Free Republic

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC operative and ardent Anglophile Bob Mulholland calls this conundrum the British Rule: "Why do men go into politics, when they either end up in obscurity or a scandal?" Or is it the American rule? Consider: As Bernie Kerik bowed out in his bid to be the Bush administration's next homeland secretary because of a nanny problem -- yeah, I know, Kerik had more than just a nanny problem -- British Home Secretary David Blunkett survived weeks of his own nannygate, a choice element in an even messier personal scandal. As the U.K.'s Independent reported, the divorced Blunkett began...

Blunkett takes aim at crime to outflank the Tories By Philip Webster, Political Editor   Mr Blunkett has put security from outside threats at the heart of the next election campaign. (LEON NEAL) CRIME and drugs will become a key battleground tomorrow for next year’s general election as the Government promises a range of measures that are aimed at making people feel safer in their homes and neighbourhoods. David Blunkett has won places for at least six separate Bills in the final Queen’s Speech before the election in a move agreed by the Cabinet to prevent Labour being outflanked...

<p>LONDON -- The British government, in the biggest shake-up in the nation's crime fighting in four decades, yesterday announced a plan for an elite agency modeled on the FBI.</p> <p>With more than 5,000 agents, the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) will target drug barons, international kingpins in human trafficking, major fraud perpetrators and Mafia-style gangsters.</p>

AN AL-QAEDA plot to target GCHQ was last night suggested as the possible trigger for the arrest of a suspected terror agent in Gloucester. GCHQ - the Government Communications Headquarters - has been at the centre of the fight against terrorism, providing vital intelligence to authorities, particularly in the wake of the 11 September atrocities. GCHQ’s Cheltenham offices, which are about ten miles from yesterday’s first arrest, were created to streamline the task of monitoring countless phone calls and e-mails around the world to aid the fight against terrorists. Housed in an elaborate circular building, Britain’s £1.6 billion spying centre...

Explosives 'found in suspect's home' From correspondents in London November 28, 2003 EXPLOSIVE material was found at the home of an al-Qaeda suspect being searched by police in central England and has been removed safely, British police said today. "We are confident that there is no longer a danger posed by explosives on the premises and work will begin to allow the local community to return to their homes as soon as is possible," a police spokesman said. Earlier, Home Secretary David Blunkett said the man posed "a very real threat to the life and liberty of our country". The...

A man suspected of having connections with al-Qaeda has been arrested in Gloucester under the Terrorism Act. Homes in the Barton Street area of the city were evacuated on Thursday after the 24-year-old man was arrested. Home Secretary David Blunkett told the BBC: "We wouldn't have taken these steps if we didn't believe this individual posed a very real threat to the life and liberty of this country." In a separate investigation, a 39-year-old man was arrested in Manchester under the Terrorism Act. Forensic evidence A Metropolitan Police spokesman said two addresses in Blackburn, Lancashire, were also being searched. Mr...

Home Secretary David Blunkett provoked indignation from the Muslim community in the UK once again by warning that extremist imams were increasing the threat of terrorism by preying upon impressionable young members of the community. In his speech at York University he also stressed the importance of ensuring that Muslim Imams and other teachers from the community learn English to avoid "clash of cultures." He reiterated that the Imams who could speak English had a key role in helping to shape the world view of young Muslims. "We have to understand what is happening in a world where young men...

Well into the war that was supposed to rid Iraq of its alleged stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, a senior British official admitted on Saturday that no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction may after all be found. Making the startling confession in a radio interview, British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, added in the same breath that he would in any case rejoice the “fall” of Saddam Hussein and his regime —regardless of whether any weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq or not. The British home secretary’s confession reconfirms the worst fears of the opponents...

YESH MEANS YES For the drunkard attempting to excuse himself from a traffic offence, Aristotle offers no more comfort than does the local constabulary. His Nicomachean Ethics argues that drunken offenders should not be let off on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but should have their penalties doubled ‘because the origin of the offence was in the man himself, as he might have avoided getting drunk, which was the cause of his not knowing what he was doing’. In other words, you may be oblivious to what you do while you are drunk, but you are responsible for getting...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...

L O N D O N, April 18 — Children as young as 3 should be monitored for early signs of criminal behavior, the government said Thursday. Home Secretary David Blunkett, the minister responsible for law enforcement, said the earlier unruly youngsters are spotted, the earlier authorities can intervene. He called for monitoring in nursery schools, which take 3- and 4-year-olds. "We have got to be able to pick up on the behavioral reactions of children very quickly, from the moment the child enters nursery education," Blunkett told a parenting conference in north London. "Instead of trying to pick up...