In the UK the government yesterday defended plans to use credit ratings agencies to help catch people cheating the benefit system. Chris Grayling, the Welfare Minister, said the government should be free to use information that is publicly available and that is already used by commercial organisations to identify those claiming benefits fraudulently. Such a policy was, he said, a cornerstone of Conservative Party beliefs (election poster above). In a radio interview Mr Grayling also defended the decision to pay what have been described as “bounties” to agencies that help the government cut the cost of welfare fraud. One company, Experian, already has a contract to scrutinise new housing benefit claims and it has said that it is in talks with ministers about extending its...

Coalition's plans include taking people off higher rate of benefits if tests reveal they are fit to do some workMinisters are to signal a tougher approach to incapacity benefit this week as the next stage of its welfare reforms, by reducing the benefit levels of those tested if they are found capable of doing some work.Details are expected to be announced by the work minister, Chris Grayling, this week. Early pilots suggest half of those assessed are being taken off the higher rate benefit on the basis that tests reveal they are fit to do some work, government sources say.Those deemed capable are likely to be required to do more to make themselves available for work if they are to continue receiving benefit.Ministers have also looked at whether they can speed up the testing, but denied a...

Gay rights activists have been criticised for an outreach programme targeting Tory MPs. These gays believe that they can "cure" Tories by driving out their "demons" through the worship of icons.The gays have established a temple in which young Conservatives are counselled. "Phil", the prospective Tory candidate for Sutton and Cheam, was sent to the gays by his local party, who are all flaming. "I was told they could stop me believing in a Big Society," he said. "They said they had something much bigger they wanted to show me."The latest row comes not long after a leading homosexualist, Christophe Gayling, caused uproar when he told a meeting of gay B&B owners that they should have the right to turn away Tories in case they smashed up the joint while looking like idiots. Subscribe...

The Tories seem to be doing their best to lose the vote of gay people. Last month it was shadow Tory home secretary Chris Grayling who landed himself and his party in trouble by defending the rights of bed-and-breakfast owners to discriminate against gay couples. Then the party’s shadow defence minister Julian Lewis alleged that equalising the age of consent had increased the risk of HIV infection. And now the Tories have had to suspend one of their would-be MPs for describing gay people as “not normal”. The BBC reports: Tory election candidate Philip Lardner has been suspended for describing gay people on his website as “not normal”, the party has confirmed. … The primary school teacher’s name will remain on ballot papers because it is too late...

Conservative leader says he is prepared to discuss electoral reform as latest polls point to a hung parliamentDavid Cameron has left open the possibility of a coalition with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats by refusing to rule out discussions on reform of Britain's first-past-the-post voting system.The Tory leader's reluctance to close off the possibility, during an exclusive interview with the Observer, comes amid signs that the Lib Dems are holding on to increased support after two televised leaders' debates – and could deprive the Tories of an outright majority.Cameron insists that he still believes the first-past-the post system is the best for Britain. "I want us to keep the current system that enables you to throw a government out of office. That is my view," he says.But when...

You’ve got some nerve, David Cameron. Or should that be bare-faced hypocrisy? If what The Guardian today reports is correct, then you will later presume to speak for the ‘great ignored’ and, apparently, gays are included. Ignored by whom and in what context? Our rights were ignored, dismissed, sidelined, never given to us under the last two Tory administrations. Over the weekend we learned that your shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, has some funny ideas about how turning away customers on the basis of them being gay is acceptable if your business is a B&B. And you, Mr Cameron, had nothing to say about his comments. You ran away and hid under a rock. Image via Wikipedia In a London marginal constituency today, Cameron is reportedly planning to say the...

Good morning and welcome to Daily View on this, the first day of the General Election. As if we hadn’t all been at war footing for weeks anyway. In history on April 6th, in 1869 celluloid was first patented, paving the way for commercial photography and cinematography. Every Youtube video you watch during the campaign will be thanks to the technology and techniques first pioneered on celluloid over 100 years ago. On this day in 1895, Oscar Wilde was arrested for attempting to book into Chris Grayling’s B&B; in 1896, the first modern Olympic Games is held. It’s the day in 1917 when the United States declared war on Germany and the day in 1930 when Ghandi began the Salt Satyagraha which ultimately led to independence for India. Today Rory Bremner turns 49 and Mylene...

