Yesterday, I wrote about calls by the Berlusconi on Bannockburn to subordinate the judiciary to popular whims. Today, it is reported that one of the objects of his ire he to sue him, with respect of his office as First Minister; making this the first, and hopefully last time, I sympathize with a “leading human rights lawyer”.
Professor Tom Kelly was one of several individuals singled-out for personal attacks by Salmond in an interview with Holyrood magazine:
The First Minister told Holyrood magazine: “The judicial system does not exist to serve Professor Kelly, it exists to serve the people and any judicial system which allows that to happen would fall into disrepute, and what’s more, it costs lives because if you take £100 million out of the justice budget you cost lives; less police, less courts, less effective justice and incidentally, less Legal Aid and it is an inevitable consequence of that sort of thing.”
And this said by a man who claimed parliamentary expenses in an attempt to impeach Tony Blair for a decision which was brought into law by Parliamentary vote and which subsequent inquiries have not found against him.
Kelly’s cases have included successfully challenging a time-limit on slopping-out claims.
This argument could equally be used by supporters of the ex jure status of Guantanamo Bay: “okay minor players and even utterly innocent men were caught-up, but on balance it housed some of the vilest people in the world”.
I do not know if Britain’s foremost day-care assistant for children of al-Qaeda fighters has spoken in Holyrood or SNP-related venues, but doubt Fish-heid McMoonface would intervene to prevent his doing so.
Salmond’s snarling attacks on everyone, and I mean everyone who has criticized him will be familiar to those of us who have made unsustainable comments on political blogs. One or two critics appear, and we swat them away. Then more appear, and we did our heels in.
Then it is like something out of Zulu Dawn, and we get out the devil’s paintbrush to mow them all down. Everyone is wrong except us.
Only, Salmond is not a two-bit blogger or local councillor. He is the First Minister of Scotland, and has a rather obvious responsibility to be circumspect and diplomatic at all times. Where he is not, he should be called to account.
That he now is describing an interview given last month to the inhouse publication for the Scottish Parliament as old hat and said when feelings were supposedly raw suggests that he realizes just how badly he has over-reached himself; but, being Alex Salmond, he cannot admit to this.
Alex, like most of Scotland, you are a disgrace to Scotland.
Hat-tip Morebeerplease.
