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Sign here please.

Right here:

Writing, discussing and voting on bills is what we employ our MPs to do. If enough MPs vote on bills they become the law, meaning you or I can get locked up if they pass a bad one.

Bills are, like, so much more important than what MPs spend on furniture.

The problem is that the way in which Bills are put out is completely incompatible with the Internet era, so nobody out there ever knows what the heck people are actually voting for or against. We need to free our Bills in order for most people to be able to understand what matters about them.

This campaign can only succeed if normal internet users like you lend a hand.

Please sign up and we’ll send you easy tasks (like emailing your MP, or coming up with some ideas). Together we can improve Parliament!

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(Via Martin Stabe)

Or so it would seem:

Some 2,000 Iraqis may be flown to Britain from next month to start a new life under a £25m government programme.

Very good news on the face of it although details are scant and I don’t like the look of that may. Let’s hope this is for reasons of these people’s safety and an unwillingness to upset core-vote Tories and their cheerleading newspapers rather than yet more political fudge and backsliding. This is worrying as well:

A Home Office spokesman said it was still at the very early stages of assessing eligibility but suggested the number of Iraqis given indefinite leave to stay in the UK could be up to 2,000.

Could be? May? And anybody with half an eye on this issue could tell you that the measures to help the Iraqi interpreters and employees have been in place for nearly five months. That being the case, why is the eligibility assessment ’still at the very early stages’? Why have only 46 cases been processed?

Electoral reformers Make Votes Count have got a shiny new website and a list of things to do to help the campaign, including….

A petition:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to promote a meaningful public debate on voters’ experience of elections, and let voters determine if there is a case for changing the way we elect MPs.

A pledge:

I will take part in a public consultation on voters’ experiences of elections but only if 250 other people will pledge to do the same.

Go on.

The post below is by Dan Hardie and is reproduced in full. Please read it, act upon it and, if you have your own blog, spread the word. This truly is a repugnant state of affairs. Thank you.

Do you like reading fine words? Here is the Prime Minister on the subject of Iraqi ex-employees of the British Government, speaking in the House of Commons on October 9th, 2007:

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of our civilian and locally employed staff in Iraq, many of whom have worked in extremely difficult circumstances, exposing themselves and their families to danger. I am pleased therefore to announce today a new policy which more fully recognises the contribution made by our local Iraqi staff, who work for our armed forces and civilian missions in what we know are uniquely difficult circumstances.

Fine words. What about deeds?

A small number of Iraqis - fewer than a dozen, according to people close to the operation who are in contact with me- were removed from Iraq in the early autumn of 2007. Since the Prime Minister’s admirable declaration of October, how many Iraqi ex-employees have been evacuated from Iraq? According to all the Iraqis that I am in contact with: none.

Here are the words of an Iraqi employee in Iraq, emailing me, today: ‘I am still in Iraq…I hear nothing from your Governmet yet!’

Here is what this man was told on February 3 by a conscientious British Civil Servant, out in Iraq to arrange the evacuation of Iraqi ex-employees and clearly shocked by the lack of progress:

I’m sorry that everything is taking so long to complete. Please note that we are waiting to hear what happens next from London and I can assure you all that I will personally contact you as soon as I receive instructions from London to confirm the next arrangements.

Here is why he is hiding:

They (the militia) keep asking my relatives and my family’s neighbors about me and they keep moving in my family’s street and keep their eyes on our home… they told them: anyone know anything about A__ he should tell us immediately and also they said: we will never give up until we catch A__ .

And here is what the Right Honourable Bob Ainsworth, Minister of State for Defence, wrote to David Lidington, MP, about this same man on 16th January:

Mr Hardie expresses concern over the handling of a claim for assistance by a former employee of British Forces, Mr A_ … Mr A_ is eligible for the assistance scheme, and we have passed his details on to the Border and Immigration Agency who will take forward his request for resettlement in the UK via the Gateway programme. Assuming that there are no problems with Mr A__’s immigration checks he should be able to leave Iraq by the end of January…’

I added the emphasis, and I can also say that I have it in writing from the MoD that there were no problems with Mr A__’s immigration checks.

