I appreciated that there was discussion on the BBC - and other channels - yesterday about the possibility that our supposed Head of State might be lying about what happened after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The details of the spats in question do not greatly trouble me, although I have little doubt about who is telling the truth.
The real issue is that the possibility that the probity of someone in high office - who happens to be King - is being openly questioned.
On the same day that the possibility of MI5 being held to account for contempt of court was raised, the idea of accountability being on the agenda makes a very welcome change.
Now, when will ministers be held accountable for their support for genocide in Gaza?
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Morning Richard, I fear no one will be held accountable because certain groups have vested interest in what happens in Gaza and else where. The problem is that they have the greatest influence on what it told to the public and to the government both I image totally different information. Talking to Jewish friends they are not in agreement with what happened in Gaza but like most of the people in Britain they remain silent. Those that do voice their right to speak are often excluded or even arrested.
Keep up the work you are doing even though as a boomer I sometimes get the impression that we are the very people that did the work that produced the goods that made the world go around, yet we are to blame.
The escalating story the collapse of Ed Sheeran’s The Loop tour is, to me, a far more relevant tale of our times about accountability. Sheeran platforms rapper and friend Macklemore who politics are out there and central to his music and stage show. Billionaire used his power to silence pro-Palestinian artistic expression. Sheeran attempts to blame his management and remain politically neutral. That backfires. All his if his support acts and his band use the superpower that is the withdrawal of their Labour. (His band are all Irish, this was never going to go well for the main man). On some issue you cannot in all conscience be neutral. Those of good conscience find themselves under increasing pressure to choose. T0 choose that their thoughts and beliefs are heard. It’s easier once others demonstrate courage.
Tonight, apparently, Ed Sheeren will play solo in a vast stadium. What a place to contemplate the choices that will now define him.
He has made a mighty mess of this.
Will his career recover? I am not sure.
I’m no particular fan of Ed Sheeran-I can take it or leave it with his music.
But why ought we to be entitled to his opinion on this (or any other issue)? It’s all very well saying silence is being complicit etc. but it’s not as if Israel is suddenly going to change course because Ed Sheeran says they’re genocidal maniacs or something is it? All sorts of more influential people have said that and it hasn’t moved the needle one degree.
I don’t see an interview with Michael Carrick after Man Utd’s match today in which the interviewer says most people would agree 1-1 was a fair result but can we get your thoughts on whether you think the two state solution is dead?
Avoiding accountability would seem to be a pillar of successive Governments’ policy. I asked AI for an overview of the main areas where the UK government faces accusations or risk of breaching international law. Here is the response. This is just one aspect of accountability. Our current democratic processes are so clearly failing us.
Asylum & Human Rights
Asylum Restrictions: Barring irregular arrivals from claiming asylum, which critics argue violates the UN Refugee Convention.
Protest and Strike Laws: Restricting public demonstrations and workers’ strikes, flagged as potential breaches of international civil liberties covenants.
Military Accountability: Past legislation (like the Overseas Operations Act) that raised concerns over commitments to prosecute war crimes and torture.
Underage Enlistment: Remaining the only European/NATO nation allowing military enlistment at age 16, monitored under children’s rights frameworks.
Military Support & State Responsibility
Complicity via Military Bases: Permitting the US to use British territory (like RAF Akrotiri or Diego Garcia) for strikes against Iran, risking legal complicity if those operations cause disproportionate civilian harm.
Unlawful Use of Force: Supporting strikes against infrastructure inside Iran, which critics argue blurs the line from lawful self-defence (Article 51 of the UN Charter) into an illegal offensive campaign.
Environment & Surveillance
Environmental Justice: Failing to provide adequate public input on draft laws with environmental impacts, found to be a breach of the Aarhus Convention.
Mass Surveillance: Intelligence-gathering practices by GCHQ that have been challenged under international privacy rights treaties.
Indeed.
Read “Losing Small Wars: British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan” by Frank Ledwidge
With so many Labour MPs members of Labour Friends of Israel, Burnham is never going to admit to the support of the Genocide in Gaza although every one of those MPs and members of Starmer government are accountable for war crimes by the International Court of Justice. The permission to allow, Israeli arms manufacture in the UK, use of RAF bases in Fairford, Cyprus etc is clear evidence of genocidal complicity.
This is Britain. There is an entire system, carefully and meticulously designed, to ensure that on the rare occasions where someone is held to account, it’s not someone the establishment thinks matters enough to defend.