That it took an ITV television drama to force the political establishment to turn its attention to the egregious nature of the Post Office scandal is perhaps for another day. Now is the time for heads to roll.
Sir Ed Davey is in some ways an easy target. The leader of a small party, he has few parliamentary colleagues or media outriders to gamely defend his role in this long-running injustice. Indeed, numerous ministers and secretaries of state of all major parties can and must take responsibility for the error, missteps and general incompetence when it comes to the Post Office scandal.
But accountability in public life matters. No doubt, Sir Ed would be calling for resignations should another current party leader be implicated by their actions, or indeed inactions, when it comes to this terrible saga. For his inability to join the dots, his surprising incuriosity and for the job he held in government, Sir Ed should go.
100 days of bloodshed
It is important to remember how this started. One hundred days ago, as of Sunday, Hamas crossed the border into Israel with the avowed intent of killing, maiming and raping as many people as it could find. The final death toll was 1,200 — with more than 250 taken hostage back to Gaza.
This cold-blooded, calculated attack sparked a fierce military response from Israel which, in seeking to destroy Hamas, has led to the death of more than 23,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The threat of a regional war has not dissipated. US and British action against the Houthis threatening global trade underlines that this is more than a local disagreement.
Hamas continues to hold about 130 Israeli hostages including Noa Argamani, 26, who was filmed being seized and taken away on a motorbike from the Nova music festival in southern Israel. A chilling video released by Hamas yesterday ended with the message: “Tomorrow we will inform you of their fate.”
For far too many Israelis and Palestinians, that fate has been unimaginable grief, loss and pain.
The Monday blues
The term Blue Monday is hardly scientific, in that it was originally promoted by a travel company looking to sell more holidays. Still, if you got on the Tube or bus this morning and couldn’t feel your fingers, there is plenty of travel inspiration in today’s paper. And if your post-Christmas current account can’t yet stretch to somewhere warm, look up to the heavens where the sky has been a gloriously bright blue for much of the day. May there be many more Blue Mondays this year.
