Spy Blog 2006 articles
2006 was a depressing year.
There are many unanswered questions, and things which we have not commented on here on Spy Blog.
We tried having lots of Categories on Spy Blog, but the archives got too big and cumbersome, and we have discarded most of them.
We tried "folksonomy" tagging, but that does not really seem to make things easier to find, especially where more than one category or tag is involved. This was complicated by our change of blog hosts and URL in October. We may go back to this later.
Here are some rough categories for most of the Spy Blog 2006 blog articles:
Prime Minister
Tony Blair says he is going, eventually - hooray - how much damage can he still do ?
- Wilson Doctrine - what are they hiding with such evasive non-answers ? Is there a President Francois Mitterand style bugging and tapping scandal of political allies and opponents and celebrities under the pretence of "national security" ?
- "Wilson Doctrine" does apply to Members of the House of Lords
- "Wilson Doctrine" - Prime Minister Harold Wilson answers Oral Questions in the House of Commons 17th November 1966 - transcript
- SNP ask about Members of the Scottish Parliament and the "Wilson Doctrine"
- The "Wilson Doctrine" retained - but what exactly is its scope today ? What political bugging scandal is Tony Blair hiding ?
- Another "Wilson Doctrine" non-Answer
- Prime Minister Tony Blair still refuses to answer questions about the "Wilson Doctrine"
- "Wilson Doctrine" - has the Home Secretary tacitly admitted to requests for the tapping of MPs phones ?
- "Wilson Doctrine" Parliamentary Questions and Early Day Motions
- Vodafone Greece "hacked" - is Vodafone UK safe ?
- PMOS on the "Wilson Doctrine"
- Mark Oaten scandal and the Wilson Doctrine
- Prime Minister's Questions on ID Cards, IMPACT system delays , Wilson Doctrine
- Spy Blog interview on Radio 5 Live - on the "Wilson Doctrine"
- Sir Swinton Thomas, the Interception Commissioner and the Wilson Doctrine statement in Parliament
- The Independent on Sunday: "MI5 will get new powers to bug MPs" - why ?
- Still no publication of two of the RIPA Commissioners' reports for 2005 - is there a tie in with the "Wilson Doctrine" and the "loans for peerages" scandal or is it just more incompetence ?
Gordon Brown - unelected Prime Minister in waiting
- Two major "I am not just Chancellor, but I am involved in the secret fight against terrorism" speeches to try bloster his credibility for the job of Prime Minister. It is a pity that the figures simply do not add up.
- Chatham House
- Part five of our commentary on Gordon Brown's speech to Chatham House
- Part 4 of our commentary on Gordon Brown's speech to Chatham House
- Gordon Brown - part 3 of the Chatham House speech
- Gordon Brown - Chatham House speech part 2
- Gordon Brown's Chatham House speech part 1
- Gordon Brown's "security" speech - aaargh !
- Royal United Services Institute
- Chatham House
- Bureaucratic red tape grabbing new infinite powers for the Treasury, without any scrutiny by Parliament. Is this indicative of what Gordon will inflict on us as Prime Minister ?
- More North Korean trade sanctions red tape
- FOIA Decision Notice about the "Wilson Doctrine"
- HM Treasury Triple Red Tape - one partial Regulatory Impact Assessment revealed through an FOIA request
- More Treasury financial snooping triplicated red tape
- Where is the Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment for Gordon Brown's new financial snooping powers ?
- Chancellor Gordon Brown further extends his financial snooping powers
- Refusal to answer sensible questions about the SWIFT scandal
Home Office
Charles Clarke
- Most Home Office Ministers purged
- What now for the Home Office ?
- Why won't any Home Office Ministers resign over the non-deportation of convicted foreign criminals ?
- Home Secretary Charles Clarke's attempted rebuttal of Simon Carr's article on civil liberties
- Why not put Home Secretary Charles Clarke's DNA on the National DNA Database ?
- Simon Davies versus the Home Office
- Charles Clarke absolutely guarantees the security of the National Identity Register and of all other databases which link to it - will he resign when, not if, any of them are breached ?
Not fit for purpose
- Home Office Crime Statistics still "not fit for purpose"
- Home Office NOMS leaked email
- Sir David Normington's blog and more Home Office leaks - contract for orange boilersuits being considered, yet again ?
