Tag Archives: gordon brown

Silvio Berlusconi “asked Gordon Brown for Naomi Campbell’s number”

8:08am Fri November 18th

Tales of Silvio Berlusconi’s womanising and “bunga bunga parties” are manifold. But it was hitherto unknown that The Great Seducer was given to asking foreign leaders for celebrities’ personal contact details.

Speaking at a private lunch for the asset management firm Carlyle Group in Paris this week, Gordon Brown revealed that Berlusconi had approached him at a G20 meeting to ask him if he could get Naomi Campbell’s mobile number.

Scrapbook cannot resist speculating why, exactly, the Italian premier assumed Gordon would have Naomi’s digits and what on earth the Streatham supermodel and the dour Scot had in common?

With Campbell’s predilection for throwing mobile phones at the hired help, did Silvio detect a mutual passion for airborne communication devices?

Saint Vince fails to take his own advice on personal data losses

8:27pm Fri November 4th

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News International today savoured revenge on Vince Cable in the form of The Sun’s attack on the business secretary for dumping unshredded personal documents outside of his constituency office. Approached for comment yesterday, Scrapbook wonders whether Vince’s team recalled their own high-horsery over data security.

Laying the blame for the loss of 25 million tax records personally with Gordon Brown, Cable was apparently fond of delivering lectures on how to safeguard people’s personal information throughout 2007 and 2008:

“If data and valuable information is consistently lost or stolen or abused the public completely lose confidence in government in general at all levels.”

And again in the Commons:

“Is there not a growing diversity of data breach, involving not merely CDs, but memory sticks, laptops and paper files, and a growing variety of places where these things are lost, including on trains, in backs of cars and in bars?”

Or, indeed, left outside of MPs’ offices.

Destined to languish on opposition benches with the rest of the Liberal Democrats, what a relief that Vince will never be the custodian of sensitive Whitehall data. Oh, wait …

What to buy a politico for Christmas? A Gordon Brown cardboard cut-out

1:06pm Thu November 3rd

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With 52 shopping days until Christmas, Amazon may well have stumbled onto this year’s seasonal craze: a lifesized cardboard cut out of Gordon Brown. While John Prescott now finds his bestselling biography on sale for £1 in Poundland, a virtual Gordon for the politico in your life comes in at £30.99.

To preserve the delicate balance of Labour sectarianism, Gordon is even accompanied by a glossy photo of Tony Blair.

Top charity slams The Sun’s defence on Gordon Brown son as “misleading”

12:51pm Wed July 13th

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Accused over their front-page splash revealing confidential details on the health of Gordon Brown’s disabled son, The Sun has resorted to invoking its relationship with a charity in a desperate bid to stem the backlash. But a source from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust has described allusions to a formal relationship as “misleading”.

Yesterday, Brown spoke of his shock at seeing his youngest son Fraser’s details plastered across the paper’s front page:

“[We were] in tears … Sarah and I were incredibly upset about it.”

As News International shifts to a more bullish posture against allegations of invasion of privacy, The Sun has denied that any hacking took place and has credited its own “responsible, sympathetic and informative coverage” with an increase in donations to the Trust.

But in a statement given to Political Scrapbook this morning, a spokesperson for the charity hit back at the paper’s tactics:

“The release of any medical information to the media or anyone else is a decision for patients or, in the case of children, their parents to make. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust does not condone the release or publication of such information, without express permission, regardless of their motivation.”

Another page on the paper’s website boasts about increasing “national understanding” of the condition by working “in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust”. But describing The Sun’s claims as “misleading” the charity denied any formal partnership and emphasised that the same information on the disease was provided to other media outlets.

“The story about the Browns wasn’t published with our co-operation. We had nothing to do with the breaking of the story.”

Murdoch Morality: It’s acceptable to publish confidential medical details of a four month old baby — provided your paper can take credit for an increase in charity donations.

How did News International access Fraser Brown’s medical records?

5:23pm Mon July 11th

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The Guardian are reporting that Gordon Brown and his family were the subject of a News International hacking and blagging operation which targeted bank accounts, legal files and his son’s medical records.

Revelations that The Sun obtained access to Fraser Brown’s confidential health files — while he was still an infant — may lead to a re-examination of an already-known episode of hacking involving the former prime minister, in which his own records were accessed by a medical professional working near his constituency.

In a story which went curiously unreported south of the border, a doctor was charged with offences under the Data Protection Act in late December 2008 but The Daily Record reported in January 2010 that the prosecution was to be dropped.