I entirely disagree with Chris Grayling when he says that If it’s a question of somebody who’s doing a B&B in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who doesn’t come into their own home. This is for one very simple reason: if they are opening their home to paying customers, they are opening it to anyone who will pay the rates they charge. Regardless of personal situation. Homeowners have the right to exclude anyone they want from their home – until they turn into into a business as a B&B. However, it is hardly right to accuse him (or the Conservative Party) of being homophobic, as Laborites have done and continue to do so, for suggesting that B&B owners should have the right to turn way gay couples if they choose....

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The Daily Mirror wins by returning to the glory days of Fleet Street in its coverage of Chris Grayling:B&B gay gaffe MP axe...

WARNING THIS IS A RANT. As always, take it with a pinch of salt. One thing that has irked me greatly, during the whole Chris Grayling/B&B story, is the smugness of Labour supporters (especially GLBT ones). They've wallowed in this scandal eagerly, lambasting Tories left, right and centre and shouting about how "liberal" their party is. Well I won't argue that the Labour party hasn't tried when it comes to gay rights. They started off so well. But where they went wrong was that they focussed on basically illiberal, from a certain point of view as Obi-Wan would say, equality legislation. Instead of fighting for the one thing that would make us fully equal citizens of this country, marriage equality, Labour did something well-meaning but ultimately destructive; they introduced...

Grayling's real thoughts, as exposed by the Observer (where Grayling says that B&B owners shouldn't have to admit gay couples if against their Christian belief if the B&B is in their own home) and David Cameron's stuttering inability to answer on gay issues during an interview with Gay Times has seen Conservative poll ratings fall amongst the gay community in response to a Pink News survey.  http://bit.ly/aaQDqb I should hope so too! Making the right noises for political purposes is not enough - and the Conservatives have been exposed as still having a very long way to go to transform their real position into a genuinely liberal one. This debacle has demonstrated the reality behind the warm words....

Dear Chris Grayling, Despite your attempts to turn to the focus back on Conservative plans for tougher policing, you are still under the spotlight for your suggestion that people who run bed and breakfasts in their homes should have the right to reject homosexual guests.  The secret recording of your remarks, published on the Observer website, have led to calls for David Cameron to either sack or back you, to which the unequivocal answer should be to back you. Last month, Michael Black and John Morgan were turned away from a bed and breakfast in Berkshire. The owner told the two men that it was against her policy to allow same-sex couples to stay.  Under the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, it says that no-one should be refused goods or services on the grounds of...

Party say comments were recollection of his old view, as doubts emerge over shadow home secretary's future roleConservatives rounded on their shadow home secretary today after he attracted fresh concern about intolerance at the top of the party by saying owners of bed and breakfasts should be allowed to turn away gay couples.Colleagues of Chris Grayling sought to limit the damage done by his comments, made to a thinktank last week, that he believed individuals running B&Bs; from their homes should be allowed to turn homosexual guests away.Increasing speculation that he would not become the home secretary should the Tories win the election, one shadow minister said today: "There's an attempt [by Labour] to suggest Grayling's comments reveal party-wide homophobia, whereas the real reason...

One minute he takes one view, the next he seems to change his mind (Hat tip to Tom Harris). It is concerning, but perhaps Chris Grayling ought to stop and think about how he would feel about this if he were Gay and would he hold the same views and vote the same way if this was to do with Black or Disabled...

It must be something about the Easter holidays. The Pope and various Archbishops – both Catholic and Anglican – have been plastered all over the news, for one thing or another – and now the Chris Grayling, Tory shadow Home Secretary, has sparked a row with his remark that  Christian B&B owners should be allowed to refuse residence to gay people. “I think we need to allow people to have their own consciences. “I personally always took the view that… if you look at the case of ‘Should a Christian hotel owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from their hotel?’ “I took the view that if it’s a question of somebody who’s doing a B&B in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who...

Yes - of course - there are great sensitivities around how to give everyone religious freedom to believe their doctrines and live their lives according to that doctrine whilst at the same time ensuring equality and freedom from discrimination. That is one of the great challenges that we have to meet - and it reared its head constantly in the Equality Bill. However, in the end, the provision of goods and services must be provided on an equal basis to all. That is where Chris Grayling has failed to understand the real nature of equality. It will mean, for example, for those Christians who believe it is against their religion or belief to rent facilities to homosexuals - will not be able to exclude gay couples. That is a clear example of where the line is drawn. There are more complex ones -...

