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Tag: gordon brown
#EndorseThis: David Cameron’s Swan Song

#EndorseThis: David Cameron’s Swan Song

Much as aluminium tends to oxidise into rust, so too has British Prime Minister David Cameron’s time come to be replaced by a newer, shinier premier — in this case, Home Secretary Theresa May, who was named the next Tory premier faster than you could say, “Bob’s your uncle.”

The news came out at 10 Downing Street yesterday as Cameron spoke in front of the press. But as he turned around and returned to his erstwhile residence and the soft purrs of the cat that his government acquired in 2011 to deal with a rat problem, he hummed a mysterious little tune.

Internet commentators suspected that the Prime Minister was rather happy — singing, though it is something British people have been known to do, was not normally associated with Cameron. However, Cameron might well be relieved. He promised a referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union as part of his previous general election campaign, yet despite his efforts as part of the “Remain” campaign, the country narrowly voted to leave (although Scotland, Northern Ireland, and London overwhelming voted to stay in the union). Now, the new PM must manage the exit from the European Union while mitigating any economic shocks and attempting to reunite the country.

Musicians around the British internet took advantage of the rare opportunity to transcribe the haunting melody, create remixes, and analyze the song. But Cameron is only one of a chain of musical ministers — who can forget Gordon Brown’s rendition of a folk song about an old Scottish farmer?

 

Photo: Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Number 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister’s Questions at parliament in London, Britain June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall

Gordon Brown Accuses Murdoch Of Employing “Known Criminals”

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown upped the stakes today in the developing scandal over Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid hacking scandal:

On Tuesday, Mr. Brown accused The Sunday Times — owned by News International, the British subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation — of employing “known criminals” to gather personal information on his bank account, legal files and “other files — documentation, tax and everything else.”

“I think that what happened pretty early on in government is that the Sunday Times appear to have got access to my building society account, they got access to my legal files, there is some question mark about what happened to other files — documentation, tax and everything else,” Mr. Brown, who was Britain’s Labour prime minister from 2007 to 2010 after serving for a decade as chancellor of the Exchequer, told the BBC on Tuesday.

“I’m shocked, I’m genuinely shocked, to find that this happened because of their links with criminals, known criminals, who were undertaking this activity, hired by investigators working with the Sunday Times,” Mr. Brown said.

Unlike News of the World, the Sunday Times is a relatively prestigious newspaper, and that the illegal activity extends to all branches of the Murdoch Empire means he and his deputies are effectively setting top-down policy that encourages hacking in the name of “journalism.”