ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

Please no, not more coverage of US elections that we're not allowed to vote in. Do something that's actually *relevant* to your viewers instead.

How about the government's plans to make local councils pay for info packs for migrants/immigrants/settlers/colonisers, giving them advice such as: "don't touch people without permission" and "don't break the law". How much is this going to cost?

Surely the bugging story has to be the main one. It will be interesting to see what Jack Straw says- and this line from downing street that they didn't receive David Davis' letter is about as believable as Gordon Brown's diary clash which meant he had to turn up late to sign the lisbon treaty. I have sent letters to Downing street and have had responses on both occasions so surely such an important letter would make it to the PM.

I hope there isn't too much on America- I know it's interesting and relevant to us but too much can get a little tedious. In the end, we don't know what will happen tomorrow, and the only thing that does matter is the result. What is the point in using your valuable 40 minutes speculating, and having pollsters predict results that then turn out to be wrong!

As a GP I would like to say the current dispute between the government and our profession is a massive issue. They are intent on bullying us into an agreement that is bad for patients and is purely for political gain.
GPs are happy to work extended hours if there is a local need and it is fairly resourced but this was rejected by Gordon Brown (although agreed by the NHS Employers & BMA)
We have been informed that if the current offer is not agreed a worse offer will be imposed on us large amounts of money being taken away - likely to finance private providers.
The future of the NHS is at stake !

Perhaps we should be asking our MPs to at least keep Parliament open 52 weeks of the year, as we are now expecting all other people to work a little longer!

Dear Newsnight

say country y initiates an action,
then leaks it,
then there is uproar
and less scrutiny than before,

we surely need vetting and online checks for anyone in Government -including the PM,

this is not in anyway to infer that the current Politicians are not beyond reproach but just guard against the day that a country or organisations manages to apply pressure against a politician to influence policy or decisions,

this is not about excluding anyone from being in Government, but about protecting them and us,

surely this would be sensible?

senior civil servants are vetted and checked in this way, what is the logical argument to suggest that if someone is elected to office they are beyond the sort of subtle pressures that we recognise can be applied against others?

I don’t understand the reasoning here and the logic behind the so called Wilson doctrine or his refusal to vet Ministers as directly asked for by Richard Crossman and another Minister George Wigg.

In 1972 Sir Martin Furnival Jones, a former Director General of Mi5 told the Franks committee that;

β€œ if the Russian Intelligence Service can recruit a back-bench MP and he climbs to a ministerial position, the spy if home and dry.’

This might apply to any organisation or country even one perceived to be friendly who might wish to influence the policy of this country, for example the use of our armed forces in conflicts around the world.

I’m not sure that anything has really changed since Sir Martin Furnival Jones made these comments.

The checks that may be carried out under current guidelines might not be sufficient to fully guarantee our security. And one problem would be of course would be if the problem lay at the top of Government or for example
someone had risen to that position without having being formerly a Cabinet minister.

The Independent on 17.11.06 reports that Denis Donaldson was recruited (by Mi5) "in the 1980s after compromising myself during a vulnerable time in my life"

what our side has done, we can be sure is carried out by the security services of most countries against the leaders of other countries. To pretend otherwise and on that basis not take measures to protect our country is beyond foolhardy it is irresponsible or worse.

β€’ Could you consider looking at the case for vetting and checks on all members of the Cabinet including the PM?

β€’ You will not find out who passed this story to the Conservatives, they may not even really know where it came from but it is worth asking,

β€’ if you contact me I can suggest a question you could ask the Leader of the American Senate but will not put it in this blog.

There is also a letter about this on our website written on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary at the time, Sir Andrew Turnbull

best wishes
Bob Goodall
co-ordinator
www.vetmps.org.uk

GPs

I'd like to know what's going on with GPs now. They've recently had an extremely generous payrise, making them on average the very best paid public sector workers in the land. And we're also told that we have an over supply of able medical students and foreign-trained immigrants looking for jobs. So why is the BMA so reluctant to change working hours? Right now people like me, who work all week to pay taxes that fund these generous GP salaries, are forced to take time off work to see a doctor, while the only people who've got the leisure to see their GPs are those who don't work. This doesn't add up.

I think we've heard enough guff about the US elections. They're many months away from happening anyway, so please get a grip of yourselves.

Nuon Chea appeared in a court for the first time today in relation to his part in the Democratic Kampuchea regime. The story of how he and his cadre managed to avoid justice for 30 years is a fascinating tale of Cold War intrigue which deserves to have media time. You can leave the US elections to snews 24 and Matt Frei: Newsnight surely exists in order to be distinctive.

I have little sympathy with MPs who are upset at being bugged. New Labour MPs (and others) have readily followed Blair and Brown like sheep to impose more and more police state measures onto the rest of us, especially the impending ID Cards and National Identity Register.

Now they are suffering the consequences of not having the courage nor the selflessness to oppose government attacks on democracy. By sanctioning the erosion of our civil liberties and human rights, they are creating a society where everyone is a potential victim of unaccountable security actions. Why should they be immune from the effects of their failure to protect their constituents?