Every year, almost without fail, we have a news story about a gay couple being refused service in a bed and breakfast. Hey, we've even had a "Hotel refuses soldier" story before, because their policy was not to accept members of the military. There's a problem in these stories for liberals. That problem is a conflict of individual rights. On the one hand I believe no one should be allowed to refuse you service just because of "what" you are. On the other there's the right to refuse to serve someone, for whatever reason, that a business owner should, in theory, be allowed. So when Chris Grayling, Tory Shadow Home Secretary says: "I think we need to allow people to have their own consciences. I personally always took the view that... if you look at the case of 'Should a Christian hotel...

The Observer apparently has a tape of Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, saying that he agrees that owners of B&Bs should be free to ban homosexual couples. A unionist Mayor in Ulster has been blocked from being a Tory candidate because he, a B&B owner, would not allow such individuals in. As an evangelic Christian myself, I agree fully with Mr Grayling and a vote for the Tories is now certainly worthwhile. He will be a fine home secretary, rather than the previous PC morons. Let’s hope they don’t get his scalp for this, and that persecution of Christians – the subject soon of a bbc documentary – stops when the new Government is elected....

The Observer is reporting that Chris Grayling has told bed and breakfast owners that are totally within their rights to turn away same sex couples from their establishments. This really is turning the Tories back to the bad old days of the 80s. Also contravening the equality laws that Labour have brought in over the last 13 years.What next?Will they stop our schools protecting gay pupils...

• B&Bs; 'should have right to bar gays'• Exclusion would violate law – Labour• Audio: Listen to the recordingThe Tories were embroiled in a furious row over lesbian and gay rightson Saturday after the shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, was secretly taped suggesting that people who ran bed and breakfasts in their homes should "have the right" to turn away homosexual couples.The comments, made by Grayling last week to a leading centre-right thinktank, drew an angry response from gay groups and other parties, which said they were evidence that senior figures in David Cameron's party still tolerate prejudice.In a recording of the meeting of the Centre for Policy Studies, obtained by the Observer, Grayling makes clear he has always believed that those who run B&Bs; should be free...

Airbrushing pictures isn't enough, the Tories are now airbrushing the statistics. We saw that with Chris Grayling and his abuse of the crime figures, to the point where the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority felt that he had to intervene, warning that Grayling's wilful misinterpretation of the figures waslikely to damage public trust in official statisticsGrayling's flailing defence of the indefensible, attempting to claim that the changes in recording methods didn't affect his argument - which is utter rubbish.Then this week, we've had a minor decimal error in a report, which now states that 54% of girls in the most deprived areas get pregnant before the age of 18.The actual figure is 5.4%.Perhaps it was a simple mistake, but why did nobody spot it?Is it that they don't understand...

"No matter how hard shadow home secretary Chris Grayling tried to sound convincing, there was a little wobble in the back of his throat betraying the fact he wasn't even persuading himself.He was trying to refute claims the Tory party had misrepresented statistics to make it look like violent crime had gone up more than it actually had under Labour.But within seconds he began to sound like someone with a complex for being short, who stands in front of the mirror telling themselves that size doesn't matter."Read the Evening Post Parliamentary Correspondent's full column...

Working as I do with data day in and day out the one thing you learn is that you have to compare like with like to get an actual comparison. There are little comments all over our spreadsheets which say when something started, moved or a calculation was changed. It not simply for us to keep a track on changes but also so that we know if data from different periods is comparable simply from...

Britain's head of statistics rebukes Conservatives for wrongly claiming violent crime has skyrocketed under LabourThe Conservatives are embroiled in a political row after the UK's head of statistics accused the party of misleading the public over violent crime.Sir Michael Scholar, the chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, wrote to the shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, after Tory activists were sent leaflets suggesting violent crime had vastly increased over the past decade under the Labour government.The Tories failed to make clear that the definition of violent crime was changed in 2002, making direct comparisons between the late 1990s and 2008-2009 unreliable."I must take issue with what you said yesterday about violent crime statistics, which seems to me likely to damage public...

