Sorry!

I?M sorry but yesterday?S excuses for failing to spot family abuse which had been allowed to continue under the noses of more than 100 officials for a quarter of a century sounded too hollow for me. What hope can there be for victims when they put their lives on the line to report abuse only to be ignored by the very people who are supposed to protect them?

This sorry state is symptomatic of a society which is obsessed with targets and box ticking. The easy option often gains rewards leaving weightier matters ignored with figures fiddled where necessary to obtain the required shine.

When things go drastically wrong there is the customary hand wringing statement of apology with the promise to learn lessons. They seldom do if recent experiences are anything to go on.

Postscript

With the ink still wet on the above post we read of yet another tragedy in the death of a long suffering disabled person whom it appears the police were unable to protect despite terbaru surveillance techniques. We defeated Hitler, we hope to defeat terrorism yet we appear unable to defeat the affliction that most are more likely to encounter. Something wrong somewhere?

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Moral bankruptcy

To ensure that we in Britain did not starve during WW2, thousands of Merchant Seamen braved the cruel seas of the North Atlantic while Hitler'sU-boats stalked their convoys. Merchant ships were  not allowed to pick up any survivors spotted in the icy waters. Some of the lucky ones who did not go down with their ships were picked up by Royal Navy escort vessels. One of the survivors tells his story here.

Those who lost their lives are remembered in the Merchant Navy War Memorial at Tower Hill in London where a memorial garden is dedicated to those who have no known grave.

Churchill said The Battle of the Atlantic was a fight for Britain's very survival but now this hallowed space is to be trampled by greedy bankers while boozing their bonuses over Christmas and dancing on the 'graves' of the brave sailors who gave their lives in two world wars to save Britain. Tower Hamlets Council see no merit in objections but then they wouldn't would they? We have been here before but while we have become accustomed to Islamists showing contempt for British values it is a bit much when bankers, who have done more than anyone else to bring our country to its knees, show such disrespect for merchant seamen who gave their lives for the freedom these bankers enjoy.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM!

Postscript

Thanks to a story in the Observer and to campaigners, permission to hold this event has been withdrawn.

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A step too far

"Margaret Thatcher deserves every honour – apart from a state funeral" runs the headline in Peter Oborne's piece for the Telegraph. As David Cameron says, 'let me be absolutely clear', I have no problem with the second part of that headline. Where are the unifying acts that warrant the distinction of a state funeral? Despite some lingeringresentment of his use of troops against miners in 1910/11, that Churchill deserved the honour is beyond dispute in reward for a nation's gratitude for leading us to victory in what was our greatest time of need .

Oborne perpetuates the myth implied in Thatcher's triumphant pose with the union flag with his assertion: "our former prime minister remains magnificent: brave, impervious, indomitable, the giantess of our time".

The unity that a state funeral would imply is absent. Many whose lives were ruined by Mrs Thatcher would happily picket a state funeral. Common sense should prevail but that is something else in short supply these days. A state funeral is not something to be devalued. Value for money was one of Mrs Thatcher's main tests even if often flawed, but a legacy admirably expressed in this e-petition.

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