I had a feeling the 8.10 slot on Radio 4's Today show was going to be good this morning. Jim Naughtie's focus was, naturally, on the previous day's huge counter-terrorism operation in NW England. But first, they had deal with top plod, Bob Quick's accidental leaking of the secret operational plans to No.10 photographers, as he disembarked from one of the Met's gas guzzlers.
In a dismal attempt at finding 'news balance', the Beeb rolled in Labour's David Winnick whose Radio 4 media role is simply to steady the ship, and implore us to stay calm and carry on as normal. (Stephen Pound MP performs a similar function but always with good humour). But before Winnick could set out why, "this is not a resigning matter," Bonkers Jonkers came on the line to announce Quick had fallen on his sword.
In present day politics, this was a pretty rapid resignation but it was clear last night BQ was as much use to the Met as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest. He is notoriously short-tempered as he displayed amply by calling the Tories "wholly corrupt" for accusing them (falsely) of feeding the Mail stories about his wife's business. I could never really take him seriously in such a senstive role and considered his surname as some kind of ironic soubriquet.
Jacqui Smith is probably quite happy to see him go as the findings of Damian Green MP arrest investigation are to be revealed this month. Quick was the flatfoot who decided to escalate an internal disciplinary matter for the Home Office to a constitutional crisis by arresting an opposition spokesman and searching his House of Commons office without a warrant.
I expected the outcome of the Green affair to be a finger-pointing exercise between Ministers and the fuzz. Quick can now be Jacqui's scapegoat.
Unless of course they insist on making a defense of their indefensible actions. That course of action would be perverse, idiotic, putting party before principle and ultimately self-defeating. So, I guess, no real reason why it won't happen.
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