Yesterday I wrote about Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling’s extraordinarily twisted use of statisticsto try to justify part of the Conservatives’ ‘Broken Britain’ narrative. Today the BBC’s Mark Easton, who broke the original story, has the newsthat Chris Grayling has just been sent a sharp letter from Parliament’s statistics watchdog, informing him that his mis-use of statistics about violent crime is ‘likely to damage public trust in official statistics’. The Chairman of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), Sir Michael Scholar, says he does ‘not wish to become involved in political controversy’,  but ‘must take issue’ with Grayling’s comments ’yesterday about violent crime statistics’. The...

This morning’s Today programme provided another of those ‘mustn’t miss’ moments, as presenter Evan Davis  took the Conservatives’ Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling to task over the party’s misleading use of crime statistics. Last week Mark Easton, the BBC’s Home Affairs editor, had asked ‘Are the Tories being honest with their claims on violent crime’: Last week, David Cameron told me that one reason he could justify the phrase “broken society” was because of “significant” increases in violent crime, notably gun and knife crime in Britain.  When I challenged him to produce the evidence, his party press office sent the BBC a list of statistics. It emerges that the only way the Conservative leader can back up his claims is to ignore the klaxon...

Delighted to hear the Conservative con on violent crime figures exposed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning.As I posted last week HERE, David Cameron's 'Broken Britain' campaign relies heavily on them being able to prove violent crime is rising...when he knows that in fact the reverse is the truth. This morning, the BBC put Mark Easton - their journalist who first publicised the Tory con - head to head with Cameron's spokesman on crime, Chris Grayling.Grayling had sent out spurious statistics to local Conservative parties across the country encouraging them to claim violent crime had risen since 1997.Mark Easton explained that the Tories had ignored official clear warnings that the figures they were sending out could not be compared due to major improvements in recording violent...

Chris Grayling was on the Politics Show this week, trying to argue in favour of a change in the law to allow homeowners to use all force that is not 'grossly disproportionate' in defence of themselves, their families and - one presumes - their property.Naturally, the appeal case last week came up for comment, but I'm not quite sure of the relevance in this case, as the injuries to the burglar came after he had left the victim's premises and been pursued down the street by the victim and his family. Surely Grayling can't be proposing that we will be allowed to wreak vengeance upon criminals. I suppose that it would save money on the courts system, but I'm not sure that it is in the interests of justice.Grayling said that nobody knows how they would react if they came acrossa burglar...

Dear Alan Johnson, I’m sure you consider yesterday’s announcement regarding sex offenders to be a fantastic success, given that the press lapped it up and the Conservatives were forced to fall into line. The plan is to let families ask police if someone with access to their child has convictions or has been previously suspected of abuse, following the trials of such a scheme in Southampton, Warwickshire, north Cambridgeshire and Stockton-on-Tees.  One can see why the media loved it, but that doesn’t mean it is all good news. “Sarah’s Law” was proposed after the kidnap and murder of 8-year-old Sarah Payne by Roy Whiting, a convicted sex offender, 10 years ago.  Her mother, Sara, a child protection campaigner, told the News of the World: “In...

Home secretary plans national launch of powers enabling parents to check whether child carers are convicted sex offendersThe Conservatives today backed plans by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, for a national roll-out of powers allowing parents to check whether those who regularly care for their children are convicted sex offenders.The decision followed a pilot scheme in four police areas – Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Cleveland and Warwickshire – which gave parents and carers controlled access to the sex offenders register.At least one police force, Avon and Somerset, refused to take part in the pilot.The decision was announced by Johnson in the News of the World, which has campaigned for what it calls "Sarah's law" – the publication of the names and addresses of convicted sex...

Today’s FThas an interview with wannabe Chancellor George Osborne, where he once again fails to give any real details of the Conservatives’ economic plans, should they win the next election. Osborne talks about his admiration for Sweden, although he is unable to put his finger on exactly why, saying: “I’m no expert on Swedish society but I am a regular viewer now of Wallander”. What next: Chris Grayling telling the Daily Mail that he is changing the Conservatives’ policies on drugs after catching up with a few episodes of Van der...

Nick Clegg made some waves this week by calling for full gay equality, and challenging the Tories and their leader David Cameron to follow his example. Well, now Lib Dem research has shown what an uphill battle the Tory leader will have on his hand even convincing his own shadow cabinet to back such moves – let alone his even more right-wing backbenchers – as The Guardian reports: Nearly a third of David Cameron’s shadow cabinet voted against gay rights legislation at some point over the last two parliaments, demonstrating their “shameful” record in tackling discrimination, according to the Liberal Democrats. They have compiled research on four examples of legislation where many Tories voted against equal rights laws. Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem home affairs...