The Border and Immigration Agency is the Home Office Agency handling the last phase of the operation to resettle Iraqi ex-employees. And it is the BIA, according to every source of information that I have, that is delaying the evacuation of the Iraqis.

It is also supposed to be the Home Office that is co-ordinating the provision of housing to those Iraqis who do get resettled in the UK. In the House of Lords last month there was a debate on Iraq at the request of Lord Fowler, whom I had briefed on Iraqi ex-employees. Lord Chidgey, later backed by the Earl of Sandwich, asked a very pertinent question of the Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch Brown, and he did not get a good answer: ‘…on the resettlement of Iraqis at risk under the Gateway Protection Programme, the Minister will be aware that its success is dependent on a sufficient number of local authorities participating. There is considerable concern that this is not the case at present. Will he advise what steps the Government are taking to ensure that local authorities will come forward?’

There are many operational and logistical difficulties in the way of an operation: I know that. But the Government has known about these people for at least six months, and has been publicly committed to helping them for over four months. That is enough time to plan for the difficulties- far more time than you usually get in a war.

The Home Office is dawdling while people are threatened with death.This is either incompetence in the face of a crisis, or it is a deliberate policy of putting bureaucratic obstacles in the face of fugitives. Neither is acceptable.

And beyond that, the policy itself is being used to keep out Iraqis who can prove that they worked for British forces, and who can prove that their lives are at risk as a result. One man, Hamed, worked for British forces on Shaibah Logistics Base for over two years, as the Government accepts. He was threatened by the militias, and gunmen went to his house, so he moved his family to Syria and slept on the base’s floor. He continued to work for the British. Hamed finally was given ‘notice to quit’ Shaibah when the base closed, and fled to Syria, where he cannot legally work and where he and his family are safe (so far) but hungry. The British Government knows who Hamed is. A British Army NCO who knew him has confirmed every detail of his story to me, saying that he knew that Hamed had reported the threats against him to the military authorities. The Government has written to Hamed to reject any claim for help, since he was ‘not directly employed’ by the military.

Another man, Waleed, was directly employed by the military, in 2005 and 2006. He worked as an interpreter for one Army unit for its six month tour, during which time he was fired upon and chased by militiamen as he made his way to the base; he started work for a second unit, after which he received a threat on his mobile phone detailing where he lived, what he did, and what would happen to him if he ‘collaborated’ any more. He was also hunted in Iraq, and has also fled to Syria. A British Government letter, which I have seen, informed him that he would not be assisted since he had not worked for the twelve-month period specified by the Government’s policy- which, alas, the militias do not seem to respect.

We got the Government to admit to its moral responsibilities. Now we have to get them to match their deeds to their words.

Please write a letter to your MP. His or her address is The House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA. If you don’t know who your constituency MP is, go here and type your postcode in. When you’ve sent a letter, follow it up with an email: his or her address will normally be SURNAMEINITIAL@parliament.uk - for example BROWNG@parliament.uk

Two or three days after you have written the letter, call the Parliamentary switchboard on 0207 219 3000 and ask for your MP’s office. Repeat your concerns to the secretary or research assistant you speak to (and be nice: most of these people work damn hard for little reward), check that your letter has been received, and politely request that the MP ask questions of Ministers and reply to you. In your email, your letter, and your phone calls, you must be courteous: insulting an MP or a research assistant will discredit this cause. Talking points for the letter are below:

