Re: Fascinating.
"of course you have the proofie-woofie to substantiate this! Jinkies that's good."
Where are you posting this from, geographically?
In the UK this week we have the spectacle of a former prime minister's alleged sex offences being dragged out into the public domain. This was Ted Heath, PM 1970-1974. There have been unsubstantiated mutterings for a long time. Now it's starting to go public, and there is no way the police and intelligence services can come out of this smelling of roses, whatever the verdict on Heath turns out to be.
Whatever was or wasn't going on around Westminster and very senior Westminster people, the 'Intelligence' services were fully aware of it, as also in due course were the Parliamentary Whips.
Handy for the Whips in the case of a bit of potential dissent within the ranks. No need to let the criminal justice system in on the secret even where appropriate. Victims? Who cares, there are majorities at stake.
Don't take my word for it. See (e.g.) from July 2014 when Newsnight conveniently cut off the important bit of an interview with a former Whip (interview first published 1995), and the papers published the missing bit:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-whips-can-no-longer-maintain-westminsters-shroud-of-secrecy-9592971.html
Whip, talking about MPs: “They’d say ‘Now listen, I’m in a jam, can you help?’ It might be debt, it might be scandal involving small boys, or any kind of scandal in which...”
Newsnight stopped here.
Whip continues: “ … in which, erm, er, a member seemed likely to be mixed up, they’d come and ask if we could help, and if we could we did. And we would do everything we can, because we would store up Brownie points... And if I mean, that sounds a pretty, pretty nasty reason, but it’s one of the reasons, because if we could get a chap out of trouble, then he will do as we ask for ever more.”
And what the Whips knew, the intelligence services knew before them.
Proof? How much do you want.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