Answer not much. In the Guardian today Chris Huhne Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman reveals how he fears gay rights would "grind to a halt" under a Conservative government. This is based on evidence of their voting records in West.• Ten out of 32 members of the shadow cabinet voted against at least one piece of gay rights legislation. The shadow Europe minister, Mark Francois,...

Dear Chris Grayling, Sometimes when I get things right or make an accurate prediction on this blog, I admit to feeling a small sense of smugness – just like every other armchair politico.  Today, however, is not a day for smugness.  When I wrote to you only a matter of weeks ago about Munir Hussain, who was jailed for 30 months after pursuing and beating a member of a gang who had tied up his family at knife-point in their home, I ended my letter with a rather sombre comment: ”If you want to pursue such a drastic change in the law then so be it, but don’t come running to me when a homeowner gets killed after starting a fight with a burglar.”  How chilling that something similar has now come to pass. Police are hunting the murderers of ‘have-a-go...

Dear readers, The recent remarks by Chris Grayling about homeowners supposedly being given more powers to defend their home was poorly judged in my opinion, and it seems I’m not the only one who finds Grayling’s proposals largely unworkable.  Keir Starmer, the Director of Prosecutions, has now rejected Grayling’s promise to review legislation to ensure that prosecutions were brought against victims of crimes acting in self defence only if their response was “grossly disproportionate”. Mr Starmer told the BBC that prosecutions were already often not brought where a householder had used force.  He said: “There are many cases, some involving death, where no prosecutions are brought. We would only ever bring a prosecution where we thought that the...

  Some police officers have always been sceptical of the effectiveness of PCSOs and argue that the public is ill-served by supposed police officers who do not have the same training as full officers and fewer powers. The Police Federation has accused the Labour Government of undermining the role of constable and “policing on the cheap”. Earlier this year a report found that PCSOs accounted for more than half of all police staff gross misconduct cases during the last financial year despite only making up about a fifth of the workforce. Senior officers at Scotland Yard – Britain’s largest force – found its PCSOs were bored and unmotivated in a review prompted after they found a disproportionate number of staff were being disciplined. They discovered PCSOs were...

Civil  servants are as bad as bankers … The Telegraph trumpets Gladstone’s anniversary … Tories support Labour’s school Sats Tests … Another dodgy Tory donor exposed … Labour split on voting reform … Lords skim expenses cream … BBC to make film on Thorpe tragedy … what Chris Huhne thinks of Prince Charles … Unions sit on money for Labour … look at who says Hauge is Vauge …and the only thing the final polls of the year can agree upon is that Liberal Democrat support is holding up Now Civil Servants join bankers in ludicrous bonuses – Daily Mail,, 24.12.09 “Civil Servants enjoyed a record £130 miillion in taxpayer-funded bonuses last year – and are in line for an even bigger sum this year. More than £350,000 a day went on performance-related pay for...

When a lawyer writes about a judicial decision, he writes about a 'judgment' (note no 'e'); when he writes about the judgement in a non judicial sense he adds the missing 'e'. This is traditional, but it also says something about the difference the lawyer will discern between a legal judgment and, for example, the judgement that we all exercise when reading the newspaper reports.Cases turn on questions of law and questions of fact. Criminal cases rarely, as I understand it, involve detailed argument about the law and so the principal decisions that the court will take concerns the facts - that is what the lay jury is for in our Crown courts. Argument about law are for the Judge to decide in Crown Courts - and he will 'direct' the jury on that law.At present, we have a law of self...

Dear Chris Grayling, You certainly won yourself a few fans among Daily Mail readers yesterday with your pledge to ‘protect’ householders who defend themselves from burglars.  Your plan is to review legislation on householders’ rights in the event of a burglar breaking into a home in light of a recent case that left many Daily Mail readers angry.  Unfortunately, pandering to the one particular group of newspaper readers is entirely inappropriate in this instance. Your comments to the Telegraph are very instructive: ”At the moment the law allows a defendant to use ‘reasonable force’ to protect him or herself, their family or their property.  Conservatives argue that the defence that the law offers a householder should be much clearer, and that...