• The Prime Minister announced a review of British policy towards its Iraqi ex-employees, due to the threats of murder they faced, on August 8th 2007, and he announced a change in that policy on October 9th, 2007. The Foreign Secretary made a more detailed policy statement on October 30th, 2007.
• Nearly four months later no Iraqis who have applied under the scheme have been evacuated from Iraq.
• Not one Iraqi ex-employee living as an illegal immigrant in Syria or Jordan has been resettled under the scheme.
• A debate in the House of Lords on 24 January 2008 contained several references to resettlement being blocked by the failure of the Home Office to provide housing in the UK. The Home Office has had between four and six months to plan for this eventuality: it is inexcusable that they have not done so.
• Would the MP please put down written Questions to the Home Secretary asking why the Home Office is unable to live up to the Prime Minister’s publicy expressed commitment to rehouse Iraqi ex-employees whose lives are at risk for having worked for British forces?
• Would the MP please write in private to the Home Secretary, and to the Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne MP, asking what provision their department has made to implement a policy decided in early October, and further asking them if they are aware that lives are at risk and that rapid action needs to be taken?
• Would the MP also please write to the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary asking how many Iraqis who are ex-Employees of their departments have been resettled, and asking why Iraqis who are at risk for having worked for British forces are being abandoned for having ‘worked for less than 12 months’?
• Can the MP please forward these letters to the Prime Minister, who personally approved the change in policy.
• And finally, can the MP please reply to you with details of any Government response.
• If you want: you can give your MP my name and email address (danhardie.blog@gmail.com ) and tell them that I am in contact with a number of Iraqi ex-employees inside and outside Iraq, none of whom have received help from the Government, and that I would be happy to brief them with confidential details of these cases, either by telephone, email or in person at their Parliamentary offices. They should feel free to contact me.
• When you get a reply to your letter, email me (again, at danhardie.blog@gmail.com ) -it’s very important that I know which MPs are sympathetic and what the Government is telling them. And email me if you have anything else that needs saying. Thank you.

When is a demonstration in Parliament Square not a demonstration in Parliament Square? When the police give you your permission ten minutes before the thing is due to start.

Still, Tim Ireland has made his point: he’s discovered that it is illegal to display a banner in Parliament Square with ‘I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?‘ on it. Democracy is safe once one. Cheers SOCPA.

For anyone willing to rock our nation to its very foundations and attempt this dastardly crime, Tim is offering a very special prize.

Update: Congrats to D-Notice.

Some people in this country, me included, believe there’s something pretty wrong with ‘democracy’ in the UK. It’s blown a gasket. It’s belching stinking pollution. It rattles and it bangs and threatens to seize up altogether at any moment.

Most people just stand around it, kicking the tyres and exclaiming, ‘nah, it’s alright, it’ll go round the clock another couple of times no bother.’ Jack Straw thinks it just needs another coat of paint and it’ll be sorted.

You get the impression that he knows what’s going on under the bonnet but doesn’t want to admit it to himself let alone those of us risking our lives by riding along in the death trap. It needs rebuilding or trading in, if we’re honest.

The old girl’s starting misfiring again, this time when ex-cabinet minister Jack Cunningham was taking it out for a spin:

Jack Cunningham, now in the House of Lords, is paid £36,000 a year - for an estimated three hours’ work a week - by the City of London Corporation to give political advice.

The corporation said that as part of his consultancy, he calls ministers to arrange meetings with the authority when it is having difficulty securing one.

Is that how it works? What’s the difference between a minister not wanting a meeting and a minister wanting a meeting? A phone call from Jack Cunningham. Why aren’t we all doing this?

The chances of getting a democracy that doesn’t revolve around who knows who and favours from and for mates is slim. We should therefore play the system. Thirty-six thousand pounds is not a lot of money in the greater scheme of things. That’s how cheaply democracy can be bought these days which should be good news for everybody.

Let’s all go on a binge-democracy bender if it’s so cheap. We should club together and buy our own ex-Cabinet minister. I can see the headlines now: ‘Minister’s fear cheap democracy is undermining society’.

Of course, that’ll only be because us proles can now afford to get our hands on the stuff. But hey, if they’re going to sell democracy cheaper than corruption, is it any wonder people are going to buy it and abuse it?

Sign the pledge, spread the word, be all you can be in this great democracy of ours:

I will give £36 to a fund to hire the services of an ex-cabinet minister but only if 1,000 other concerned citizens will do the same.

