John O'K

This. I think that people get mixed up between reasons and excuses. There are plenty of reasons why a person may choose to murder/torture/kidnap/rape civilians - they can include growing up in a terrible situation, living in a place like Gaza which has no hope and inhuman conditions - which are caused in part by Israel but also by Hamas. It would be odd to ignore those reasons. But they only go so far. I often act in inquests about people who have taken their own lives in prisons. There will inevitably be medical records which tell their story and often they lived sad and sometimes horrific lives. And they committed terrible crimes. It can’t be a coincidence. But there has to be a point - and there is a point - where background factors are no more than that. People have agency - they are not the unthinking products of their environment. So while there may be relevant reasons which led a person to do terrible, inhuman things, such as massacre hundreds of young people attending a music festival, or going door to door in a kibbutz to mow down families, we do not treat those reasons as excusing their conduct. And we don’t expect, if we do those things ourselves, to be excused. They are *crimes*. We call it *terrorism* for a reason - it is done to create terror and carnage. That is the purpose. Human rights laws and ideas are not the ultimate answer to any question, and certainly not to one of the most complex and entrenched conflicts in the world. But I like to think they do clarify some of the lines which cannot be crossed, whatever the reason, whether it’s extreme religious ideology or a misguided attempt at retribution. And that includes all sides. That doesn’t mean we should ignore background factors, but they must be put in their proper place, which is background not justification. Murder - torture - kidnap - rape - these are never excusable and should never be excused.

Where does today leave Tories like me, who see something beyond the deficit-funded tax-cutting libertarians and the Osbornite austerity merchants? First, we’re realists, so while today is grim we must accept a correction was needed to restore confidence after the Budget disaster.

my experience of Kwarteng is that he would not be someone to go quietly, or take one for the team, especially in a situation where he was literally enacting the signature policy of the PM. Indeed senior financiers here in DC were of the impression he would “take her with him” 👀

The Official Anti-Growth Coalition Membership List 👇 As compiled by Colin from Portsmouth.