David Blunkett has said he is “deeply sorry” for the embarrassment he has caused Tony Blair, after
he resigned as work and pensions secretary.He said he was guilty of making a mistake on three occasions and was now “paying the price for it”.
Tony Blair has paid tribute to Mr describing him as a “decent and honourable man”.
Gag me with a spoon. It’s Bush that has the reputation of not wanting to let go of his fuckup “friends”
but Blair’s just as bad, isn’t he? Blunkett, Mandelson, even Estelle Morris all resigned in disgrace only
to return to the fold not that much later.
In the Commons, Mr Blair told MPs that none of the allegations against Mr Blunkett warranted his
dismissal under the ministerial code, saying: “I could discover no impropriety or wrongdoing.”The mistakes arose out of an “honest misunderstanding”, he said, and Mr Blunkett had left office “with
no stain of impropriety against him whatsoever”.
When did we hear that before? Oh yes, the previous time Blunkett resigned “with his integrity intact”. Not very many secretaries can resign from office twice and say that!
Most politicians who had to resign in shame stay resigned, but not Blunkett. He has now joined Mandelson in that short list of politicians who had to resign twice; one wonders if a fatcat job in Europe can be far behind…
The way in which this happened is typical of Blunkett: arrogant and stupid. I can’ help but think a lot of this has to do with his background. He is so used for fighting for what he wants and winning, to succeed in spite of the odds that I think he has
started to think that he can do anything, that rules are for lesser men. How else to explain that he thought he could get away with taking up a directorship of DNA Bioscience, purchasing shares in it, taking these shares into a family trust when he became a secretary again, without telling the advisory committee on business appointments about it and with the company having an active interest in the business of his department!