(Cross-posted at Liberal Conspiracy)

Via RickB we have the March 19 Iraq War Blogswarm:

This blogswarm will promote blog postings opposing the war in Iraq and calling for a full withdrawal of foreign occupying forces in Iraq. Five years of an illegal and catastrophic war is five years too many. On the March 19 anniversary of the conquest of Iraq by the Bush Administration, there needs to be a loud volume of voices countering the pro-war propaganda from far too many politicians and corporate media outlets.

I urge you to sign up and take part.

I plan to participate with one major proviso: I can’t swear with hand on heart that I’d like to see the occupation’s troops out of Iraq. I was against the war but I’m for the occupation, at least in an abstract sense. I think I’m off the ‘you broke it you bought it’ school.

I wonder about and fear what will happen if and when the troops leave. Who will fill the void that’s left? Daniel Davies says of ‘liberating’ Afghanistan, ‘if something can’t be done, then it can’t be done, no matter how bad the consequences of not doing it’. It has a certain appealing logic when also applied to whether to stay in or quit Iraq, but I can’t shake the feeling of: Is this it? Is this what it comes down to?

We’re going to leave Iraq to the theocrats and the bombers and the monsters? All those lives, all that money, all those hopes, for this? Isn’t there something else we can do? I told you it was abstract.

Knowing that those of us who marched against the war got it right at every point should be no comfort at all - I won’t be gloating on March 19. I wish we’d been very, very wrong at every stage. I wish we had been greeted as liberators with flowers.

I could live with the sneers and I-told-you-sos of the pro-war crowd, the Cohens, the Aaronovitchs, the Harry’s Places, the Kamms, Gerases and attendant cheerleaders, if those million Iraqis were still alive today. This isn’t a rhetorical parlour game for me, as it seems to be for some if not most of them. I’d have been more graceful in defeat than they would have been in victory. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say ‘you were right’.

But I will say this: Iraq was better off under Saddam Hussein. There were other options than killing so many and then giving the country, inch by inch, to murderers and fundamentalists. If you disagree, then I only have one thing to say to you: I don’t believe you.

This is from the Amnesty International Project Blog email list:

We’ve just had word that a young man in Iran aged only 15 at the time of his offence will be executed in the next 72 hours unless urgent action is taken.

Behnam Zare’ has been convicted of a murder committed when he was 15 years old. He’s now 18 and is being held in Adelabad prison, in the south-western city of Shiraz. The order to carry out his execution has now been sent to the prison.

Amnesty is urging people to take action to help save Behnam at www.amnesty.org.uk/deathpenalty

The murder reportedly took place on 21 April 2005, when Behnam Zare’ swung a knife during an argument with a man named Mehrdad, wounding him in the neck. Mehrdad later died in hospital. Behnam Zare’ was detained on 13 November 2005; Fars Criminal Court sentenced him to qesas (retribution) on charges of premeditated murder.

Behnam Zare’ is one of at least 71 child offenders currently on death row in Iran. The country continues to execute child offenders – people under the age of 18 at the time of their offence – despite the practice being strictly prohibited under international law. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has twice urged Iran to stop executions of child offenders, yet since 1990 Iran has executed at least 24 such offenders. You can find out more about the issue at the excellent campaigning website www.stopchildexecutions.com and link to our blog on this case (and other issues like the USA’s use of waterboarding) here.

This is a genuinely urgent case where our actions can make a real difference. Hope you can help.

Takes five minutes to send the letter via Amnesty’s website.

Free Rice: Improve your vocabulary and as a result have rice donated via the UN to world hunger programmes.

My vocab level: a miserly 46.

Right here:

Recently, I wrote an article about Paul Staines (you know him better as ‘Guido Fawkes’) stealing images and bandwidth. Now I’m getting threatening emails from his lawyer, Donal Blaney (you can’t see those, but you can see my replies).

To put it bluntly, I suspect that I am being targeted not because of what I said, but because of who I am.

Blaney appears to be very closely aligned to Staines personally, professionally and politically. He also appears to be an odd choice of lawyer for a libel case (if indeed one is truly in the offing), as his specialty/background is tax law.

