Blog 2023 Malcolm Blair-Robinson

Dr. Rachael Benedict is an American historian and a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.
Set equally in the United States and Britain, the narrative grips from the first page, transporting the reader to the heart of government both in Washington and London and on into the darkest corners of the secret states on each side of the Atlantic. Rachael battles forward to unearth the truth both from intrigues of the Nazi era, but also within her own family, surviving three attempts on her life, before finally achieving her goal. Not only does she expose the truth from history and from her own roots, she has to delve deep into her own emotions to find the truth about herself.

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Well, even this blog did not expect quite this amount of confusion so early on in the first Tory government for eighteen years. It perhaps explains why there was such a long gap. We had forgotten just how split the Tory party is and how undisciplined it becomes as soon as it takes power. At a time when the country needs leadership to guide it through difficult times and bring fruitful outcomes back from the EU negotiations, it is just not good enough for the prime minister to say something one day and then for some spokesperson in Downing Street to make out he didn’t say it, and instead blame the political correspondents for the muddle. Correspondents, unlike politicians, are not fools. Now Cameron has had to backtrack and cover himself in the protective cloak of ambiguity, because of an outcry from all across the eurosceptic wing of his party, which is perhaps most of it.

The old one nation sensible and reliable Tory party of the spinner’s imagination is long dead, killed off by Thatcher. She ruled her new creation with a handbag which none dare challenge and the sight of which was reputed to reduce weaker members of her administrations to tears. Then they turned upon her. Once she went they became uncontrollable, drove through four leaders, and were muted only by the fifth taking them into the unfamiliar territory of coalition. Now they back in power we are once again  forced to look on, while the interests of our country take second place to holding this fractured party together.