Slightly less intemperate response

In case you’re wondering what the fuss is about, the Daily Hell is trying to get Owen Barder fired from the DFID for saying rude things about George Bush and Margaret Thatcher and nice things about Neil Kinnock. Rather, they’re trying to get him fired for quoting rude things about George Bush, not erasing a comment by his dad that said rude things about Margaret Thatcher, and saying nice things about Neil Kinnock on his “sexually explicit website blog”. So at least they managed to attribute one out of three charges correctly.

Other outrageous remarks, according to Paul Dacre, include criticism of “extraordinary rendition”. Let’s be clear – the Daily Mail believes that public servants who disagree with arrest and deportation without trial to torture states should be sacked.

Meanwhile, a thing called “UK Daily Pundit” weighed in to gloat about this. Which should come as no surprise, I suppose, because the next story over there describes “the Guardian‘s readership” as “traitorous” and “anti-British”, categorising same under “enemies of the state”. He has since attempted to deal with criticism by claiming that Martin Niemöller “was a Nazi”, so I’m expecting the van with soft walls to turn up for him at any moment.

Update: I left this comment at the Hell’s website.

Is it Mail policy that expressing disgust at “extraordinary renditions” – a practice which contravenes English law back to 1215 – should be ground s to dismiss public servants?

NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled, or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land. We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.

Yours in the good old cause. Alexander Harrowell