Via Donal Blaney, Paul Staines has been badgering me to reveal my home address or retain the services of a lawyer in an effort to bully me into silence without true recourse to law.

It’s The Alisher Usmanov Affair all over again…. and I’d appreciate your support. Again.

After all, if some jumped-up blogger with a lawyer for a mate came after you, I’d be in your corner and slugging it out without hesitation.

‘Guido Fawkes’ was silent on the matter of the Alisher Usmanov business. Why was that?

Oh, and ‘Guido Fawkes’ stole my photograph as well.

Become an organ donor.

Police officers: Feeling betrayed and angry at Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition’s shameful failure to rally to your just cause and help save you from the vindictiveness of the government?

Now you know how those Iraqis employed in Basra by our government feel.

SUMMARY

You don’t need police permission to sing carols in support of Christmas near Parliament, but you do need police permission to sing carols against it.

WEBSITE

http://www.bloggerheads.com/carols/

DETAILS

Section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 makes it illegal to demonstrate anywhere near Parliament without official police permission. Under this act, it is an offence to organise or take part in a demonstration within the ‘designated area’ (up to 1 km around Parliament) if authorisation has not been applied for and granted by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Unless of course you believe in Santa Claus, in which case an exception will probably be made.

In 2005, Tim Ireland organised and staged a pro-Christmas demonstration in the form of a carol service in Parliament Square.

Traditional songs were sung in support of varying aspects of Christmas, a minute’s silence was held, and money was collected for Medical Aid for Iraqi Children.

No singers were arrested. In fact, Police said they treated it as a carol service, not a demonstration:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4545704.stm
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article334675.ece

The event was repeated in 2006 and again the Police chose not to classify the event as a demonstration.

It also needs to be noted that - in cases where permission is applied for and Police do not regard a proposed event to be a demonstration - they will issue a statement to the applicant saying so instead of approving the application.

Following an epiphany inside the main lobby of Parliament, Tim Ireland decided that the time had come to take a stand against Christmas.

On 12 December 2007, he submitted an application to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for a carol service that would be exactly the same as previous events, with one primary difference; carols would be sung condemning varying aspects of Christmas, instead of supporting them.

On 17 December 2007, notice was given that this application was approved.

In other words, staging an event in support of Christmas is legal within a designated area without police permission, and staging an event against Christmas is not.

This is a clear case of discrimination, likely to be in contravention of the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act.

Tim Ireland said; “Speaking as one of many who have seen the argument from both sides of the pole, I find it appalling that someone who does believe in Santa Claus should be given preferential treatment over someone who does not. In fact, I’d like to take this opportunity to ask Gordon Brown what the official government policy is on Santa Claus; is it their position that he exists, that he doesn’t exist, or that this is a matter that should be the business of the individual and not the state?”

Sadly, Santa Claus is only the tip of the iceberg. Some people who reject Christmas do so because they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, and see no reason to celebrate that birthday. Others will object to Christmas because they reject the notion of an all-powerful deity altogether.

There are also many devout Christians who reject Christmas on the basis of commercial, secular or pagan influences:
http://tinyurl.com/yvab7h

There are even some pagans who object to Christmas on the grounds that many aspects of their winter festivities have been ‘hijacked’ by the Christian church:
http://tinyurl.com/scgqu

All of these people suffer from discrimination, not only at the hands of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, but also from certain tabloid newspapers that are positively rabid in their defence of Christmas.

Someone should probably stage a demonstration about that… but they’ll need police permission first.

EVENT SPECIFICS

The anti-Christmas carol service will take place at the base of the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square at 6:30pm on Thursday 20 December 2007

Song sheets and candles will be made available, with donations going to Medical Aid for Iraqi Children

Those attending should dress warm, and bring a bell, whistle, or other form of non-electronic noisemaker for the minute of noise (which will replace the traditional minute of silence).

