No apology from Tony Blair: What a surprise!

I suppose it was too much to hope that we would have contrition from former Prime Minister Tony Blair over the invasion of Iraq.
Blair stuck to his story at the Chilcot inquiry yesterday - that he had not a regret about what turned out to be the disastrous invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam Hussein. There were no weapons of mass destruction.
Blair is undoubtedly an excellent performer in front of the cameras despite obvious nervousness at the start of his evidence.
What is clear though was that he was determined to send British ground troops into action - even rejecting a last-minute offer of a way out from the Americans.
His appearance was never going to lead to an apology from Blair for getting the UK into such a mess. He's not that type of politician - he's someone who always believes he's right despite the clear evidence to the contrary on Iraq.
But what was disgusting was that he did not talk to the families who lost loved one's in action - even through his evidence.
He should have showed compassion. He didn't and his premiership will always be tainted by Iraq - and many positive policies brought in by Labour such as the introduction of the minimum wage will be over-shadowed by his disastrous foreign policy failings.

Engage your brain first - David Davies

David Davies may be quite a likeable guy but the views he expresses are often on the barmy end of politics.
The Conservative MP for Monmouth is at it again suggesting a possible link between so-called "imported backward, medieval and barbaric" views of woman and rape. He argues that the upbringing of a 14-year-old who raped and robbed a woman should be investigated.
David Davies later claimed his comments were not related to Islamic or racial issues but I and many others won't believe him. He knows he stepped in the brown stuff and is trying to dig himself out.
Also there are certainly plenty of cases in the UK where teenagers of whatever colour or background do awful things to women.
David Davies really needs to engage his brain before speaking and avoid dropping himself in it big time.

Peter Ridsdale betrays City fans - and should go now!

Betrayed, stitched up, conned - that's how Bluebirds fans will feel after the announcement by Cardiff City Football Club that it will not now use funds raised from season ticket sales to bring in new players.
Supporters were persuaded to cough up hard-earned cash early to help Dave Jones in his bid to bring the Bluebirds promotion to the top division after nearly 50 years. But, he like the fans, has been let down by Peter Ridsdale and his board of directors.
The club suggests that expected investment did not come through. Well, they should not promised fans funds would be spent on players until that funding was secure and one still appears a fair way away.
All fans have got from Peter Ridsdale and the rest of his board are false promises and certainly not the transparency they deserve.
Peter Ridsdale, the club says, has the full backing of both the Board and majority of shareholders and will continue to lead the club.
But if he was working for a major company and misled shareholders he would have been sacked and quite rightly so.
The fans have been misled, he has lost any goodwill and should now do the decent thing and resign - although I doubt he will.
Certainly those that want their money back should be given it, and perhaps staff working in the trading standards department at Cardiff council should examine whether the club has breached the Trades Descriptions Act by misleading customers - the fans!

WRU chairman tackled over Labour £1,000-a-plate event

Welsh Rugby Union chairman David Pickering is entitled to support whatever political party he likes.
But what he must not do is using the facilities at the WRU to organise a lavish fundraising pre-election event on behalf of a political party, Welsh Labour in this case. Most employees spending their working hours on private work would quickly find themselves reprimanded by their employees or even dismissed.
How much time has he spent on this private work? Is he going to compensate the WRU, which is a non-political organisation?
We know the Welsh rugby team play in red but the WRU should certainly not be aligning itself, through its chairman, to the political party whose colours are red.
The event also highlights the divide between Labour's expensive backers, who have done well under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and its core working-class vote in Wales. Many voters will be staggered that £1,000 per person is being spent on one event while they struggle to put food on their table for their family in these very tough economic times.

Mohammad Asghar Has No Shame

Has Mohammad Asghar no shame? Apparently not.
He's the so-called politician who defected from Plaid Cymru to the Tories claiming he disagreed with Plaid's independence stance and was unhappy about its views on the Royal Family.
But anyone in the know at the Welsh Assembly was aware it was much more about his daughter Natasha being refused a job alongside his wife in his Newport office.
Now her name has appeared on an address list of staff who work in the Assembly. Asghar claims she is not being paid but just how long will that stand for?
And what about the Tories? Are they just going to let their new recruit make his office a family concern. If they do, how long will it be before another relative gets a job on the public purse?
Have the Conservatives really learnt nothing from the MP's fiasco and what has David Cameron got to say about the new Tory policy of jobs for the boys or girls in this case?
The Welsh Conservatives will rue the day they decided to take on Mohammed Asghar whose setting up his own job creation unit - for his family. Shameful. He should resign because he's become an embarrassment to the Welsh Assembly - and make it quick.

How not to run a company: BA lead the way

What sort of a company imposes new contracts on fresh recruits
paying them significantly less than current staff?
Well, not some tiny tin-pot organisation but British Airways, and it also imposes a whole range of changes without proper consultation with staff.
Don't they get it that to turn things around they need the backing of those that work for the company - and not treat them like dirt.
This type of macho management intent on crushing its workforce must be challenged at all times.
There was a 9-1 vote for a strike until action was blocked by the High Court last year, setting a very dangerous precedent. Given nothing has changed for workers, another vote in favour of industrial action can be expected.
The union Unite made a tactical blunder by proposing 12 straight days of action over the Christmas period. They can still force management into meaningful discussions without such prolonged strike action that alienates the public.
It's good that the union has made it clear it will not strike over Easter. Let us hope that once the vote is announced BA get back to some serious discussions with staff - and stop trying to crush them.

Brown bows to pressure over Iraq inquiry

Gordon Brown will give evidence to the Iraq Inquiry before the general election - and so he should.
It had looked like an attempt by Labour to bury bad news until after voters go to the poll.
But the Prime Minister, who held the purse-strings when the Iraq war was launched, is clearly calculating that it is better to get it over as soon as possible rather than have the issue raised in the general election campaign by political opponents.
More important than Gordon Brown's appearance is that the people of the UK get some answers. Let us hope the inquiry members will get stuck in with some tough questions - not just about the war but the preparedness of British troops in terms of equipment. As disgraced US President Richard Nixon declared: "There can be no whitewash at the White House". Substitute 10 Downing Street.
Meanwhile, before the current PM appears Tony Blair, the man who sent British troops to war, will appear. Roll on Friday, January 29.