Andrew Jamieson sparked a security alert after breaking into confidential computer files on the PM and First Minister and a series of other high-profile Scots.Former Labour leader Jack McConnell and his wife Bridget had their sensitive files viewed. BBC newsreader Jackie Bird and Old Firm stars were among other victims.
We told in March how Jamieson, who worked at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, was charged and appeared on petition at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.Now all the victims have been told there will be no trial as the Crown say that is not in the public interest – even though there is enough evidence to prosecute.

Scrapbook understands that Dr Jamieson was not struck off by the GMC but instead gave official undertakings which would restrict his medical practice. While there is no evidence that Dr Jamieson accessed Fraser Brown’s records, today’s revelations will likely lead to a re-examination of the appearance of key stories regarding the health of Gordon Brown, and that of his family, in the British media.

Set against a backdrop of heightened concerns around leaks of confidential personal data, Dr Jamieson claimed at the time he looked at the files out of curiosity and a nameless “senior politician” was at pains to stress that the motive did not appear to be material gain.

So why wasn’t this reported properly in the English press at the time?

The fake list: bogus names used by 10 Downing Street revealed

2:54pm Fri June 24th

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A cabinet minister, senior local government staff, councillors and other MPs were among those to have received letters from bogus Downing Street officials on the basis of “security”, Political Scrapbook can reveal. The full list of “computer generated” pseudonyms, introduced in 2005 after a civil servant was targeted by a member of the public at their home address, is published below.

The practice was originally exposed in May after MP Gerald Kaufman attempted to contact an Number 10 official from whom he had received a letter. When he rang to speak to “Mrs E Adams”, however, he was told that “she did not speak on the telephone” before staff eventually conceded that she, erm, did not actually exist.

A freedom of information request has revealed the full list shown below. Each name was allocated to a team of staff, which Downing Street insist were “fully accountable” for its usage.

Mrs K Grady
Mr R Smith
Mr M Davies
Mr S Caine
Mr F Jones
Mrs E Adams
Mrs S Silver
Mr J Miles
Mr G Edwards

Further investigation shows that bogus names were used even where correspondence clearly originated from highly reputable individuals and organisations. In addition to Gerald Kaufman, the system has also been used to respond to other MPs. In March 2011, secretary of state for Wales Cheryl Gillan received correspondence from Nick Clegg’s office signed by “Mrs S Silver”, a fake name assigned to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

“Mrs Silver” also wrote to the Chief Executive of Oldham Council in response to a letter about tuition fees, thanking him for “taking the time to write” to the DPM while ”Mr S Caine” wrote to the most senior official on Windsor Council, passing on then PM Gordon Brown’s regrets that he was not able to answer all correspondence personally.

Scrapbook wonders how many other MPs and council chief executives have been fobbed off by imaginary officials.

Ministerial code attacks come to haunt hypocrite Chris Grayling

12:17pm Thu April 28th

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Chris Grayling is facing calls for a sleaze probe over potential breaches of the ministerial code after the DWP minister named a £28,000 donor to his private office as a preferred bidder on government contracts worth millions. This week’s development is not without irony, however, given Grayling’s previous role as one of the Tories’ main attack dogs on breaches of the ministerial code!

After Cherie Blair undertook a lucrative speaking engagement while her husband was still prime minister in 2005:

“It was always quite clear to me that Mr and Mrs Blair did not break the ministerial code, they were certainly acting in breach of the spirit of the code.”

On David Blunkett failing to follow procedures on appointments for former ministers in 2005:

“I am astonished that Mr Blunkett has broken the Ministerial Code on yet another occasion. This is getting beyond a joke.”

Accusing Gordon Brown of a breach in 2007 over ministerial travel:

“Relations between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have deteriorated so much that he’d rather break the ministerial code than formally notify his neighbour about his overseas travel.”

On the removal of a ban in the ministerial code to allow ministers to sit on company boards:

“Gordon Brown promised to restore trust in politics. Now the small print shows he’s actually watering down standards of ministerial accountability.”

Any information on the whereabouts of Chris Grayling’s high horse will be gratefully received.

Labour’s secret weapon? Gordon Brown to rescue Scottish campaign

11:00am Fri April 22nd

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A poll showing an 11-point polling deficit following news that the Sun giving its backing to the SNP has caused something of a Brown trousers moment for Labour strategists in Scotland — but not in the way you might think. While his dour demeanour may do him few favours south of the border, Gordon Brown remains one of the Scottish Labour Party’s strongest electoral assets.

Yesterday saw him hitting the campaign trail with Scottish leader Iain Gray. And this isn’t the last Scots voters will be hearing from the former prime minister before 5 May. A trusted campaign source told Scrapbook:

“Iain Gray is viewed as lacking gravitas in comparison with Alex Salmond. But there’s no heavier hitter than Gordon. He’s the 500-pound gorilla of Scottish politics.”

The Nats will be providing Gillian Duffy with free transport to Fife.

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