- John Reid caves in to the tabloids over child molester name and address data
- Home Office re-shuffle - Tony McNulty and Liam Byrne swap roles as Ministers of State
- Home Office Under Secretaries of State roles and responsibilities published at last
- How many Home Office websites are there ?
- Police Custody and Case Preparation project - another Home Office IT failure
- More Home Office figures which nobody trusts
- Andy Burnham's "£1.7 billon identity fraud" figure is as false as the previous £1.3 billion one
- "Identity Fraud" figures due to be published by the Home Office later today
- Home Office accounting system scandal - the legacy of Sir John Gieve and David Blunkett ?
- Sir David Normington has replaced Sir John Gieve as Permanent Secretary at the Home Office
- Why is there still no ban on the Taleban in the UK ?
- More proscribed terrorist groups - but still not the Taliban or any Chechen groups !
Freedom Of Information Act requests
Freedom of Information Act Decision Notice in our favour, ordering full disclosure of the early Gateway Reviews of the Identity Cards Programme - the Treasury / Office for Government Commerce is appealing to the Information Tribunal 2 years and 3 months since our original FOIA request - so much for "open government" !
The Government seems to be planning to further restrict the working of the FOIA
Other important FOIA requests
Spy Blog FOIA requests:
- Oppose the planned restrictions on the Freedom Of Information Act - explain the issues to your Member of Parliament pledge
- Cabinet Office - missing RIPA Commissioner Annual Reports for 2005
- HM Treasury - Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment - The Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006
- HM Treasury - Partial Regulatory Assessment - Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006
- DWP Longitudinal Study Q1 and Q2 - they did try to send a reply on 13th October
- Information Tribunal - join the Appeal or not ?
- Treasury hires expensive lawyers to try to overturn the Decision Notice in our favour regarding Gateway Reviews of the Identity Cards Programme
- Q1 and Q2 2006 List of Uses - DWP Longitudinal Study - FOIA request
- Information Commissioner Decision Notice re OGC Stage Zero Gateway Reviews of the Identity Cards Programme - ruling in favour of full disclosure
- Reply from HM Treasury - no RIPA Part III consultation meetings
- Reply from the DTI re RIPA Part III consultation with the Home Office
- Has the Home Office consulted the DTI and HM Treasury over the legal definition of an "electronic signature" ?
- Nearly a year and still awaiting a Decision from the Information Commissioner's Office
- Adding Public Bodies to Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act - or not
- Interception of Communications Commissioner claims not to be a Public Body under the Freedom of Information Act
- FOIA request to the Interception of Communications Commissioner regarding the Wilson Doctrine
Climate of Fear hype and spin
- So exactly how much Polonium-210 radiological contamination is there, following the murder of Alexander Litvinenko ?
- Can The Times be trusted to report technical details correctly ?
- How much smuggled radioactive material has actually been seized by the authorities ?
- Call for nominations for Privacy International's 2006 Stupid Security Awards
- Only 11 suspects charged in the "liquid bomb plot" - first use of the catch-all Terrorism Act 2006 section 5 , were too many computers and mobile phones seized ?
- Terror Threat Level reduced back to SEVERE - but the airport chaos continues
- Transatlantic flight bomb plot - suspiciously detailed reporting in The Times
- Threat Level CRITICAL - now what are we meant do ?
- Threat Level SEVERE - now what are we supposed to do ?
- Red Mercury terrorism trial results in aquittals
- Who yelled "anthrax" in the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster ?
- On trial for terrorism, due to the "fake sheikh" and mythical "Red Mercury" !
The Surveillance Society
- Closed Circuit Tele Vision surveillance - the technology moves on, making the need for legally enforceable minimum standards of regulation
ever more necessary.
- Blunkett confusedly opposed to CCTV audio snooping
- CCTV with audio snooping to detect "aggressive behaviour" hype
- Is the Government actually contemplating CCTV surveillance systems Regulation, at last ?
- CCTV spying on recycling dump users
- More "see through your clothes" imaging scanner security theatre at Canary Wharf
- "monitored on CCTV 300 times a day" etc. soundbites
- Parliamentary Written Answer about "privately-owned closed circuit television systems" and data protection
- CCTV surveillance society article in the New Statesman
- CCTV surveillance as Anti-Social Behaviour
- What exactly is the Canary Wharf explosive ticket detector trial meant to achieve ?
