in the dead-tree media, as you can see here. It is not so much that Mr Salter signed an Early Day Motion calling for hacker Gary McKinnon not to be extradited to the USA and then voted the other way, because people can change their minds, and a vote in the Commons is at least public (if anyone can be bothered to look, and they should). It is that he got local headlines by shouting publicly about the issue, and then voted the other way, not wishing to vote against the government. That is hypocritical and it stinks. He does this all the time. He did it on the Iraq war, when he told everyone in Reading who would listen that he had voted against military action in March 2003, but in fact followed the whips' instructions to MPs who had made public statements like this, and abstained. And then lied about it afterwards. This kind of thing is not only hypocrisy. It is political stupidity. Because why lay yourself open to criticism that you have faced both ways at once when there is no need to? Just because the Reading Evening Post will never expose this activity does not mean that no-one else will notice.
update: Blogger and Labour MP Tom Harris takes a different view, and is in favour of Gary McKinnon being extradited. If Mr Salter now agrees with Mr Harris, and that is why he voted with the government, will he tell us so? Instead of going to ground? Martin? Martin? (sound of tumbleweed)
2 comments:
What is your view on the extradition of Gary McKinnon, Jane?
while a lot of nonsense is being talked about Gary McKinnon (on this I agree with Tom Harris, the hacking was malicious and certainly not accidental)I believe he should stand trial in the UK and not in the USA, because of his condition and because of other concerns about the operation of US justice. Other countries, like France, do not extradite their nationals, I am inclined to think the UK should do the same. This is how Roman Polanski (a French citizen) remained safe in France for so long.
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