CAROL EXCERPTS

The following are excerpts from our song-sheet, a full version of which is available for download until the afternoon of 19 Dec in exchange for a £2 donation (again, with all proceeds going to Medical Aid for Iraqi Children):
http://www.bloggerheads.com/carols/

Bah, Humbug!
(to the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’)

Ebenezer Scrooge
Wasn’t all that dumb
Until he met the Ghost
Of Christmas Yet to Come
Then he lost the plot, and woke up with a scream
Then foolishly made life decisions based upon a dream!

Oh, bah-humbug, bah-humbug
Bah-humbug, I say
We are demonstrating here
Protesting Christmas Day

-

God Rest Ye, Jobsworth Gentlemen

A Santa Claus who asks a child
To sit upon his knee
Might likely be a paedophile
Or threat to elf safety
So issue now the order
That he cease and leave them be

O warnings of health and safety
Health and safety
O warnings of health and safety

-

The Twelve Days of *Hic*-mas

On the first day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Four shots of gin
Three cigarettes
Two pints of beer
And a breath test on the M3

-

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Oh! You better watch out,
You better not plot,
You better suppress bad thoughts that you’ve got
Santa Claus is coming to town!

He’s making a list,
Misplacing it twice,
And now you can buy that list at a price
Santa Claus is coming to town!

CONTACTS

Please contact Tim Ireland via tim@bloggerheads.com if you have any queries regarding this story.

ENDS

Click here for more information.

Specially written carols, a minute’s noise and The Airing of Grievances.

I’m going to be there, with bells on.

One for readers in Brighton and Hove this:

A call out has come from Hove residents for support in their direct action campaign to stop the cut and poisoning of trees along the steep railway embankment by Addison and Highdown Roads.

Not only is coppicing a better option it is also safer, as by destroying the trees there is more chance of landslip, facts supported by the local rail union and Sussex University geologists.

There is a meeting on Sunday November 18 at 10am at the Montefiore Road bridge.

There is possession of the track by Network Rail for A WHOLE WEEK from November 18 to 23. This is the time when trees on the actual slope will be taken and then the roots killed by spraying machine later during the night. The Brighton to Haywards Heath line is closed on November 25, possibly for the same treatment.

More: Some background here and here - it seems this isn’t an issue unique to Hove. It looks like a nationwide money saving exercise on the part of Network Rail.

Remember a few weeks ago when someone out in the Middle East put ‘where to apply for the assistance to iraqi locally engaged staff’ into the Yahoo! search engine and found Alex Harrowell, the Yorkshire Ranter?

Well, it’s just happened to me as well.

This morning, someone in Dubai googled ‘application for the iraqi interpreters worked with uk army in basrah‘ and found me. I came higher in the rankings than Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s own blog and the actual Foreign Office instructions for Iraqi employees are nowhere to be seen in the list.

The instructions (such as they are and aren’t link to from Miliband’s blog) are here and here. I’ve been meaning to put the links up - if I’d done it sooner the person Googling today would have found them.

Anybody any ideas how we get those Foreign Office links pushed up Google’s rankings?

We have an opportunity to use the internet to involve a new generation of Britons to collaborate on campaigns as never before. That is the only way to stem the rising tide of political apathy and disillusionment, re-energise our base and seize the political initiative. The liberal-left has to think past single-issue campaigns and work together to push a progressive agenda for Britain. We need to do this, rather than simply hoping Brown will herald a new progressive age where Blair did not.

read the rest

I’ve been recruited into the Liberal Conspiracy.

Built by Pickled Politics‘ Sunny Hundal, the Liberal Conspiracy is more than just a group blog or talking shop. The site brings together not just bloggers but activists and think tanks.

It’s hoped that it will give liberal-left debate in the UK the kick in the pants it so badly needs right now; giving it a home and some space to stretch out. The debate will then, with luck, translate into consensus, activism and lobbying. Look for something from me over there later in the week.

As the site’s FAQs say:

We don’t define what it means to be on the liberal-left. Instead we want to challenge conventional ideas by constantly asking: ‘what should the liberal-left position be on this issue?’

I plan for my contribution to focus in the main on human rights and civil liberty issues. I’m hoping it will be a move away from largely commentary and into linking issues to specific campaigns and campaigning organisations.

