April 2009 Archives

After four years and the spending of £100 million no-one has been convicted in connection with the July 7 bombings in London which took 52 lives.

This may tell us a great deal about the ineffectiveness of our security forces in combating small cells of extremists.

And more about their shortcomings is likely to be revealed next month with the release of a report which will detail how MI5 and West Yorkshire Police missed opportunities to monitor two of the suicide bombers.

But they're not the one ones to blame ...

Huge excitement has been caused by the weight-loss drug alli going on sale for the first time.

Why is that?

You need to have reached a body mass index of 28 before a chemist will allow you to buy it.

How many of those who have gorged themselves to that size are going to have the self-respect and self-control required to put themselves on the low calorie, low-fat diet which is the absolutely essential prerequisite to avoid the extremely unpleasant side effects of taking the drug?

And why would they suddenly rush out and actually pay for pills when they are already available on prescription in much stronger versions?

In any case three alli pills a day cost £16 a week.

Just think how many Big Macs with extra fries you can get for that.

Tesco has just announced a 10 per cent leap in profits, which means it is making £8.6 million a day.

The key reason for this extraordinary result is that it has dramatically increased the price of food.

So in the middle of the worst recession for 60 years we have an organisation making a record £3 billion in profit by putting up the cost of eating by almost 10 per cent.

See you back here at the weekend with my verdict of new weight loss drug alli ...

Alcoholics will be stripped of their benefits unless they accept help to kick the booze says Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell.

Presumably he'd had a few when he came up with this idea.

Of course, none of us are delighted to be supporting 50,000 drunks who are claiming Incapacity Benefit on the grounds that they are too inebriated to work.

But the only reason we are in this ludicrous and expensive position is because New Labour has allowed them to sign on for benefit in the first place.

The Home Office has unveiled a new strategy for beating burglars.

So guess which of the following it involves.

1. A major new investment in policing which will involve the restoration of local cop shops and a massive increase in street patrols.

2. A crackdown on drug peddling and consumption to confront the junkies who carry out huge numbers of burglaries to finance their habit.

3. New guidance to the legal system to ensure that those brought before the courts are given harsh sentences.

4. A 15% money off voucher for B&Q.

Click to the next page for the answer!

Forget about the money for a moment.

Take a break from trying to work out whether that G20 carnival in London will actually make one ounce of difference to your job, your mortgage or your future.

And try to wipe from your memory that inane grin (like the rictus on the lips of a shot dog) hurriedly plastered on the face of Prime Minister Brown whenever he stepped into the company of a camera and a world leader.

Because if we want to make a real judgement about the state of our nation we should look not at the lavish reception in Buckingham Palace, the Jamie Oliver dinner in Downing Street or the fudge-fest at the Excel Centre.

We should turn instead to what was taking place at exactly the same time in another part of London.