- Another creepy surveillance state public advertisement - Bully Watch London
- A case of Can't Cope TV - Police do not have time to analyse video of burglary
- Paddington Heathrow Express "see through your children's clothes" scanner trial - "no under 18s"
- CCTV Camera nominated as an "Icon of England"
- Two Sefton Council CCTV voyeurs jailed
- Why is the Highways Agency selling motorway CCTV images via mobile phone ?
- Heathrow Express "see through your clothes" scanner trial begins - 80 second scan time = queues and missed trains or planes - updated
- Was that really "Miss Dynamite" in those CCTV images ?
- Centralised national identity biometric database and ID Card
No signs of technical competence in the deliberately vague and secret plans for the scheme
- Use CommentOnThis.com - the Home Office Strategic Action Plan for their National Identity Scheme
- Strategic Action Plan for the National Identity Scheme - what a disappointment !
- NIR and ID Card scheme "Dobson" report on cost
- Tony Blair repeats his ID Cards nonsense in his farewell speech to the Labour Party Conference
- Help the NO2ID Campaign track down the forthcoming Passport / National Identity Register "interrogation centres"
- Sunday Times leaked emails - National Identity Register / ID Card scheme progressing disastrously, just as predicted
- Andy Burnham has another snipe at the LSE Identity Project Report
- National Identity Register and Medical Data - No !
- Citizens Information Project - project reports and documents now published
- Renew For Freedom - renew your Passport in May 2006
- Citizen Information Project merges into the National Identity Register
- David Cameron on ID Cards "I promise you this....in office, we will pull it down."
- Identity Cards Programme Commercial Directory of 160 companies who have not understood the implications of Clause 29 Tampering with the Register
- Andy Burnham's pro-ID Cards letter in The Guardian - how can such a short letter contain so many misleading claims ?
- LSE Identity Project report published ahead of Lord's Report Stage of the Identity Cards Bill tomorrow
- Police Databases
- Police National Computer and CRB
- Project Lantern mobile fingerprint scanners used by the Police - what happens to the digital fingerprint minutiae afterwards ?
- When did Criminal Records Bureau clerks become "Agents" ?
- Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced Disclosures and the ACPO "step down model" for the Police National Computer
- ACPO "Retention Guidelines for Nominal Records on the Police National Computer, incorporating the Step Down Model" - no data deletion until you are 100 years old ! About 6000 different criminal offences.
- National DNA Database(s)
- More than a million innocent people now on the National DNA Database
- UK Biobank - where are the privacy and security safeguards ?
- More National DNA Database controversy - is the Human Tissue Agency investigating ?
- Is mass surveillance ANPR illegal ?
- ACPO publishes "The National DNA Database Annual Report 2004/5"
- Lord Soley calls for a National DNA Database debate ?
- The Guardian: "DNA of 37% of black men held by police - Home Office denies racial bias"
- National DNA Database continues to expand - updated
- National ANPR and Road Tolling Database(s)
- The Eddington Transport Study - no mention of privacy and security and freedom of movement issues
- Tom Watson MP and ANPR
- Ken Livingstone plans to extend ANPR to cover the whole of London within the M25
- ANPR database retention rules - Parliamentary Answer claims 2 years when it is actually 6 years or longer
- Police National Computer and CRB
- Databases of Children
- "Database State" workshop UCL, 1st November 2006
- Childrens Index database draft Regulations - what about the Audit Trail logfiles ?
- Children's Index and the "rich and famous"
- Common Assessment Framework (in)Security Architecture - would you trust this to protect sensitive data about your children ?
- Children Index - some database fields announced
- Children Act national database of 12 million children and their parents - "The Information Sharing Index (England) Regulations 2006" - updated with the published SI 973
- National Health Service medical records
- Data Protection
- "A Surveillance Society?" - 28th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners' Conference, London 2nd - 3rd November 2006
- DCA consultation on increased penalties for information traders and journalists under the Data Protection Act
- USA-EU Passenger Name Record legal ruling - why isn't US PNR data being handed over to EU Governments on a reciprocal basis ?
- Communications Traffic Data Retention
- RFID
- Snooping by tabloid journalists
- Information Commissioner's Office publishes list of newspapers and magazines involved in the Operation Motorman scandal
- Operation Motorman and 305 tabloid journalists who seem to have broken the Data Protection Act - will bloggers investigate the blaggers ?
