IT WASN’T ME GUV, HONEST

Before the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown took the top job he had already established a reputation for always distancing himself from trouble.

As Chancellor of the Exchequer he and his minions had got the ploy of ensuring Gordon was not linked with any scandal or disaster down to a fine art.

Nothing has changed.

World economic crisis – nothing to do with Gordon – he was just in charge of Britain’s finances in the critical run-up to the fiscal melt down.

Murky dealings surrounding the repatriation of Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi to Libya – nothing to do with Gordon – it was those stupid Scots.

Problem is Mr Brown is head of Labour’s Scottish mafia and he likes to spend time before the cameras eating sheep’s whatnots with Gadhafi in his desert tent.

Now we have the fiasco of the botched rescue of British journalist Stephen Farrell from his Taliban captors in Afghanistan.

When the news first broke there was Gordon praising the action and happy to let everyone know it was him that gave the orders.

Then the whole episode turns sour so the valiant leader back tracks and explains that it was Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth who issued the order and not him. He was merely consulted.

It wasn’t me guv, honest – is the bleating from 10 Downing Street. Sadly honest is a phrase that sits uncomfortably on Mr Brown’s shoulders.

If life and the week weren’t bad enough Mr Brown also had to endure a telephone conversation with President Obama. The President is nobody’s fool so whilst the Prime Minister might think he can hoodwink the British people Barack Obama gave it to him straight telling the dour Scot of his “disappointment” over the bomber’s release. Oh I bet he did!

Well at least President Obama got his “disappointment” off his chest.

The British people have to wait to the next general election to tell “honest” Gordon of their “disappointment”. But tell him they will!

Since I penned the above it has been revealed in the Daily Telegraph that the British SAS are training Libya’s Special Forces. This has caused wide-spread resentment and anger amongst the elite troops as it was Libya that supplied the IRA with weapons that killed and injured SAS personnel in Northern Ireland. Of course Gordon Brown knows nothing of that.

To make matters worse The Sunday Times has suggested that Britain reached a deal three years ago with Libya to drop any investigation or prosecution in to the death of PC Yvonne Fletcher. The London “Bobby” was killed whilst on duty outside the Libyan Embassy in 1984 by a shot fired from inside the building. Despite a police siege of the embassy nobody has ever stood trial. The reports suggest that Justice Secretary Jack Straw was the key figure in agreeing this deal tied to trade with the Libyans – the same Mr Straw who has his fingerprints all over the al-Megrahi release – but of course the Prime Minister would never have been consulted, would he?

And the beat goes on, and on, and on...

So it does! On Friday the British Government confirmed that police officers - including a senior officer from Northern Ireland - had been sent to Libya to train its own police. That's a senior officer from a force that bore the brunt of the IRA attacks - with arms and explosives sent from Libya. Needless to say the surviving victims and the families of those who perished are appalled. So am I - but not surprised.