Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Scottish Sovereignty

Americans clearly have a problem with this, which is odd, because they have States with their own soverign laws, within their federal system. When interviewd on the Today programme the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, was impressive, separating with clarity, BP, the Prisoner Exchange Agreement and the decision to release Al Magrahy on compassionate grounds. He pointed up the murky relationship between the exchange agreement and the BP contact, whilst detaching the  Scottish government’s decision to release the prisoner. He also made the point that whilst the majority of the American victim families were against release, the majority of British were in favour.

The reason that so many here who have studied the case, including such giants of fair play and compassion as Tam Dalziel who conducted his own extensive enquiry and was convinced of Al Magrahy’s innocence, are unhappy with the original conviction is that in a fair and open trial by jury, based on all the actual rather than contrived evidence, there is little, if any, chance that this conviction would have happened.

It is probably impossible with a crime organised by a State or States, with central planning and organisation, to convict a single individual operating under orders, unless it can be proved that he was instrumental and decisive in the event. A state crime does not lend itself to individual responsibility unless those on trial had political power to direct it.

There is no doubt that there were dividends for the UK  from this decision right across the Arab world, which could be enormously helpful in resolving the never ending problem of the Middle East. By identifying the  government so closely with the American anger with its lack of mercy (mercy is spontaneous, it is not by its nature tit for tat) Cameron has blown a good deal of this advantage. Yet another foreign policy failure. If anybody is looking for cuts they can go to the FO. We do not need so fancy an echo of Empire when in reality our man is no more than, in effect, a junior minister in the State Department.

The Barak and David Show.

Nobody can deny the ease and candour which Cameron shows when at the high tables of the world and yesterday the press conference in the White House underscored this. Regardless of the Special Relationship, the Prime minister has established a good rapport with the President, which is nevertheless based on a businesslike engagement and not some folksy camaraderie. I profoundly disagree with and actively oppose their views on the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Afghanistan and Iran and I think they show consummate weakness in their inability to drive a settlement in the Middle East which gives justice and security to both Israel and the Palestinians. Nevertheless the two closest allies in the world today demonstrated a coherence of thought based on their view of what is doable across the world, which in times past would have been not only impressive but irresistible. Yet something is missing.

The missing component is the attention of the rest of the world. What Britain and America together think still counts, but nothing like as much as it did. There is this underlying feeling of waning power. The meltdown of the two countries’ economic structures, the calamitous invasion of Iraq, the doomed mission in Afghanistan, the vast debt mountain all contribute to this. Even the awesome military power, balanced too much to projection rather than defence on the doctrine that it is right to invade others to protect the homeland, is hopelessly out of step with the way people now view international responsibilities. All these things have contributed to a growing acceptance across the world in which China, India, Brazil and a brooding Russia are the new dawn.

America will not be able, because of its heritage and philosophy, one could say baggage, to march towards the rising sun and will favour basking in the self righteous glow of the old but fading day. We can move forward. We have done so before. We can do it again. To start, we need our own foreign policy based on the inclusive British values of the twenty first century. I am beginning to fear Hague may be as big a disappointment as Foreign Secretary as he was as Tory Leader. He is the best performer in the House of Commons and a very good biographer, but much more is called for now.