Monday 17 November 2008

Baby P: David Lammy finally speaks...and insults Lynne Featherstone!

I was just listening to the World at One on Radio 4 and they had David Lammy MP's first interview on the Baby P case. In my partisan way I thought to myself, "I hope Lynne Featherstone's good work gets a mention". Well it did but not in the way I was expecting.

After some typically evasive New Labour defence (he also received the warning letter from the whistleblowing social worker last year), he said this (bah, it isn't available on listen again yet, but I'll update it with the accurate quote once I get a chance - so from memory):


"But what I want to say to you is over the course of the weekend, 61 headteachers, they have more experience than you or I or Lynne Featherstone who has spent a lot of time on the media over the weekend about this case..."

Hmm, maybe I am overacting but isn't he saying that Lynne is not being a good constituency MP trying to do what's right but is instead just a paritsan media-whore who's only doing this for party political reasons? It makes me mad!!! Let me know if I'm over-reacting.

It's similar to Gordon Brown's saying anyone asking sensible question about this is being party political (ie. David Cameron).

Having said all that, Lammy's clearly rattled about being exposed as a useless New Labour apologist in comparison. However it's such a tragic case I can't really take much pleasure from this (normal service will be resumed shortly with other topics).

UPDATE: The listen again is now available (the quote above is at 26:45 but I suggest you listen to the whole weaselly interview). Quote corrected above.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The worst bit of Lammy was that he cited the support of more than 60 Haringey headteachers for Sharon Shoesmith as "proof that Haringey's children are well protected". adding that the headteachers "know more about it and have more experience" than Lynne Featherstone. Yet the teachers make it plain that their support for Sharon Shoesmith is wholly on the basis of her work as director of education - not her role as head also of protection services for children (like Baby P) of pre-school age. The teachers' spokesman (Mike Atherton of Park View Academy) quite fairly told the local press "We don't want to comment on the Baby P case at all". You wouldn't know that from listening to the disgraceful David Lammy.

Anonymous said...

http://ollysonions.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-faces-stalker-threat.html