Three priests and one ex-priest have issued accusations of inappropriate behaviour towards them by Cardinal O'Brien. The alleged behaviour was some 20 years ago and it is admitted that the allegations are made public now with the specific aim of trying to prevent Cardinal O'Brien from going Rome to join the Conclave to elect a new Pope.
There is no stated motive from the women who last week made public their claims of inappropriate behaviour towards them by the Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Rennard, but it does seem odd that accusations about events which allegedly took place sometime between 2003 and 2008 should surface the week before the Eastleigh by-election.
If this is a plot to undermine the Liberal Democrat effort then the plotters must be very pleased with their results. The Mail in Sunday had a full front-page splash on the topic yesterday (plus possibly something inside: I didn't buy one to look) and Nick Clegg's claim that he played no part in a cover-up was the lead item on the Radio 4 news this morning.
Obviously I have no knowledge of the veracity of any of these claims but it does seem to me to weaken the the position of the accusers if the accusations are not made within a reasonable time of the alleged offences.
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The mail would certainly have found something (anything) to attack Nick and the party with, the week before Eastleigh, and the Telegraph. This was convenient for them, but C4 were the motivators.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but as enquiries seem to be "flavour of the month" it would be interesting to have one to discover who brought the matter to the attention of C4, and who at C4 decided to broadcast their programme the week before Eastleigh by-election.
DeleteI'm not particularly interested in the behaviour of Lord Rennard or Cardinal O'Brien. I am interested that you think your political views would best be served by a Liberal Democrat win at Eastleigh. My view is that a loss would be better since it might result in a change of direction for the party, or even a change of leadership. The snag is that a Liberal Democrat loss would probably mean a Conservative gain. If I were an Eastleigh voter, I should therefore be tempted to vote UKIP!
ReplyDeleteI believe, or perhaps hope is a better word, that a Liberal Democrat win might just strengthen what I believe/hope( again) must be a Liberal Democrat undercurrent in favour of a Keynesian stimulus to the economy. Vince Cable gives faint indications of wanting this (though I admit Danny Alexander doesn't.)
ReplyDeleteI think George Orwell would have been delighted by Clegg's claim that he was only giveb INDIRECT AND NON-SPECIFIC warnings about Billy Bunter's sexual proclivities.
ReplyDeleteWhat then did dear Danny Alexander warn him about?
Just as with 'gay marriage', modern politicians seem to think they can change the meanings of the English language. It is unbelievable that senior Lib Dems were ignorant of these accusations.
Come back Jeremy Thorpe, all is forgiven. . . and let's not forget Pants Down Paddy.
Once again our politicians manage to behave like headless chickens.