The Man with an Ambiguous Relationship with the Truth

Stephen Byers, the Right Honourable Stephen Byers MP, to give him his full title... (Nope, it’s no good, I’m sorry, I can’t say the man’s name and ‘honourable’ in the same paragraph without busting out in uncontrollable laughter). What a complete and utter idiot this man is.

When you consider his career it’s hard to feel anything but complete revulsion for this self serving character.

In his early junior ministerial posts his blunders were legend, like, when introducing a literacy and numeracy campaign as minister at the English Dept of Education, he insisted the 7 x 8 was 54.

As Trade Secretary in 2000 he was responsible for the fiasco that allowed a few people to make a fortune at the expense of the taxpayer and the employees of the Rover Group. A disgusting display that was either incompetence or something like it.....

Then he put Railtrack into administration (and created Network Rail), all over a weekend. The result of this was that we eventually had to give the shareholders compensation after the largest class legal action ever seen in the English courts... all at horrendous cost to the taxpayer.....

On September 11, 2001, Byers' political adviser Jo Moore sent an email advising people that this was “a very good day to get out anything we want to bury", given that the news media were all engaged with what was unfolding in New York. Both of them survived that folly, but clearly no “lessons had been learned” because a few months later a memo from her immediate boss Martin Sixsmith warned her NOT to try to bury any more bad news on the day of the funeral of the Queen’s sister, implying that she had been intending to do so.... Of course Byers, who was responsible for these staff survived.

Then there was considerable bad feeling over Byers’ decision to allow pornographic-magazine publisher Richard Desmond to buy the Daily Express.......

In 2009 it was revealed that Byers had claimed more than £125,000 in second home allowances for a London flat owned by his partner (and where he lives rent-free), including £27,000 for redecoration, maintenance and appliances for this property...... Unbelievable, but he got away with that too.

And now the man that is for hire as if he were a taxi cab, or maybe he isn’t, if we are to believe Adonois and ... ha ha ha , wait for it.... Mandleson...

You see the problem? Who to believe? Made worse by the fact that Harry Harperson says that it’s alright, or rather says that the PM says that it’s alright, no “wrong doings” and absolutely no need for an inquiry. Phew, the whitewash manufacturers in China must be breathing a sigh of relief.

Anyway, he tells this young female undercover journalist that he can get things done, and has. £500 million here, Peter Mandleson there, red benches... no bother, leave it to him....

But then Mandy and the Adonis fellow say they’ve never heard of him, or at least they know who he is but they never talk to him.... In fact no one seems to know him, or want to know him...

What a stinking mess. What a bunch of sleazy self serving liars they are.

I know it would be better for Britain if we elected a hung parliament and benefited from some of the good common sense that Vince Cable will bring, and the influence of the National parties....but there are times that you just wish that almost every man jack of them would get crushed at the election, never to be heard of again.

http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/34948.html

Pictured: Yeah, twice for a laugh, Stephen Byers.... lovely little man.

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JUST WHEN THEY THOUGHT THE STRIKE WOULD FILL THE FRONT PAGES......

It seems that when Mohamed al-Fayed claimed some years ago that you can hire an MP like you can hire a taxi, he was right.

Stephen Byers, along with some names you might expect to be connected with anything dodgy, Pat Hewitt, Geoff Hoon and dear Margaret ‘Dry Rot’ Moran, (I’m going to sue...erm.... or pay the money back).

The investigator, an undercover reporter for the “Sunday Times” and “Despatches”, posed as a company executive looking to hire MPs for lobbying work. Byers, a former minister, allegedly described himself as “like a sort of cab for hire” for up to £5,000 a day (expensive cab!).

Hewitt claimed she was paid £3,000 a day to help a client obtain a key seat on a Government advisory group, while Hoon said that he had contacts that he could use to make money. He too charged £3,000 a day.

Moran, the disgraced Luton MP , surprisingly not in the dock with the other Labour Party MPs boasted of a “girls gang” of colleagues to help clients, including Jacqui ‘the dodgy lodger’ Smith, Hazel ‘this is my cheque’ Blears, and, wait for it, no lesser a person than Harry ‘you know where to find me’ Harman.

Byers allegedly said he had a deal with His Lordship Adonis, on behalf of National Express, which he said wanted to dump the East Coast rail franchise which was making a loss, without having to pay up in penalties. The deal supposedly was that Adonis would criticise National Express publicly but terms would be agreed which favoured the company. The decision to terminate the franchise last year left the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds in the red. Thanks Byers! Byers also boasted he could and did use his friendship with Peter Mandelson, along with his ability to get information from Number 10.

It is alleged, although denied by the company, that he lobbied Mandleson on behalf of Tescos to have food labelling regulations altered and they were. Needless to say after the allegations became public Byers said that he had been exaggerating what he could do...... Adonis and National Express also denied the allegations and Mandy had "no recollection" of talking to Byers about the issue. I’ve heard that one before! (He thinks he’s Ronnie Regan .... the hair dye and the astrologer are just around the corner.)

Hewitt claimed that she was offering to do the work only after she left the Commons, although that’s not how it looks to me. Nauseatingly she said: “I am always willing to give advice to companies who have something positive to offer our country,” as she wiped her eye on the corner of her union jack hankie. Pass me the sick bag.

Hoon’s lawyer said his comments had been misrepresented. How exactly you can misrepresent... looking to turn his knowledge and contacts into “something that frankly makes money” , I don't know. It all sounds pretty clear to me.

Of course the ever delightful Moran warbled something about 'hypothetical discussions about the future’ and ‘an attempt to rebuild my life.’ But nobody takes her very seriously any more. (Like the type colour...? It matches her hat.) (It is a hat, isn't it?)

But the allegations are serious, implicating, as they do, people still in ‘power’, and not just the headlined has-beens. Perhaps the most serious is Moran’s allegations that Harman is or was part of her “contacts”.

And they ask why people aren’t interested in politics and don’t vote.... Pfffffffffffffffff.


Pictured: Stephen, trying to ward off the collapse of what was left of his reputation; the lovely Pat and the even lovelier Geoff pictured "together" because, I imagine, of their last venture into the disreputable as a twosome; and finally a big fat orange thing that I thought would look amusing on the page... you know... a joke.

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