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2007-11-21 MRS BECKETT, A QUICK EPITAPH20 NOVEMBER 2007: Margaret Beckett made some pretty wild assertions to the European Scrutiny Committee over the summer (see below). "Nothing's going on!" Was the best. She was saying there were no wranglings, no negotiations, no discussions, no nothing happening around the draft Treaty. It was all "frozen".The Committee found this hard to swallow. Especially when the draft was published the day before the meeting when it all had to be agreed. Last week, evidence given to the European Scrutiny Committee by Lord Williamson told us what we all assumed was the case. The draft Treaty was freely available to governments and was being passed around for comment for about a year. But not, of course, to the people who are there to scrutinise these things, the European Scrutiny Committee. I was wondering whether to work myself up into a lather on this, but then thought she'll have some fine, legal point to justify her flagrant misleading of the Committee. "Ah, but dialogue is not discussion." Something like that. Or, "I thought you meant 'discussion' in the French sense." IT'S NASTY BUT IT HAS TO BE SAIDCan it be true: 1,189 economic migrants from Eastern Europe are receiving £57 a week income support. And other benefits - housing allowance, child benefit, jobseekeers allowance. It all adds up to £143m a year. Not much? I wonder what it will be next year. My bet is double. No, hang on, it's doubled from last year. My bet is triple.Without wanting to sound mean - is it sensible to be subsidising economic migrants? Isn't that the one thing they're not asking for? IT'S THE END OF THE BEGINNING, AT LEASTWill Gordon cave on ID cards after the data rape fiasco? He might, you know. But if he does it will be a disaster. Mind you, it'll be a disaster for him if he doesn't. | |
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