- NOTW "Royal Editor" pleads guilty to mobile phone voicemail interception
- Royal Household "phone interception" - 3 arrests, including the News of the World 's "Royal correspondent"
- Snooping on journalists
Spy Blog hints and tips for whistleblowers, journalists and bloggers
Spies and Intelligence Agencies
- Operation Paget report on the death of Princess Diana and intelligence agencies
- Intelligence and Security Committee Report 2006
- Security Service MI5
- Secret Intelligence Service MI6 - we are still getting emails and blog comment postings from people who want to work for British Intelligence !
- GCHQ
- Military surveillance of civilians in the UK - is this overseen by the RIP commissioners or not ?
- SOCA
Mobile Phones
- How illegal is FlexiSPY under RIPA 2000 and the Communications Act 2003 ?
- Stolen mobile phone blocking hype - this was all allegedly in place back in 2002
- Iraq insurgents intercepting British soldiers' mobile phone data - hype ?
- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister displays its ignorance of mobile phone Location Based Services
How not to protect children on the Internet
- Some privacy and security improvements to the NetIDme website
- NetIDme privacy and security problems continued
- NetIDme privacy and security problems put children at risk
Government plans for Censorship of the Internet
- G6 EU police ministers meeting at Stratford on Avon - what progress on "terrorist website" censorship etc. since August ?
- European Commission - censoring "terrorist" web sites - part 4
- European Commission "policy" of censoring "terrorist" web sites - part 3
- European Commission policy of censoring "terrorist" web sites - part 2
- Response from the European Commission regarding the policy of censoring "terrorist" web sites - part 1
- EU terrorist intelligence sharing and website censorship soundbites from John Reid and Franco Frattini
- Terrorism Bill 2005 - internet censorship by the Police amended by the Lords to also require a Judge
Censorship of Spy Blog
- Haloscan comment censorship - "Sorry, Tor users are not allowed to post due to abuse" - even if you are not actually using Tor !
- Why is SpyBlog being censored by WebSense ?
New Legislation
- Identity Cards
Lots of controversy but the Act still got passed. The opposition continues.
- The final vote on the Identity Cards Bill 2005 - Ayes 301 (including the Conservative front bench) Noes 84
- Identity Cards Bill betrayal in the House of Lords
- Lord Armstrong's amendment to the Identity Cards Bill 2005 - an Opt Out from Compulsion via Designated Documents
- Commons pong the Identity Cards Bill back to the Lords - Ayes 284 Noes 241
- Parliamentary ping pong: Identity Cards Bill - Commons vote Ayes 292 Noes 241
- Andy Burnham's "Chip and PIN" Identity Card verification fantasy
- Lords - Commons Identity Cards Bill 2005 ping pong - back to the Commons tomorrow Thursday 16th March 2006
- Ayes: 310 Noes: 277 Commons overturn the Lords' amendment on the Identity Cards Bill 2005
- More Identity Cards Bill Parliamentary ping pong
- Lords vote on the Identity Cards Bill - 4 wins for the Government, 1 draw, only 1 defeat
- The Government wins the Identity Cards Bill votes in the House of Commons
- Tony Blair's plane delayed - will he miss the vote on ID cards ?
- NO2ID lobby against the Identity Cards Bill 2005 - Monday 13th February 2006
- Lords Third Reading of the Identity Cards Bill 2005
- Will Simon Davies have to bring legal action against Government Ministers for defamation over the LSE Identity Project Report ?
- Clause 31 Tampering with the Register etc. remains unamended after the Lords Report Stage of the Identity Cards Bill 2005
- More details of the ID Card itself co me out in dribs and drabs during the Lords Report stage debate
- Another defeat for the Government's Identity Cards Bill in the House of Lords - no "super affirmative procedure" - Primary Legislation required for the move to Compulsion
- House of Lords vote to remove compulsion to register on the National Identity Register when renewing a Passport etc. before the whole scheme becomes Compulsory
- Some Lords' opposition amendments to the Identity Cards Bill
- Legislative and Regulatory Reform
Semi-successful campaigning to de-fang the worst potential aspects of this "abolish Parliamentry scrutiny" Act
- Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill approved by the House of Lords
- 2nd day of the HoC Report Stage of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
- Live blogging the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill over at the Save Parliament Blog
- A small concession by the Government on the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
- Who is now in charge of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill ?
