FOUR REASONS WHY I FEEL ASHAMED TO BE BRITISH TONIGHT.

ONE.

Let me start with the Iraq War and Blair's sycophantic relationship with George Bush that led to the British Armed Forces being sent to Iraq without proper equipment and with no political plan in place for the 'occupation'. I am presently reading 'The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder' by an eminent US attorney called Vincent Bugliosi. In light of Jack Straw's decision to suppress release of Cabinet Documents from 2003 (roll on a Public Inquiry) Bugliosi makes an interesting point that Bush ignored the 'Famous Downing Street Memo'. These were minutes from a pre-invasion Cabinet Meeting that quoted Sir Richard Dearlove describing his meetings in the US; " Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the Intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy". The question is why did Blair then mislead Parliament about the '45 minutes' and an imminent threat?

TWO

Whilst I have sympathy for some-one with terminal cancer, let us be realistic for a moment. Jade Goody is not only lacking in any talent other than self publicity but she was seen by millions to be the worst type of arrogant racist on 'Big Brother'. Have we forgotten that her bile against a talented, educated, charming, sophisticated and highly succesful actress was driven by the base idea that the crude, ignorant, uneducated Jade was superior because she was 'white'? This woman has become a member of Britain's new, wealthy and worthless 'aristocracy' on the basis of notoriety and 'celebrity'; not for talent, ability or philanthropism. Our media, with our support has created this travesty of 'greatness' where a wedding to a criminal who assaulted another with a golf club is now an 'iconic moment' worthy of a £700,000 cheque and the support of a British Prime Minister!

THREE

I remember with utter disbelief that a murder victim, Stuart Lubbock, could be found floating face down in a swimming pool with injuries of physical and sexual assault with blood levels of alcohol and drugs at a private party in Mar 2001 and no less than 8 years later, no-one has been found responsible. This beggars belief and the fact that Essex Police have been found to have failed in their duty in so many areas worries me. Was their investigation lax due to the 'celebrity' status of the party holder combined with a desire not to be seen to be 'homophobic'? We need the same rigorous enquiry as ocurred in the Lawrence murder.

FOUR

I am ashamed to live in a country where an Animal Rights 'bomber' gets 10 years for actually setting off bombs and yet misguided and fortunately inept Muslim Fundamentalists are awarded 30 year prison sentences for just contemplating acts of terrorism. Add to this the fact that our Government not only allowed the US to subject a 'British Resident' to improper arrest, detention and 'rendition' but would now seem to have been compliant in his torture and mis-treatment. I am delighted that Binyam Mohammed has at last got back to the UK with all charges dropped by the US i.e. he is an innocent man. His story, when he tells it should shame us all.

Have we sunk so low under almost 12 years of Blair and Brown that we now have a distorted perception of worth, integrity and morality or would this situation be the same under any Government.?