Wednesday 12 October 2011

I am not making this up

Theresa May, the Posh Boys' Home Secretary, got her biggest laugh at the recent Tory Conference by attacking the Human Rights Act with a story about a judge who allegedly allowed an "illegal immigrant" to stay in the UK because he had a cat.

There are several issues here. First, it's a lie, in several respects. Second, she nicked the story from the leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, which her own leader David Cameron regards as consisting of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly". Not content with stealing the story, she was apparently so comfortable with the source that she also pinched the phrasing and even - and I am not making this up - the pausing for effect.

Third, cabinet colleagues Ken Clarke and Christopher Huhne both apologised to her for pointing out to the rest of us that she had indeed sought cheap applause at her party conference by peddling a racist lie from the loony right. Why did they feel the need to apologise for telling us the truth? Did someone lean on them? Someone Posh, perhaps??

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