto’s been assassinated; President Musharraf has asked for help from the British police; and elections have been postponed until February. What began in November as a constitutional law issue, which I posted on because […]

Talking about Tony Blair’s conversion to Rome, I’ve just heard Alastair Campbell on BBC News 24 saying he didn’t know whether constitutionally a catholic could be Prime Minister, his tentative implication being that that might have been one […]

I was quite sniffy about the Campaign Against the Arms Trade’s judicial review challenge to the government’s decision to abandon its criminal investigation of BAe Systems and the Al Yamamah deal. Well, I’m not now saying I think the […]

I’m glad James Purnell has announced he’ll act to reassure the Russian authorities who’ve threatened to cancel the planned loan of a number of works of art which its intended will be shown in the Royal Academy’s

I stopped in my tracks the other day on Borough High Street when I saw a poster from Liberty telling me the UK detains terrorist suspects longer than anywhere in the western world. Not because I was shocked at […]

I’ve just heard Andrew Dismore, chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, speak in support of his ten minute rule bill which aims to “clarify” the meaning of “public function” of the Human Rights Act 1998. What he actually […]

On The World At One yesterday (you can listen again for a while) Lord Falconer justified his conversion from pro-90 days Lord Chancellor to 28 days-and-no-further backbencher oddly forgotten by Peter Hain yesterday. To be fair, he […]

Apparently the Saudi King has pardoned the woman sentenced for being raped (sic) a few weeks ago. Forgive me if I don’t jump up and down making http://www.gooakley.com/ whooping sounds – this is the […]