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« Have you RSVP'd yet? | Main | Joe Jackson Down Under »
Friday
Jun202008

David and Shami need to lighten up

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, has been advising David Davis (allegedly). This week government minister Andy Burnham expressed surprise that a man "who was, and still is, I believe, an exponent of capital punishment" could be having "late-night, hand-wringing, heart-melting phone calls with Shami Chakrabarti".

Some people, including it seems Chakrabarti herself, have leapt to the conclusion that these comments were designed to set tongues wagging. Today's papers report that she has written to Burnham and Gordon Brown accusing Burnham of "debasing" his office.

Hmmm. In the cut and thrust of politics, Burnham's comments are pretty tame stuff. It's a mildly amusing line which suggests that Burnham has a sense of humour. Had Boris Johnson said it I'm pretty sure we'd all be laughing with him, not talking about smears or the threat of legal action.

I'm a fan of Chakrabarti in the sense that I admire her intellect, her drive, and the fact that she has put herself very firmly on the political map. (I'm less of a fan of Liberty, but that's another matter.) If however she has a genuine interest in helping Davies, she should let this matter drop. DD's campaign is not about Shami Chakrabarti. It's about civil liberties: 42-day detention, compulsory ID cards, record numbers of surveillance cameras etc.

Now that she is a "celebrity" in her own right (she recently appeared on Have I Got News For You) I wonder if she is taking herself a little too seriously. We've never spoken, or been introduced, but our paths do occasionally cross, usually in some anonymous BBC corridor.

Two years ago we were guests on The Late Edition with comedian Marcus Brigstocke (same programme, different slots) and last year I attended a dinner in London where Shami was the guest speaker. Humour, it has to be said, isn't her forte. Gravitas is her thing, and she should stick to it.

That, perhaps, is why she wants to nip any innuendo in the bud. Ditto David Davis. My advice? Keep the campaign focussed on the issues. The government wants the by-election to become a farce. Ministers and their lapdogs in the media will inevitably want to mock the candidates and their advisers. It's to be expected.

Don't play their game. Rise above it. But if you are attacked personally, laugh, dismiss it - and let people draw their own conclusions about why you are being targetted.

Reader Comments (2)

How can Liberty call itself a civil rights group when the silence has been deafening on the smoking ban. Civil liberities should mean all civil liberties not just the ones that suit.

I e-mailed this group when the ban was first implemented, they didn't even have the decency to reply. It seems to me that they're more interested in the freedoms of terrorists. Not once have I heard her, or the judiciary for that matter, say that it's wrong to criminalise 14 million people for doing something that is perfectly legal. So to me Liberty, the judiciary and all the so-called Human Rights groups just cherry pick what they feel is an abuse of power or human rights, and where these are concerned rights don't extend to smokers.

June 21, 2008 at 2:00 | Unregistered CommenterJoan

Well said Joan!

June 24, 2008 at 12:51 | Unregistered CommenterRose Whiteley

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