- Financial Times reports a promised Government backdown over the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill 2006
- Oliver Heald MP writes to Spy Blog re the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
- Cabinet Office Minister Jim Murphy claims only "about 50 representations" regarding the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill - send him some more
- Will Jim Murphy really concede some constitutional safeguards at the Report stage of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill 2006 ?
- UK political bloggers do seem to have noticed the awful Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
- Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill - arbitrary powers for Ministers by Order, no exempt Acts, no full public consultation no detailed scrutiny by Parliament
- Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 "sunset clause" renewal rubber stamped - Control Orders are a counterproductive affront to our freedoms and liberties, which do not actually protect us from terrorists.
- Control Orders and mobile phone and internet bans
- Control Orders scandal - will McNulty resign ?
- 6 British Citizens now being subjected to Control Orders
- Control Order evil - imposed after a Not Guilty verdict !
- High Court Judge rules that Control Orders are a breach of human rights
- "Lawyerbots" and "takedown notices" - what about notices under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2006 ?
- Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 Control Order powers renewed without even a vote !
- Terrorism Act 2006
- Terrorism Act 2006 powers came into force today - except for the controversial 28 days detention without charge !
- Royal Assent - the Terrorism Act 2006 and the Identity Cards Act 2006 are now law
- Terrorism Bill 2005 passes its final vote - the terrorists have won another propaganda victory
- Parliamentary ping pong: Terrorism Bill - Commons vote Ayes 296 Noes 237
- Computer Encryption and Mobile Phone evidence and the alleged justification for 90 days Detention Without Charge - Home Affairs Select Committee Oral Evidence 14th February 2006
- 60 days detention without charge defeat - Lords Terrorism Bill 2005 Report stage
- A couple of amendments to the Terrorism Bill 2005 get passed by the House of Lords
- Police and Justice
Extradition to the USA and dubious amendments to the Computer Misuse Act
- Police and Justice Bill - dual use "hacker tools" - has the Government finally seen sense ?
- Lords approve amendments to the Police and Justice Bill - Extradition and Computer Misuse amendments passed - UK IT security industry poised on a knife edge
- Police and Justice Bill faces major amendments in the Lords today
- Police and Justice Bill - Lords Committee stage tomorrow - will "belief" be removed from the "hacking tools" offence or not ?
- Police and Justice Bill gets its second reading on the House of Lords
- Liberty Central influences the "computer hacking tools" amendment in the the Police and Justice Bill
- Police and Justice Bill 2005 - Standing Committee D - virtually no "debate" planned for the amendments to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 - update - new Government amendment to "hacker tools" clause
- Contents, 211; Not-Contents, 175 Lords approve dubious Identity Cards Bill 2005 compromise
- Police and Justice Bill 2006 - a pathetic hodge podge
The best Parliamentary Speech of the year: Lord Ramsbotham excoriating the planned abolition of Independent HM Inspector of Prisons etc.
- Other Legislation in Progress
- Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill = Social Security database rape ?
- Why are child Location Based Services exempt from the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Bill ?
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill - 23 new clauses and 207 amendments rubber-stamped in one day - this is not proper scrutiny
- Send your views on the UK Terrorism laws to Lord Carlile of Berriew
- Corruption Bill 2006 - untainted by practicality regarding Foreign Officials etc. Will it hamper MI6 intelligence agent recruitment ?
- Still no proper constitutional safeguards in the proposed Government Amendments to the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill 2006
- Lords fail to retain the status quo re revocation of British Citizenship criterion
- Will the revocation of British Citizenship criterion be further reduced at the Third Reading of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill in the Lords this Tuesday ?
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill 2006 - when did you stop beating your child ?
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
- Codes of Practice consultations
- RIPA Public Consultations formally close today
- Scrambling for Safety 8 - meeting some interesting and influential people
- Scrambling for Safety 8 conference details
- Scrambling for Safety 8 - Monday 14th August 2006
- Another RIPA consultation - Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Traffic Data
- RIPA news - more officals to be added to the list of authorised snoopers and Sir Charles Mantell appointed as a Surveillance Commissioner
- RIPA Part III Consultation and Draft CoP blog
- RIPA Part III consultation
- RIPA Part 3 - "UK Crypto wars" debate to resume ?
- RIPA Commissioners and Investigatory Powers Tribunal
- Intercept Evidence
Rough Justice
- Farid Hilali still being held in Woodhill Prison - so much for the "fast track" extradition under the European Arrest Warrant
- Dhiren Barot - life sentence for impractical "movie plot" terrorist plans ?
