Tessa Jowell puts her foot in her mouth
Ms Tessa Jowell, the UK's "Culture Secretary" has recently been embroiled in a scandal in which her (now separated-from) husband David Mills received a £344,000 "present" from the less-than squeaky clean Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi for being "helpful" in a corruption court case that Berlusconi is implicated in. The money was subsequently used to pay off the Jowell's mortgage, and of course the fragrant Tessa didn't think to ask where the wedge had come from - I mean you wouldn't, would you?
Just to round things out nicely it appears that she has broken an ill-advised law that she herself was responsible for introducing. A while back had a new licensing and entertainment law passed, which in addition to making 24-hour binge drinking legal also changed the way licenses for public entertainment are granted. It's the entertainment part that she fell foul of. According to The Guardian:
This cretinous piece of legislation affects me personally as it means it is much more difficult to perform in public, either in a venue or busking, and it amuses me no end to see the person responsible fall foul of it. It amuses me even more to think that any member of the present Labour cabinet has the gall to sing "The Truth Is Marching On" in public. Hardly a week goes by without another revelation coming out about how they have their snouts in the trough. I thought the Conservatives were pretty bad at the end of their reign, but it seems that "New Labour" are hell-bent on outstripping them in the sleaze, cronyism and corruption stakes. I thought that there was sufficient evidence stacked up against them at the last election for them not to be reelected, but I guess I'll have to wait until the next time round to see the back of them.