|
Delayed reaction is politically motivated
 By
Joe Giltrap
JACK Straw was talking on the radio one day about the several occasions
on which he himself had physically tackled criminals and that he wanted
to change the law in favour of the public.
My initial reaction was: “Fair play to you Jacko you have just leapt
up the ladder in my estimation.”
But as he talked I was more than a little disappointed to discover that
the first occasion was in 1980 and the last one in 1994.
My ‘fair play Jacko’ was replaced by: “Why are you suddenly
bringing this up now Mr Justice Secretary?
“Did it not strike you before now that something was not quite right
with the balance?”
Jack Straw spent four years as Home Secretary and why he could not find
either the words or the opportunity to speak out in all that time is beyond
me.
Surely the most protection should always be for the innocent man or woman
who suddenly finds themselves in a situation that is not of their making?
Imagine the sense of frustration and injustice you would feel if you found
yourself under the threat of prosecution as a result of defending your
property or loved ones against an unprovoked attack.
Criminals who bleat on about their rights make me sick. They are usually
vicious cowards and the simple solution for them is to stop committing
crime.
However, the only art in politics seems to be the art of making the most
of an opportunity and the threat of an election woke up a few politicians.
Jack Straw said he had wanted to change the law in favour of the public
when he was Home Secretary but he was moved to the Foreign Secretary’s
job before he could implement the change.
As I understand it Mr Straw and other Ministers blocked proposed legislation
changes suggested by the opposition.
Don’t you think that four years in office was a reasonable length
of time in which to make his views crystal clear and take action if he
really wished to?
You do, of course, have to respect him for having a go where a lot of
people would not have done and he is to be commended for it.
However, it might have earned a lot more respect if he had been campaigning
all along for such a change rather than reacting to the possibility of
a General Election with another knee-jerk headline-grabbing political
promise. |