Come join us.

(Sunny will be on Radio 4’s PM programme between 5 and 6pm today.)

The Home Office are holding a consultation into the right to protest outside Parliament as curtailed by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Some of us have had some fun with the law in the past but it’s long past time to get rid.

The consultation runs until January 17 2008 and the consultation document (PDF) is here. Go on, give it a look - it’s only 30 pages - and then make yourself heard. You never know. If anything, it will prove a useful learning exercise into how these things work.

UPDATE: I hope it’s not an omen but large sections of that PDF document are printing as garbage for me.

Imagine you are an Iraqi former employee of the British government. The death squads with their power drills might be on your doorstep at any minute.

Frantic, you turn to the internet, the Yahoo search engine of all places, and type ‘where to apply for the assistance to iraqi locally engaged staff’.

Do you find the British Foreign Office website? A dedicated website offering reassurance, advice or hope? No, you find the blog of Alex Harrowell, The Yorkshire Ranter. Now, Alex is a stand up bloke - one of the good guys - but he can’t help you.

Is help coming or is this issue, like so many unfortunate Iraqi employees, dead? Or is the plan to dawdle until there’s nobody left to rescue?

UPDATE: As Philip points out in the comments, Early Day Motion 2057, which MPs were asked to sign in support of the Iraqi Employees, has gone. Google cached it on October 19 so it’s disappeared some time in the last four days. Anyone able to provide any information?

UPDATE UPDATED: It’s back. A “technical problem” apparently. Write to your MP and ask them to sign it.

Still not fully fit and will hopefully blog on this in more detail soon (in the interim, see Dan, Davide, Robert, Sunny, Daniel, We Owe it To Them and all the other s) but need to point to this:

1. David Miliband’s written statement outlining the Government’s woefully inadequate scheme to assist its Iraqi employees past and present is here.
2. Dan Hardie has a list of talking points for another round of letters to MPs here. Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 2057.
3. David Miliband has written about his statement on his blog and is taking comments here. I urge you to get across there and have your say. Please be polite. I enjoy saying horrible things about government ministers as much as the next blogger but insulting them on government forums will only be harmful to this campaign.

We’ve got a foot in the door on this, we just need to keep pushing.

Mark Brockway will be appearing on Channel 4 News tonight to speak about the Iraqi Employees campaign.

Mark is a former Warrant Officer in the Territorial Royal Engineers, who ran the British Army’s Quick Impact Reconstruction Projects in 2003, when he hired a great many Iraqi staff in 2003. Mark has been in close contact with them since and knows of at least one who has been recently murdered.

To say that many of us campaigning are less than impressed with the Prime Minister’s paltry offer is an understatement. Dan Hardie spells it out: this announcement abandons people to the threat of torture and death.

Gordon pipes up at last:

Mr Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of our civilian and locally employed staff in Iraq, many of whom have worked in extremely difficult circumstances exposing themselves and their families to danger.

And I am pleased therefore to announce today a new policy which more fully recognises the contribution made by our local Iraqi staff who work for our armed forces and civilian missions in uniquely difficult circumstances.

Existing staff who have been employed by us for more than twelve months and have completed their work will be able to apply for a package of financial payments to aid resettlement in Iraq or elsewhere in the region, or - in agreed circumstances - for admission to the UK. And professional staff — including interpreters and translators — with a similar length of service who have left our employ since the beginning of 2005 will also be able to apply for assistance.

We will make a further written statement on the detail of this scheme this week.

I’ll wait for the details until commenting further as I’m sure will most people. I have to say though that I really, really, really don’t like the look of that ’staff who have been employed by us for more than twelve months and have completed their work‘ proviso. Don’t put that champagne on ice yet.

See you tomorrow?

UPDATE: And this shouts out as well:

And professional staff — including interpreters and translators — with a similar length of service who have left our employ since the beginning of 2005 will also be able to apply for assistance.

I might be wrong but I’m guessing that excludes teenage laundry workers.