International Law

Cabinet Re-shuffle leaves vacancies for two Ministers of State at the Home Office, and the Chair of the intelligence and Security Committee

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's desperate attempt to save his political career by playing musical chairs with his inept crew of Ministers is being ignored somewhat by the main TV broadcast media.

Neither the BBC News 24 nor Sky News have given this Cabinet Re-Shuffle story their top billing, and have concentrated on the twice disgraced Peter Mandleson, who oozes back to his former job at the Ministry of Trade and Industry , subsequently re-branded misleadingly as BERR, the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform.

Our main fear about this is that if someone as loathed as Mandleson is brought back into the Cabinet despite having resigned from it in disgrace not once, but twice, then the same might happen to the equally hated and controversial David Blunkett, who is also a multiple offender against the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

The Home Office sees the departure of Tony McNulty to become Minister of State (Employment), Department for Work and Pensions, and Minister for London

Who will replace him as Minister of State for Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing at the Home Office ?

Given the number of Home Office scandals which he has had more than a hand in as the responsible Minister of State (Prisons, Immigration, Policing, ant-terror hyoe etc) , it is remarkable that he is still a Minister.

Similarly Liam Byrne moves to the Cabinet Office as Minister for the Cabinet Office; and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Who will replace him as Minister of State for Borders and Immigration at the Home Office in charge of the ill fated e-Passports and the wretched National Identity Register and ID card schemes ?

Good riddance to both of them.

Bring back the veteran Margaret Beckett to be Minister of State (Housing), Department for Communities and Local Government now leaves a vacancy for the Chair of the supposedly independent Intelligence and Security Committee, which is alleged to scrutinise the Security Service MI5, the Secret Intelligence Service MI6, the Government Communications Headquarters and GCHQ and the Defence Intelligence Staff etc. (but not the Serious Organised Crime Agency SOCA or the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command).

Des Browne, who failings on adequate provision of equipment to the British military forces, and his public relations disasters over the cuts to Scottish Regiments, his non-attendance at a war memorial service, the mockery made of the Royal Navy by the Iranians, and the Ministry of Defence's incredible data security bungles on his watch as the Minister responsible, and his previous tainted association with steering the controversial Identity Cards Act 2006 through Parliament,

Lord Drayson seems to come back from his motor racing sabbatical, to become Minister of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, something which presumably leaves his former post as Minister of State for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence now vacant.

Perhaps the planned defence cuts are such that Gordon Brown is not bothering with a Defence Procurement Minister ?

Full post as published by Spy Blog on October 03, 2008 (boomark / email).