- Farid Hilali loses the first European Arrest Warrant extradition Appeal - where is the evidence against him ?
- David Mery to question Sir Ian Blair about arbitrary arrests of innocents
- Representations to Home Secretary John Reid on behalf of Gary McKinnon
- More Terrorism Act Section 58 "Thought Crimes" ?
- Inconsistencies in the case of Abu Hamza compared with other recent convictions
Other
- Saddam Hussein executed - which dictator will be next?
- Merry Christmas
- Encryption and the BNP membership list - does your political party or campaign group protect your personal details with encryption ?
- Where is the UK ranked in the international Privacy, Democracy and Corruption Indices ?
- Suspect Nation - tv documentary with Henry Porter, tonight Monday 20th November 2006, 9pm More4
- No. 10 Downing Street live webchat with James Hall, Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service
- Electronic Signatures for Birth and Death Certificates
- A couple of good opinion pieces in media
- Spy Blog moves to a new web host
- Spy Blog moves to a new web host
- Top UK political blogs
- Terrorist training camp in the New Forest ?
- Are Public School Combined Cadet Forces any different from "terrorist training camps" ?
- More Tor servers in Berlin than the whole of the UK - donate some bandwidth and set up your own Tor server
- BBC2 9pm - Britain's First Suicide Bombers - but why are they still on the official Bank of England Financial Sanctions list ?
- Lords Committee stages of two Bills - LLRB and PJB
- Sealand, a former offshore Data Haven, catches fire
- Abu Bakr Mansha (IQ 69) is claimed to be the "reliable intelligence source" behind the bungled Operation Volga raid in Forest Gate
- Minor changes to the Civil Service Code might affect whistleblowers
- Our Question to Tony Blair's online Prime Minister's Questions - the "Wilson Doctrine"
- GLA report on London July 7th 2005 bomb attacks - not a substitute for a full independent Public Inquiry
- BBC 2 - The Money Programme: The Real Big Brother
- Undecided blog topic: NSA domestic comms data or ID Card radio chip danger or DWP/HMRC massive insider identity details frauds
- Prof. Martin Gill to lecture on CCTV surveillance policy - Wed 17th May, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge
- DNS problems
- Sir Ian Blair has secretly recorded a phone conversation with the Attorney General, about the admissability of phone intercept evidence in court
- Channel 4 TV tonight 8pm - "Dispatches: Stealing Freedom"
- Cumulative effect of the Computer Misuse Act amendments in the Police and Justice Bill 2006, the Identity Cards Bill 2005 and the Terrorism Bill 2005
- Is this really how Special Branch are gathering "intelligence" on terrorist suspects ?
- The Cabinet is leaking again
- Return of the Defence Advisory (DA) Notice website
- Prescott's pie in the sky ?
Comments
Many thanks to you for doing this blog. It's been such a useful resource for us throughout the year, and we've really appreciated the close analysis of legislation. Time to rev up the engines for the delights of 2007!
Posted by: Archrights | January 1, 2007 11:28 PM
Hear Hear! I marvel at how you've found the time and patience to continue to scrutinise such a vast amount of dodgy legislation and events, without becoming overwhelmed or disheartened. Me, and I'm sure many others, are very grateful for your critical eye and your close attention to detail, and wish your blog every success throughout this new year!
Posted by: My2p | January 2, 2007 1:22 PM
"2006 was a depressing year."
Did you not find it got better towards the end?
In addition to Henry Porter, it struck me that there was a growing swell against the increase in statism.
And thank you for all your dedication and hard work.
Happy New Year: may the swell rise to a crushing wave.
Best regards
Posted by: Nigel Sedgwick | January 2, 2007 2:43 PM
Thanks for the moral support.
There has been an increase in media interest in some of the topics which this blog comments on, and that is welcome, but to what extent this is enough to get influential people to critically question and scrutinise the Labour Government and civil service bureaucracy remains to be seen.
It is up to you, the readers of this blog to change things for the better.
If you have some spare cash or credit left over from Christmas and the New Year festivities, a donation to the NO2ID Campaign or a donation to Liberty Human Rights would be money well spent, in a non-partisan way.
Posted by: wtwu | January 2, 2007 6:25 PM
You do a great job and Spy blog is an essential national asset.
Happy New Year!
Posted by: Caesar | January 3, 2007 1:07 AM